Georgia Senate Bill 384, signed into law this year, establishes the State of Georgia as a Model Employer (the “GAME”) Program.¹ The GAME Program regulates labor practices of public offices related to the recruitment, hiring, advancement, and retention of qualified individuals with disabilities.² In creating the GAME Program, Georgia joins at least 19 other states that have enacted similar legislation.³ While the GAME Program applies only to state agencies and not private employers, the Program is designed as a model for private sector employers in the state to follow in advancing the interests of qualified individuals with disabilities.

The GAME Program: Core Elements and Compliance Requirements

The GAME Program is designed to implement proactive hiring practices and annual evaluation procedures to promote the employment of qualified individuals with disabilities by Georgia’s state agencies.⁴ The core features of the GAME Program are:

• Providing technical assistance and training to Human Resources personnel employed by the state’s various agencies to promote the hiring, advancement, and retention of qualified individuals with disabilities;
• Assisting with the implementation of reasonable accommodations by state agencies under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and
• Developing metrics and tools for annual reporting on the employment of individuals with disabilities employed by state agencies.

The GAME Program also imposes obligations on public agencies and the State ADA Coordinator regarding the collection and publication of employment data. Specifically, beginning September 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, each state agency will be required to submit a report to the State ADA Coordinator that includes:

• The percentage of jobs that were filled by individuals with disabilities, and the pay levels at which those individuals were hired;
• An analysis of the existing barriers in the agency’s employment practices impacting individuals with disabilities, and measures that may mitigate these barriers;
• A description of ADA training received by the agency’s supervisory HR personnel; and
• An evaluation of whether the agency has adequate resources to provide assistance to individuals with disabilities in the event of an emergency evacuation at the agency’s physical location(s).

In turn, the State ADA Coordinator will then be required to submit a written report related to the progress of state agencies towards meeting the employment policy goals established by the GAME Program. This report will be shared annually, starting on December 15, 2025.⁵

Takeaways

The Program is meant to allow the State of Georgia—in its capacity as a public employer—to serve as a template for inclusive employment practices that private sector employers based in Georgia can follow. 

Accordingly, private employers can glean beneficial information and recommended practices from the annual reports issued by the State ADA Coordinator. For instance, the analyses regarding structural barriers, and the efforts taken to minimize those barriers, may serve as a useful tool for private employers in identifying potential accommodations and opportunities for improvement.

Importantly, however, although private employers can gain valuable insight from the information disclosed by their public counterparts under the GAME Program, there is no “silver bullet” for avoiding lawsuits brought under the ADA. The complex and situation-specific nature of the ADA ensures that no one set of guidelines or so-called best practices can be relied upon formulaically.  So, while private sector employers may elect to revisit employment practices based upon information gained from reviewing GAME Program reports, they should consult with counsel before implementing new policies for applicants and employees with disabilities to ensure compliance with the law.