Section 2865.100  Work Search Requirements for Regular Unemployment Insurance Benefits

a)         Unless otherwise instructed, the claimant must establish that he or she is able to work, available for work and actively seeking work during each week for which he or she is claiming benefits.

1)         The claimant must register with the Illinois Employment Service unless otherwise instructed by the local office for one of the following reasons:

A)        The claimant's unemployment is due to a labor dispute at his or her last employing unit even if the claimant is not involved in the dispute;

B)        The claimant's unemployment is due to a temporary lay-off not exceeding 10 weeks in duration;

C)        The claimant is a member of a labor union whose placement service has been certified by the Department under this Part;

D)        The claimant is still attached to a regular job but he or she is only partially employed due to a temporary reduction in hours;

E)        The claimant is a seasonal worker who is between seasons and has a reasonable expectation of returning to the same job in the next succeeding season.  For example, park, golf course and landscape workers would fall within this subsection (a)(1)(E) during a winter shutdown;

F)         The claimant is an academic worker, such as a teacher or school administrator, or a non-academic employee, such as a food service worker or school bus driver, who is seeking work at an educational institution or for a company that contracts with an educational institution during a period between academic years or terms;

G)        The claimant is a construction worker seeking construction work, whether or not he or she belongs to a union that operates a hiring hall defined in Section 2865.50;

H)        The claimant is enrolled and participating in training, whether or not that training is approved under Section 500C5 of the Act;

I)         The claimant is a resident of a state that borders Illinois and has filed a claim in this State;

J)         The Department determines that, based on local labor market information, registration with the Illinois Employment Service would not increase the likelihood of the claimant's return to work; or

K)        The claimant's unemployment is due to a temporary lay-off resulting from a temporary closing attributable to the COVID-19 virus.

2)         The claimant must show that he or she is conducting a thorough, active and reasonable search for appropriate work on his or her own by keeping records of what he or she is doing to find work, including:

A)        The names and addresses of the employing units contacted and the names of the specific persons contacted, if possible;

B)        The dates, methods and results of the contacts;

C)        The types of work that the claimant has been seeking, including wages and hours requested or desired; and

D)        Any other information regarding work search efforts.

b)         The claimant shall provide the written records required by this Section to the Department whenever requested, under Section 2720.115, or, in the event of a Claims Adjudicator's interview, an appeal or a hearing in which work search is an issue.  Even if the claimant has been denied benefits, he or she must either continue to certify by telephone (see Section 2720.112) or complete and file the Claim Certification through the internet every 2 weeks and meet the eligibility requirements of the Act for each week for which he or she expects payment upon reversal of that denial.

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 11787, effective July 1, 2020)