Conversations with State Commissioner Bruce Thompson on recovered funds
Today’s bonus episode is my sit-down conversation with State Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson. In a press release on Thursday, August 13, 2023, Thompson announced an internal investigation uncovered $105,170,178.20 in unremitted funds that began accumulating in fiscal year 2014 during the tenure of former Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. These funds were a combination of Administrative Assessment fees ($20,829,614.53), Employer Penalties ($63,139, 053.96), and Interest fees ($21,201,509.71) that were never remitted to the Georgia State Treasury. As required by law, Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson authorized the full transfer of these funds, which totaled $105,170,178.20, to the treasury on August 3, 2023. Commissioner Bruce Thompson immediately began a sweeping overhaul of the department after assuming office in January 2023, identifying deficiencies and weaknesses that tarnished the agency's reputation. Part of this initiative included a comprehensive exploration of GDOL's fraud and unemployment insuranc