Public Act 094-0237
 
SB2066 Enrolled LRB094 11386 BDD 42268 b

    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by
changing Section 1300 as follows:
 
    (820 ILCS 405/1300)  (from Ch. 48, par. 540)
    Sec. 1300. Waiver or transfer of benefit rights - Partial
exemption.
    (A) Except as otherwise provided herein any agreement by an
individual to waive, release or commute his rights under this
Act shall be void.
    (B) Benefits due under this Act shall not be assigned,
pledged, encumbered, released or commuted and shall be exempt
from all claims of creditors and from levy, execution and
attachment or other remedy for recovery or collection of a
debt. However, nothing in this Section shall prohibit a
specified or agreed upon deduction from benefits by an
individual, or a court or administrative order for withholding
of income, for payment of past due child support from being
enforced and collected by the Department of Public Aid on
behalf of persons receiving a grant of financial aid under
Article IV of the Illinois Public Aid Code, persons for whom an
application has been made and approved for child support
enforcement services under Section 10-1 of such Code, or
persons similarly situated and receiving like services in other
states. It is provided that:
        (1) The aforementioned deduction of benefits and order
    for withholding of income apply only if appropriate
    arrangements have been made for reimbursement to the
    Director by the Department of Public Aid for any
    administrative costs incurred by the Director under this
    Section.
        (2) The Director shall deduct and withhold from
    benefits payable under this Act, or under any arrangement
    for the payment of benefits entered into by the Director
    pursuant to the powers granted under Section 2700 of this
    Act, the amount specified or agreed upon. In the case of a
    court or administrative order for withholding of income,
    the Director shall withhold the amount of the order.
        (3) Any amount deducted and withheld by the Director
    shall be paid to the Department of Public Aid or the State
    Disbursement Unit established under Section 10-26 of the
    Illinois Public Aid Code, as directed by the Department of
    Public Aid, on behalf of the individual.
        (4) Any amount deducted and withheld under subsection
    (3) shall for all purposes be treated as if it were paid to
    the individual as benefits and paid by such individual to
    the Department of Public Aid or the State Disbursement Unit
    in satisfaction of the individual's child support
    obligations.
        (5) For the purpose of this Section, child support is
    defined as those obligations which are being enforced
    pursuant to a plan described in Title IV, Part D, Section
    454 of the Social Security Act and approved by the
    Secretary of Health and Human Services.
        (6) The deduction of benefits and order for withholding
    of income for child support shall be governed by Titles III
    and IV of the Social Security Act and all regulations duly
    promulgated thereunder.
    (C) Nothing in this Section prohibits an individual from
voluntarily electing to have federal income tax deducted and
withheld from his or her unemployment insurance benefit
payments.
        (1) The Director shall, at the time that an individual
    files his or her claim for benefits that establishes his or
    her benefit year, inform the individual that:
            (a) unemployment insurance is subject to federal,
        State, and local income taxes;
            (b) requirements exist pertaining to estimated tax
        payments;
            (c) the individual may elect to have federal income
        tax deducted and withheld from his or her payments of
        unemployment insurance in the amount specified in the
        federal Internal Revenue Code; and
            (d) the individual is permitted to change a
        previously elected withholding status.
        (2) Amounts deducted and withheld from unemployment
    insurance shall remain in the unemployment fund until
    transferred to the federal taxing authority as a payment of
    income tax.
        (3) The Director shall follow all procedures specified
    by the United States Department of Labor and the federal
    Internal Revenue Service pertaining to the deducting and
    withholding of income tax.
        (4) Amounts shall be deducted and withheld in
    accordance with the priorities established in rules
    promulgated by the Director.
    (D) Nothing in this Section prohibits an individual from
voluntarily electing to have State of Illinois income tax
deducted and withheld from his or her unemployment insurance
benefit payments if such deduction and withholding is provided
for pursuant to rules promulgated by the Director.
        (1) The If pursuant to rules promulgated by the
    Director, an individual may voluntarily elect to have State
    of Illinois income tax deducted and withheld from his or
    her unemployment insurance benefit payments, the Director
    shall, at the time that an individual files his or her
    claim for benefits that establishes his or her benefit
    year, in addition to providing the notice required under
    subsection C, inform the individual that:
            (a) the individual may elect to have State of
        Illinois income tax deducted and withheld from his or
        her payments of unemployment insurance in the amount
        specified pursuant to rules promulgated by the
        Director; and
            (b) the individual is permitted to change a
        previously elected withholding status.
        (2) Amounts deducted and withheld from unemployment
    insurance shall remain in the unemployment fund until
    transferred to the Department of Revenue as a payment of
    State of Illinois income tax.
        (3) Amounts shall be deducted and withheld in
    accordance with the priorities established in rules
    promulgated by the Director.
    (E) Nothing in this Section prohibits the deduction and
withholding of an uncollected overissuance of food stamp
coupons from unemployment insurance benefits pursuant to this
subsection (E).
        (1) At the time that an individual files a claim for
    benefits that establishes his or her benefit year, that
    individual must disclose whether or not he or she owes an
    uncollected overissuance (as defined in Section 13(c)(1)
    of the federal Food Stamp Act of 1977) of food stamp
    coupons. The Director shall notify the State food stamp
    agency enforcing such obligation of any individual who
    discloses that he or she owes an uncollected overissuance
    of food stamp coupons and who meets the monetary
    eligibility requirements of subsection E of Section 500.
        (2) The Director shall deduct and withhold from any
    unemployment insurance benefits payable to an individual
    who owes an uncollected overissuance of food stamp coupons:
            (a) the amount specified by the individual to the
        Director to be deducted and withheld under this
        subsection (E);
            (b) the amount (if any) determined pursuant to an
        agreement submitted to the State food stamp agency
        under Section 13(c)(3)(A) of the federal Food Stamp Act
        of 1977; or
            (c) any amount otherwise required to be deducted
        and withheld from unemployment insurance benefits
        pursuant to Section 13(c)(3)(B) of the federal Food
        Stamp Act of 1977.
        (3) Any amount deducted and withheld pursuant to this
    subsection (E) shall be paid by the Director to the State
    food stamp agency.
        (4) Any amount deducted and withheld pursuant to this
    subsection (E) shall for all purposes be treated as if it
    were paid to the individual as unemployment insurance
    benefits and paid by the individual to the State food stamp
    agency as repayment of the individual's uncollected
    overissuance of food stamp coupons.
        (5) For purposes of this subsection (E), "unemployment
    insurance benefits" means any compensation payable under
    this Act including amounts payable by the Director pursuant
    to an agreement under any federal law providing for
    compensation, assistance, or allowances with respect to
    unemployment.
        (6) This subsection (E) applies only if arrangements
    have been made for reimbursement by the State food stamp
    agency for the administrative costs incurred by the
    Director under this subsection (E) which are attributable
    to the repayment of uncollected overissuances of food stamp
    coupons to the State food stamp agency.
(Source: P.A. 91-212, eff. 7-20-99; 91-712, eff. 7-1-00;
92-590, eff. 7-1-02.)