GA Code § 15-6-93 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 15 - Courts|Chapter 6 - Superior Courts|Article 2 - Clerks of Superior Courts|§ 15-6-93. Office Hours

  The office of each clerk of superior court shall be open to conduct business Monday through Friday from at least 9:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. and shall not close for any period of time during such hours, unless such office has less than two employees, in which case such office shall be permitted to be open from at least 8:00 A.M. until noon and from at least 1:00 P.M. until 5:00 P.M.   Any office of clerk of superior court which is open for operation on Saturday may close on one day Monday through Friday for a period of time equal to that period of time during which the office is open on Saturday. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed as requiring any office of clerk of superior court to be open on any public holiday, legal holiday, day of rest, or other similar time that is recognized and designated as such by Georgia law or by the governing authority of the county.   This Code section shall only apply to the office of clerk of superior court if there is employed in that office at least one employee other than the clerk.   In any county of this state having a population of fewer than 10,000 persons according to the United States decennial census of 1980 or any future such census, the clerk of superior court may close such office for a designated lunch period if all other county offices in the county courthouse simultaneously close for a lunch period. The period of closing of the clerk's office shall coincide with the period for closing the other county offices.   Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to require the office of clerk of superior court to be open if all other county offices are closed because of inclement weather or any other reason.   When it is necessary for the clerk of superior court to conduct necessary training of employees, the clerk may close his or her office for up to eight hours during any six-month period, provided that he or she gives at least ten days' notice to the public, or sooner with the approval of the chief judge of the superior court, prior to such closing, and provided, further, that there are no proceedings scheduled in superior court during the time of the closing. Proceedings shall include all civil or criminal hearings or trials, whether or not a jury is required.   When the clerk's office is closed for training purposes, the period of closure shall be deemed a legal holiday for such office and, therefore, all deadlines provided for by law for filing in the clerk's office any pleading, process, summons answer, or other document shall be extended to the next regular business day of the clerk's office. "Business day" means a day on which the clerk's office is open for business and shall not include any Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday officially observed by the office as provided in this Code section.     (Code 1981, §15-6-93, enacted by Ga. L. 1986, p. 1002, § 3; Ga. L. 1988, p. 489, § 1; Ga. L. 2012, p. 173, § 1-26/HB 665; Ga. L. 2014, p. 126, § 2/HB 215.)   Cross references.   - General provisions as to hours of operation for county courthouse and county offices maintained therein, § 36-1-12.   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Order entered two hours before closure of clerk's office.    - Trial court's entry of the order confirming the arbitration award in favor of the former employer was premature because the order was entered without providing the former employee the time to respond as proof of service was filed more than five days after service was accepted, and the trial court signed the order over two hours before the closure of the clerk's office on the date the employee had to file the employee's answer. Mughni v. Beyond Management Group, Inc., 349 Ga. App. 398, 825 S.E.2d 829 (2019).