I received a call and email today from a concerned Illinois citizen, trying to bring awareness to what seems like a serious error on the part of the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). I have contacted our State Representative’s office and they are looking into it. I will post an update here when I have one; in the meantime, here is the information I received — just in case you are struggling with the same issue, you can know you’re not alone, and folks are indeed trying to get it addressed.
Note: I have not yet vetted this information… it was provided to me via an individual who is not a client.
Summary: The state of Illinois shut down on March 20th, and the CARES Act, including the Federal Pandemic Employment Compensation (FPUC) passed on March 27th. Even before it passed, the official message from the State of Illinois was that there was no different way to apply for the federal aid aside from applying normally for state unemployment. IDES posted on their FPUC FAQ that individuals otherwise eligible for unemployment during the weeks of the program would be eligible for and receive the increased assistance. They also wrote that the additional $600 per week would be active in benefit payments for unemployment certifications (not applications or claims) completed starting April 6th. Then, on April 15th, they retroactively decreed through a PDF that anyone who had any claim for benefits pending or active before March 29th would be denied the FPUC.
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The IDES is not applying the $600 FPUC increase for mandatory COVID-19 economic shutdown to people receiving regular unemployment benefits (in violation of the federal implementation guidelines and the CARES Act).
IDES put out this fact sheet where they claim, “Pursuant to the federal legislation, this $600 will not be retroactively applied to unemployment claims that arose prior to March 29, 2020“
https://www2.illinois.gov/ides/News%20%20Announcements%20Doc%20Library/Federal-Stimulus-FAQ-April2020.pdf
While the $600 payments cannot be retroactively applied to before the CARES act took effect, it is incorrect to not apply the $600 to later weeks for those with existing claims started prior to March 29th. There is no requirement in CARES FPUC that individuals may not already receive unemployment benefits or forfeit eligibility. In fact, the opposite is true, and the $600 is an increase to existing benefits.
The IDES COVID FAQ also states the correct interpretation in their FPUC FAQ:
“Who is eligible to receive FPUC?
FPUC is payable to individuals who are otherwise eligible for unemployment benefitsfor weeks of unemployment beginning March 29, 2020 and ending July 31, 2020“
https://www2.illinois.gov/ides/Pages/COVID-FPUC-FAQ.aspx#h2
IDES provides no alternative method to apply for or receive federal assistance beyond applying for normal state unemployment benefits. After certifying for benefits through 4/18, [this claimant] still has not received additional payments from FPUC/CARES, even though the IDES website had indicated that FPUC would be included for eligible recipients with their normal benefits starting April 6th:
“The $600 federal increase is now available! Those claimants certifying beginning April 6 will see the additional supplemental income applied to their weekly benefit amount. This increase is available through the week ending July 25, 2020.”
https://www2.illinois.gov/ides/Pages/default.aspx
Due to the fact that [this claimant] has seen no additional $600 materialize, and the IDES changed the wording in their April 15th PDF, it seems they may have mistakenly adjusted the policy to not grant the $600 to recipients in this situation. IDES had not previously stated that claimants had to wait until after March 29 to apply to get FPUC — in fact, they indicated the opposite: that people should apply normally, and once it was enacted and implemented they would start seeing the additional funds.
Those who apply before March 29 are still eligible for benefits for weeks after March 29th, and thus still eligible for FPUC. The date of March 29th is to start $600 payments, not to cut off eligibility. This seems to be a serious error.
(Federal guidelines for the law are copied below for reference.)
CARES FPUC Guidelines:
C. Operating Instructions.
1. Eligibility for FPUC.
For an individual to receive FPUC, the applicable state must have a signed agreement with the Department. FPUC is payable to individuals who are otherwise entitled under state or federal law to receive regular UC for weeks of unemployment (including Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE)and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX)). FPUC is also payable to individuals receiving the following unemployment compensation programs: PEUC, PUA, EB, Short-Time Compensation (STC), Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA), Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA), and payments under the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program. A number of state laws include provisions extending the potential duration of benefits during periods of high unemployment for individuals in approved training who exhaust benefits, or for a variety of other reasons. Although some state laws call these programs “extended benefits,” the Department uses the term “additional benefits” (AB) to avoid confusion with the Federal-State EB program. FPUC is not payable to individuals receiving AB payments.
2. FPUC Eligibility and Relation to Other Types of Benefit Payments.
Individuals receive FPUC payments concurrently with payments under those programs identified above. Refer to UIPL 14-20, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 –Summary of Key Unemployment Insurance (UI) Provisions and Guidance Regarding Temporary Emergency State Staffing Flexibility, issued April 2, 2020, for additional information on how FPUC interacts with other programs authorized under the CARES Act.States that are unable to immediately pay benefits the week following the execution of the agreement with the Department to operate the program must provide retroactive payments to individuals eligible for FPUC for the weeks they would have been entitled.
https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/UIPL/UIPL_15-20_Attachment_1.pdf
Here is the full UIPL 14-20 —
https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/UIPL/UIPL_14-20.pdf
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