The individual is unable to reach the place of employment because the individual has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19. If you were unable to file your claim because of capacity or system limitations, you will have an opportunity to discuss backdating your claim with a representative by calling 800-244-5631. The individual must have earned at least 1-1/2 times their highest quarter wages during the base period of the claim on which their regular benefits are based. In order to protect everyone through social distancing, IDES Preparing to Administer New Federal COVID-19 Relief Legislation, Unemployment Rates Up, Jobs Down in All Metro Areas Across the State. When Illinois is in a period of “high” unemployment as defined by the law, the maximum EB payable is 20 times your weekly benefit amount plus dependent allowance, if any. All local and regional IDES offices are closed to the public until such time as the Governor lifts the stay at home directive. The individual would be considered able and available for work if there was some work that he or she could perform from home (e.g., transcribing, data entry, virtual assistant services) and there is a labor market for that work. Yes. An individual who leaves work voluntarily without a good reason attributable to the employer is generally disqualified from receiving UI. How unemployment works in Illinois . An employer’s failure to contribute to the unemployment system will not impact a claimant’s eligibility for benefits. Under regular unemployment rules, the incomes of self-employed workers, freelancers, and independent contractors are not subject to unemployment taxes and so typically these individuals are not eligible for unemployment benefits. The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that it remains committed to implementing newly announced federal unemployment benefits and relief measures as quickly and effectively as possible. You may receive a Dependent Allowance in addition to your weekly benefit amount if you have either (1) a dependent child under the age of eighteen (18) or (2) a non-working spouse. The number of nonfarm jobs decreased over-the-year in all fourteen Illinois metropolitan areas in November, according to preliminary data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). Individuals filing for PUA must have their claim backdated to the first week during the Pandemic Assistance Period that the individual was unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work because of a COVID-19 related reason. There is an additional requirement for EB. You cannot claim your spouse if your spouse is also receiving unemployment benefits. A child or other person in the household for which the individual has primary caregiving responsibility is unable to attend school or another facility that is closed as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency and such school or facility care is required for the individual to work; The individual is unable to reach the place of employment because of a quarantine imposed as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Please check back for information. In most cases, if you qualify, you will be automatically moved to this program. The registration requirement is waived with respect to them. In order to make the request for an extension, the employer must state a reason for the request. To notify us of potentially disqualifying issues, please sign up for SIDES at If your current weekly income does not exceed your weekly benefit amount, not including dependent allowance, for any given week, you may be eligible for benefits for that week. Anyone who receives at least $1 of unemployment benefits for a week, during the period after December 26, 2020 and before March 14, 2021. Updates will be made to the IDES webpage and social media sites as soon as they become available. Certify or “claim certification” is used to describe how you claim weeks of unemployment and receive payment of benefits if you meet the eligibility requirements. Under the new Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020, beginning with the week ending January 2, 2021, someone who earned a combination of income from a traditional job and had earnings of at least $5,000 during the applicable period as an independent contractor might be eligible for a $100 supplemental payment in addition to their regular UI benefit, extended benefits (EB) and federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC). You do not need to take any additional action to receive this supplemental payment. In general, when a claimant files a claim for unemployment benefits, a weekly benefit amount (WBA) for that individual is determined using the amount of wages in the claimant’s work history. IDES offices are closed to the public until further notice. Illinois unemployment benefit payments are distributed on a biweekly basis through direct deposit or a prepaid debit card. First, it’s possible that whoever told them they were not covered was wrong. The official, BLS approved sub-state unemployment rate and nonfarm jobs series begins in 1990. You can elect to have deductions taken out at the time you file your claim or after. High earners will generally max out at $484 per week for their WBA. The best way to certify for payment of benefits is online. An individual who is otherwise able to work and available for work, except that they are unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work due to one of the COVID-19 related reasons would be qualified for PUA. IDES will begin paying out the $300 FPUC benefit for all programs beginning January 4, 2021. At this time, the law has not been changed to give employers extra time for filing monthly or quarterly wage reports. The minimum allowance for a dependent child is $26; the maximum allowance is $185. Illinois Relay - (800) 526-0844 TTY or 711 | (800) 526-0857 Voice or TTY  or 711. The individual has become the breadwinner or major support for a household because the head of the household has died as a direct result of COVID-19. Learn more about the certification process. For each of the two weeks you are certifying, you must report the gross income that you worked for, even if you will not actually receive the money until later. You may also certify … In order to protect everyone through social distancing, Eligibility for Regular Unemployment Insurance, Filing a Claim for Unemployment Insurance Questions, Certifying a Claim and Receiving Benefits, Lost Wages Assistance Information and FAQs. It should be noted, if at any time while the individual is collecting EB, the individual becomes eligible for regular UI, the individual must stop collecting EB and file a new regular UI claim. Combined Statistical Areas. Every two weeks you need to certify that you are able and available to work, are actively seeking work, and report any income you received. If you suffer from hearing impairment, dial the TYY line 1-866-366-0004 to receive unemployment insurance services. Rapid Response Services are available to employers who are planning or have gone through a permanent closure or mass layoff at a plant, facility, or enterprise, or a natural or other disaster, that results in mass job dislocation. If you are denied benefits, consider appealing the decision . An individual generally has a duty to make a reasonable effort to work with his or her employer to resolve whatever issues have caused the individual to consider quitting. Local Workforce Areas My Tax Illinois. Data reported prior to 1990 are not directly comparable due to updates in methodology. The first week for which FPUC may be paid is the week ending January 2, 2021; and the last week that FPUC may be paid is the week ending March 13, 2021. You can apply online, by phone, or at an office during the first week you become unemployed. This term is used because you are “certifying” on a biweekly basis that your answers to the questions in Tele-Serve about your unemployment … No. Your employment history from the past 18 months, including the name of employers, start date, last day of work, and number of days worked, If you are claiming a dependent child or a dependent spouse, you will need to provide your dependent’s name, social security number and date of birth, Your Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA), which is the amount you are eligible to receive each week, Other information pertinent to your claim, including your Maximum Benefit Allowance, the total amount you are eligible to receive during your benefit year (26 times your WBA). It should be noted, there are certain circumstances under which an individual who is collecting PEUC and becomes eligible for a new benefit year of regular UI may be able to continue collecting PEUC instead of receiving regular UI benefits under the new regular UI claim. Once you have certified, it will be determined if you are eligible to receive benefits based on the answers you provided. If it has been more than 18 months since you worked for the employer, the pension you are paid is not disqualifying income and will not be deducted from your benefits. Copyright © 2020 Illinois Department of Employment Security, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) by Individuals, State Informati​on Data Exchange System ​(SIDES), Employer Frequently Used Forms and Publications, Employee Misclassification Hurts Businesses and Employees, Back to Business: Resources for Starting a Small Business, ​Licensed, Certified and Registered Occupations. However, the fact that all schools statewide have temporarily closed in response to the COVID-19 virus presents a unique situation in which it is unlikely a parent whose child cannot stay home alone has a ready alternative to staying home with the child himself/herself. Click for more information. The State Dislocated Worker Unit coordinates with For PUA, you can sign into your account and view your payment history by clicking on "Manage Claimant Account" then clicking on "Payment History.". The contribution rate of an experience-rated employer is based, in part, on the amount of unemployment benefits paid to the employer’s former employees, so this rate may rise when an employer furloughs or lays off employees due to COVID-19. your federal income tax return or, if you do not have a return, you must provide other documentation to show your earnings in the prior tax year), or the planned beginning of employment or self-employment. If your income exceeds your weekly benefit amount, then you would not be eligible for benefits for any such week. Yes, for the duration of the FPUC program. The individual is providing care for a family member or a member of the individual’s household who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. Yes. The debit card is mailed soon after the claim is filed and processed. The minimum allowance for a dependent spouse is $15; the maximum allowance is $93. If the pension was paid by an employer in your base period or if the employer is the chargeable employer on your claim, those pension payments are considered disqualifying income and 50% of the amount you receive may be deducted from your weekly benefit amount (WBA) if you paid into the pension, or 100% will be deducted if your employer paid the full amount. If IDES denies your application, you can appeal this decision within 30 days. Call Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Customer Line to file unemployed benefits by dialing 1-866-500-0017. The telephone number is 800-244-5631. The Illinois Department of Employment Security has a guide to COVID-19 and unemployment benefits, including answers to frequently asked questions. Protests must be postmarked or faxed by the due date indicated on the Notice of Claim. While claims can be filed over the telephone, we ask that you file online due to the high volume of calls IDES is currently receiving. After exhaustion of EB, if benefits are still available, the claimant can return to PEUC. This is called your gross income. The maximum extension for filing a monthly wage report is 15 days. The last week that PEUC may be paid is the week ending March 13, 2021, though if a claimant is paid PEUC for that week and still has a balance in their PEUC account, if otherwise eligible, the claimant can continue to receive any remaining weeks of PEUC through the week ending April 10, 2021. Note: This provision does not apply to employees. These conditions are designed to take … If you lived in another state but commuted to work in Illinois, if otherwise eligible, you would receive the amount of EB triggered “on” in Illinois. Most people will meet this requirement. You must meet all requirements to be eligible to collect unemployment insurance in Illinois. You can claim one or the other. Those with last names beginning with letters N-Z: Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays. Certification involves answering a list of questions which are asked to determine if you are eligible to receive unemployment benefits for the weeks in question. Since $6,000 is more than 1-1/2 times $3,000.00 ($4,500), they would meet the eligibility requirement for EB. More than one child will not increase your benefits. Make sure you meet all benefit requirements before you apply. Notice of the requirements for participation in the program will be issued when they become available. However, the actual implementation of this program in Illinois may take some time. Even if an individual’s employer does not consider the worker to be covered and doesn’t pay unemployment taxes on the individual’s wages, the individual can qualify for regular UI benefits if IDES determines he or she is covered under Illinois law. The UI Finding will include information such as: For more information about your UI Finding letter, click Certifying is a process that first occurs two weeks after you have filed your claim. Under emergency rules IDES recently adopted, the individual would not have to register with the employment service. Whether the payment is disqualifying for unemployment purposes depends on the type of payment, when it was paid, and when IDES is notified of the payment. IDES is working with federal partners to implement the new federal Covid-19 relief package recently signed into law. Instructions on the certification process are located on our website. There is a new limitation on backdating. Here’s a quick overview of how the unemployment insurance process works in Illinois. Note: The business must be closed, not simply providing reduced services. No, but if the employees become unemployed because of COVID-19 issues, they could be eligible for benefits under the federal stimulus legislation. Rapid Response Services for Businesses or contact your local Illinois workNet Center. Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) is a temporary program that provides up to 24 weeks of benefits to individuals who have exhausted all rights to regular UI with respect to a benefit year that ends on or after July 1, 2019. Applying for and being denied benefits under the regular UI program can help establish eligibility under the new temporary PUA program. The state of Illinois has laid down certain conditions that prospective applicants need to fulfill in order to gain eligibility to obtain unemployment benefits in Illinois. On that page is "Payment Information" with a "View Payment History" link (which is the second selection). Your potential eligibility for regular unemployment benefits will be based solely on the wages received from your employer. A claimant must meet all other requirements, including certifying that he or she is able and available for work, among others, to receive benefits. In addition, you must report the amount of all income before taxes or any other deductions are taken out. For two reasons, in Illinois, every individual who is unemployed or underemployed should file a claim for unemployment benefits, even if they have been told they're not covered by the state’s regular unemployment insurance program - because they’re an independent contractor, part of the “gig economy,” or for some other reason. Unemployment insurance benefits are subject to State and Federal income taxes. Eligibility is not automatic. The eligibility of an individual in this situation will depend on whether the facts of his or her case demonstrate the individual had a good reason for quitting and that the reason was attributable to the employer. (Please Print or Type) *Are you on break from school, attending school or enrolled in a training program? 133, on Sunday, December 27. Copyright © 2020 Illinois Department of Employment Security, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) by Individuals, State Informati​on Data Exchange System ​(SIDES), Employer Frequently Used Forms and Publications, Employee Misclassification Hurts Businesses and Employees, Back to Business: Resources for Starting a Small Business, ​Licensed, Certified and Registered Occupations, ELIGIBILITY FOR REGULAR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, FILING A CLAIM FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, CERTIFYING A CLAIM AND RECEIVING BENEFITS, Exhausting Benefits and Receiving an Extension (PEUC and EB), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC - $300 Benefit Supplement), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) & Self-Employed Workers, Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC). Closed, not simply providing reduced services to work Michigan ’ s household who been. 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