UI Benefit Handbook - Important to Know

This section covers:

• If You Are Unable to Work 
• If You Move
• When You Return to Work
• If You Are Overpaid
• False or Misleading Information
• If Your Claim Is Contested

If You Are Unable to Work

For each workday you are sick or otherwise unable to work, your benefit payment for that week will be reduced by one-fifth of your weekly benefit amount. If you are unable to work for five workdays in a week, you will not receive any benefits for that week. If you become ill for an indefinite period, notify IDES Claimant Services as soon as you are able to work.

If You Move

Notify IDES Claimant Services of your new address and file a change-of-address notice with the U.S. Postal Service. Even if you stop claiming benefits, you should still notify IDES if you move because issues could arise after you have stopped filing for benefits or tax documents may need to be mailed to you.

When You Return to Work

When you certify, you will be asked if you worked. If the answer is yes, you must enter your gross wages for the week. If the amount entered is greater than your weekly benefit amount, your claim will automatically suspend. If you are continuing to work and earning more than your benefit amount, no further action is required – your claim will remain suspended until you need to file again. 

If you later become unemployed again, you may file the additional claim online or by calling Claimant Services at 800-244-5631.

If you are certifying online, and only worked one or both of the weeks you are certifying for, and are out of work again, you will be prompted to enter the additional claim information at the end of your certification, so you should be prepared with the name of the most  recent employer, dates of employment, and the reason you are nolonger working at the time you certify. If you are certifying by telephone, do not have internet access, and this situation applies to you, you must call Claimant Services to file the new claim. 

If You Are Overpaid

If you are overpaid, the amount may be recouped from benefits payable to you. If the overpayment is due to reasons other than fraud, i.e., knowingly giving false or misleading information, the amount recouped may not be more than 25 percent of your weekly benefit amount for each week you are eligible for benefits. The overpayment could result in a comptroller’s offset of state payments (such as state income tax refunds and lottery winnings).

If an overpayment is not your fault and you can show financial hardship, you may request that the overpayment not be recouped temporarily from any benefits you are entitled to receive. You must be prepared to provide documentation of the hardship. Even if recoupment is waived temporarily, you still are responsible for the amount of benefits overpaid to you.

More information on overpayment waivers can be found on our website.

False or Misleading Information

Giving false or misleading information, or holding back any information to draw benefits to which you are not entitled is punishable under Illinois law. You may be subject to a fine, incarceration and comptroller’s offset of state and/or federal tax returns. In addition to possible criminal penalties, you may not draw benefits again until you have served a number of penalty weeks (or two years have elapsed from the time your ineligibility began) and you have repaid the amount of benefits received through fraud or that amount has been recovered from benefits otherwise payable to you. Each employer for whom you work files with the state of Illinois a record of wages paid to you and the quarter the wages were paid. Your claim is checked against these wage records.

When you file a claim, all the information you provide is checked by investigators. Your last employer and, in some cases, other former employers are notified of your claim.

If Your Claim Is Contested

You will be given an opportunity to present the facts to an IDES claims adjudicator. If witnesses are required to help present your case, you must arrange for them to attend the interview. Benefits will be paid promptly if thecl aims adjudicator determines that you are eligible for benefits.