UI Benefit Handbook - Unique Circumstances

This section covers:

• Interstate Benefits
• Combined Wage Claim 
• United States Government Employees
• U.S. Military Veterans
• Trade Assistance Benefits
• Profiling and Referral to Reemployment Services

Interstate Benefits

If you lived and worked in Illinois, but now reside elsewhere, you can still file a claim for benefits against Illinois. You may file from any other state, from the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands or Canada.

File your claim online. If you need assistance, call IDES Claimant Services at (800) 244-5631.

When you file your claim against Illinois, Illinois will determine what benefits you will receive if you are eligible. Correspondence concerning your claim will be sent to you by mail. You must meet all the requirements of Illinois law no matter where you file your claim, and the final decision on your claim will be made by Illinois.

You must register for work in the state in which you reside. Refer to that state’s website for registration requirements.

Combined Wage Claim

A nationwide arrangement exists that allows you, under certain circumstances, to combine the wages you have earned in more than one state either to qualify you for benefits or to increase your benefits.

If you have worked in other states during the past two years, you will need to provide ALL of your employment information, including addresses, phone numbers, start dates and last day worked when filing your claim in order to determine what type of claim is best for you.

United States Government Employees

If you have worked as a civilian employee of the federal government during the last two years, you may be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits based on government wages you were paid.

File your claim and register for work online. If you need assistance, call IDES Claimant Services at (800) 244-5631 or visit an IDES office. You will need to submit copies of your Standard Form 8 and Personnel Action Form 50 or other documents that prove that you worked for the federal government. Documentation should be faxed to the IDES Document Processing Unit at (217) 557-4913, or it may be delivered to an IDES office.

Wages paid to you by the federal government as a civilian employee qualify you for benefits under the state unemployment insurance act just as if the wages were paid by a private employer that contributes to the unemployment insurance fund of that state.

Federal civilian service and wages are assigned to the state in which your last official duty station was located. However, if you had covered employment (i.e., employment for which your employer contributed to the unemployment insurance fund) with a non-federal employer in a state other than the state in which your last official duty station was located, your federal civilian service and wages will be assigned to the state in which you worked in non-federal employment after leaving federal service. The service and wages are assigned to the state whenever you, following your separation from federal civilian service, establish an unemployment insurance claim on which benefits may be paid. That state then has control over all of your federal civilian service and wages.

All state laws provide the right of appeal to a claimant who is denied benefits for any reason. In most matters your appeal rights are the same as those of any other claimant in the state. However, federal law provides that determinations of federal service and duty station given by the federal agency shall be conclusive.

If you believe that the information reported by your federal agency is incorrect, you have the right to request a review by that agency. Appeals or requests for reconsideration should be sent by fax to (217) 557-4913 or made at the nearest IDES office.

U.S. Military Veterans

As an ex-serviceman or woman, you have potential reemployment rights with your pre-service employer. Applications for reemployment, however, must be filed within a certain time period after completion of military service. If you need further assistance concerning protection of these rights, contact the Veterans Employment and Training Service of the U.S. Department of Labor at (312) 793-3433.

If you had active federal service in the armed forces, you may be able to receive unemployment insurance benefits based upon the pay and allowances applicable to your pay grade at the time of separation from active military service.

To qualify for unemployment insurance benefits, you must have been discharged or released from the armed forces under honorable conditions and, if an officer, you must not have resigned for the good of the service.

File your claim and register for work online. If you need assistance, call IDES Claimant Services at (800) 244-5631 or visit the nearest IDES office. You will need to submit a copy of your DD Form 214. Required documentation should be faxed to the IDES Document Processing Unit at (217) 557-4913, or it may be delivered to an IDES office. You will need to report all civilian employment, if any, during the last two years.

Federal law requires that military service and wages be assigned to the state where you first file a claim for unemployment insurance benefits following separation from active military service. Once assigned, all federal military service and wages remain assigned to that state. The assignment of your military service and wages is by the Federal Claims Control Center, operated by Lockheed Martin Information Technology, to avoid any duplication of assignment by some other state.

A duplication of assignment of your service and wages will result in a delay of payment to you. Therefore, if you have filed a claim (regardless of whether or not you received any benefit payments) in another state since your separation from the armed forces, be sure to respond correctly to the question about filing in another state when filing your claim online.

Your benefit payments are based on your military wages, which are determined by a schedule of remuneration established by the U.S. Secretary of Labor. This schedule contains the dollar equivalent broken down to daily, weekly, and monthly rates for each pay grade in the armed forces. Your pay grade at the time of separation from active duty will determine your benefit amount.

Your benefit rights will be determined by the law of the state in which you first file a claim for unemployment insurance and establish a benefit year after your last separation from active military service. To establish a benefit year, you must have had a certain amount of active service in the armed forces within the base period applicable to that benefit year (see page 14). If your first claim establishing a benefit year is filed in Illinois, you must comply with all the requirements of Illinois law. In addition, federal law provides that your benefits cannot begin during a period for which you are receiving federal subsistence allowances under the Vocational Rehabilitation Act or educational assistance under the War Orphans’ and Widows’ Educational Assistance Act.

All state unemployment insurance laws provide the right of appeal to a person who is denied benefits for any reason. In most matters, your appeal rights are the same as those of any other claimant in your state. However, federal law provides that the appropriate federal agency’s determination of your active military service, your pay grade at the time of discharge or release from active military service and the type of discharge or release you received from such service shall be final and conclusive. If you believe that the information on your separation document is incorrect, you may ask for a review by the appropriate federal agency.

Appeals or requests for reconsideration may be faxed to the designated fax number on your Determination or Decision or filed at the nearest IDES office.

Trade Assistance Benefits

Workers who lose their jobs or who experience reduced work hours and wages as a result of increased imports or the shifting of their jobs abroad may qualify for additional benefits under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act of 2002, 2009, 2011, 2015, or 2021. (The worker group must be certified as eligible by the federal Department of Labor.)

The benefits administered by IDES include income support, the Health Coverage Tax Credit, Alternate Trade Assistance and Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance.

Individuals should contact the IDES Trade Unit at (217) 785-5792 for more information.

Profiling and Referral to Reemployment Services

In accordance with federal law, all unemployment insurance claimants are profiled, based on various workrelated characteristics, to determine the likelihood that they will exhaust their benefits and may need extra help in finding work. These individuals may then be referred for more intensive reemployment services. These services include a personal assessment of your needs and recommended activities to enhance your job search, such as resume writing, interviewing tips and referral to available training or local job clubs.

If you are referred to reemployment services and you refuse to participate without good reason, you can be denied benefits until you agree to participate.