Georgia Commissioner of Labor

Georgia Commissioner of Labor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$138,000
2025 FY Budget:	$54,060,312
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Georgia Code, 34-2-3
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Vacant
Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
Other Georgia Executive Offices
Governor•Lieutenant Governor•Secretary of State•Attorney General•Treasurer•Auditor•Superintendent of Schools•Agriculture Commissioner•Insurance Commissioner•Natural Resources Commissioner•Labor Commissioner•Public Service Commission

The Georgia Commissioner of Labor is a state executive position in the Georgia state government. The commissioner is responsible for implementing the state's labor regulations, operating its unemployment insurance and rehabilitation programs and producing statistics and research covering the Georgia labor market.

Current officeholder

The office of Georgia Commissioner of Labor is vacant. It was last held by Bruce Thompson (R).

Authority

The office of labor commissioner is established by state law.

Georgia Code, 34-2-3

(a) The Department of Labor shall be under the direction and supervision of a commissioner to be known as the Commissioner of Labor.

Qualifications

Per Article V, Section 3, Paragraph II of the Georgia Constitution, the commissioner of labor must, at the time of his election:

• Have been a citizen of the U.S. for 10 years
  
• A legal resident of Georgia for four years
  
• 25 years old

Georgia Constitution, Article V, Section 3, Paragraph II

(a) No person shall be eligible to the office of the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School Superintendent, Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Agriculture, or Commissioner of Labor unless such person shall have been a citizen of the United States for ten years and a legal resident of the state for four years immediately preceding election or appointment and shall have attained the age of 25 years by the date of assuming office. All of said officers shall take such oath and give bond and security, as prescribed by law, for the faithful discharge of their duties.

Elections

Georgia state government organizational chart

The commissioner is elected "at the same time and hold[s] [his] office for the same term as the governor."

Georgia Constitution, Article V, Section 3, Paragraph I

The Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School Superintendent, Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Agriculture, and Commissioner of Labor shall be elected in the manner prescribed for the election of members of the General Assembly and the electors shall be the same. Such executive officers shall be elected at the same time and hold their offices for the same term as the Governor.

2022

See also: Georgia Labor Commissioner election, 2022

General election

General election for Georgia Commissioner of Labor

Bruce Thompson defeated William Boddie and Emily Anderson in the general election for Georgia Commissioner of Labor on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bruce Thompson (R)	52.1	2,030,170
		William Boddie (D)	45.3	1,766,894
		Emily Anderson (L)	2.6	100,960

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,898,024
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for Georgia Commissioner of Labor

William Boddie defeated Nicole Horn in the Democratic primary runoff for Georgia Commissioner of Labor on June 21, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		William Boddie	62.3	157,153
		Nicole Horn	37.7	95,262

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 252,415
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia Commissioner of Labor

William Boddie and Nicole Horn advanced to a runoff. They defeated Lester Jackson, Nadia Surrency, and Thomas Dean in the Democratic primary for Georgia Commissioner of Labor on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		William Boddie	27.7	184,446
✔		Nicole Horn	25.1	167,442
		Lester Jackson	19.4	129,109
		Nadia Surrency	17.9	119,582
	Submit photo	Thomas Dean	9.9	66,107

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 666,686
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia Commissioner of Labor

Bruce Thompson defeated Mike Coan and Kartik Bhatt in the Republican primary for Georgia Commissioner of Labor on May 24, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bruce Thompson	62.7	637,857
		Mike Coan	30.7	312,842
	Submit photo	Kartik Bhatt	6.6	67,407

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,018,106
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2018

See also: Georgia Labor Commissioner election, 2018

General election

General election for Georgia Commissioner of Labor

Incumbent Mark Butler defeated Richard Keatley in the general election for Georgia Commissioner of Labor on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Butler (R)	52.5	2,019,389
		Richard Keatley (D)	47.5	1,830,061

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,849,450
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia Commissioner of Labor

Richard Keatley defeated Fred Quinn in the Democratic primary for Georgia Commissioner of Labor on May 22, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Richard Keatley	51.5	235,837
		Fred Quinn	48.5	221,959

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 457,796
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia Commissioner of Labor

Incumbent Mark Butler advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia Commissioner of Labor on May 22, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Butler	100.0	478,012

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 478,012
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Georgia down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Labor Commissioner of Georgia, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mark Butler Incumbent	56.9%	1,427,662
	Democratic	Robbin Shipp	43.1%	1,079,898
Total Votes				2,507,560
Election results via Georgia Secretary of State

Term limits

There are no term limits for the office of labor commissioner.

Vacancies

If a vacancy occurs, the governor fills it, subject to confirmation by a majority vote of the Georgia Senate. Vacancy procedures are laid out in Article V, Section 2, Paragraph VIII of the Georgia Constitution.

Duties

The commissioner is the administrative head of the Georgia Department of Labor, which implements the state's labor regulations, operates its unemployment insurance and workforce development programs, and produces research and statistics regarding the state's labor market.

Divisions

Updated January 13, 2021

• Career Center Administration
• Employment Services
• Rehabilitation Services
• Unemployment Insurance
• Workforce Statistics & Economic Research

State budget

See also: Georgia state budget and finances

The budget for the Department of Labor in Fiscal Year 2025 was $54,060,312.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The salaries of elected executive officials in Georgia are determined by state law as mandated in the Georgia Constitution. Article V of the state constitution indicates that the Georgia State Legislature determines salaries for governor, lieutenant governor and "other elected executives."

Article V, Section 3, Paragraph III

	Text of Paragraph III: Powers, Duties, Compensation, and Allowances of Other Executive Officers Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the General Assembly shall prescribe the powers, duties, compensation, and allowances of the above executive officers and provide assistance and expenses necessary for the operation of the department of each.

2023

In 2023, the officer's salary was $138,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $122,786, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the commissioner received a salary of $122,786, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the commissioner received a salary of $122,786, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the commissioner received a salary of $122,786, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the commissioner received a salary of $122,786, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the commissioner received a salary of $122,786, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the commissioner received a salary of $122,786, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the commissioner received a salary of $121,570, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the commissioner received a salary of $121,570, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the commissioner received a salary of $121,570, according to the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, the commissioner received a salary of $120,570.

Historical officeholders

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Georgia Commissioner of Labor has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

Contact info

148 Andrew Young Intl Blvd, NE
Atlanta, GA 30303-1751
United States
Phone:(404) 232-7300
E-mail:[email protected]

See also

• Georgia state executive offices
• Georgia state executive officials

External links

• Georgia Department of Labor