Protect Your Right to Illinois Unemployment Compensation Benefits
Pay close attention to the mail you receive from the state agency administering unemployment benefits. The agency or your former employer can challenge your receipt of benefits and there are strict deadlines for appealing. Don't underestimate the importance of the "telephone hearing" before the Hearing Officer or Referee. It's the most important stage.
Unemployment compensation insurance is not a needs-based program. It’s insurance. A portion of an employee’s earnings are paid into a fund that then,
like car insurance, entitles the employee to benefits if she loses her job through no fault of her own. Unemployment compensation is one of a package of programs passed in the 1930s to help allay widespread labor unrest. There are two purposes underlying the program: to help tide families over between jobs and to avoid dislocation in the economy (businesses don’t thrive if folks don’t have money to spend).
Most, but not all, forms of employment are covered. And if an unemployed worker meets certain basic eligibility criteria, then he is entitled to unemployment compensation insurance benefits regardless of the worker’s wealth or status. The amount of the benefits is pegged to a percentage of the worker’s earnings up to a modest cap or maximum. Because unemployment compensation stems from a federal law, there are many features common to the various state programs.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) is the agency administering unemployment compensation insurance benefits in Illinois. The IDES web site is cumbersome and can be difficult to navigate, but contains information on how to apply for unemployment, portals to job openings, and listings of job fairs.
After you apply for unemployment benefits, make sure you promptly read and take action on any notices or letters you receive from IDES. There are strict deadlines for appealing the denial or termination of benefits. Contact a knowledgeable attorney if you are denied or being threatened with termination of benefits. Even where the employer does not, the state agency (in satisfying its gatekeeping function) can and does challenge your receipt of benefits.
There is a wide-variety of grounds for denying or terminating unemployment benefits. These grounds include: (a) the employee quitting their job without just cause attributable to the employer; (b) insubordination (with rules about employer provocation); (c) tardiness and/or absenteeism; (d) willful misconduct; (e) failure to actively seek work after being laid-off; or (f) other failure to follow the program rules. Don't be discouraged by your employer's negative assessment, and don't take IDES's initial determination as gospel. You may have defenses to assert in the appeal process.
If you are denied benefits or are threatened with termination of benefits, there are several levels of appeal available to you in Illinois: telephone hearing, appeal before the IDES Board of Review, and appeal to the local county Circuit Court. The MOST IMPORTANT STAGE IS THE "TELEPHONE HEARING" before the IDES Hearing Officer or Referee, which is recorded. This is where evidence is taken from you, the employer, and any witnesses and documents. All appeals beyond the "telephone hearing" are based on the evidence taken at the phone hearing. There is little opportunity to enter new evidence thereafter. Therefore, it is critical that you throw all of your efforts into winning the “telephone hearing.” Even if you are initially granted benefits, your employer could appeal, so read your mail from IDES and take prompt action. The deadlines are strict so seek assistance promptly.
