102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB2945

 

Introduced 2/19/2021, by Rep. Barbara Hernandez - Jonathan Carroll

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 405/901  from Ch. 48, par. 491

    Amends the Unemployment Insurance Act to provide that, during the pendency of a disaster period established by gubernatorial proclamation in response to COVID-19, provisions concerning ineligibility as a result of unemployment insurance fraud shall not apply to individuals who are otherwise entitled to receive unemployment insurance benefits provided the fraud occurred before the issuance of the gubernatorial disaster proclamation. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by
5changing Section 901 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 405/901)  (from Ch. 48, par. 491)
7    Sec. 901. Fraud - Repayment - Ineligibility.
8    (1) An individual who, for the purpose of obtaining
9benefits, knowingly makes a false statement or knowingly fails
10to disclose a material fact, and thereby obtains any sum as
11benefits for which he is not eligible:
12        A. Shall be required to repay such sum in cash, or the
13    amount thereof may be recovered or recouped pursuant to
14    the provisions of Section 900.
15        B. Shall be ineligible, except to the extent that such
16    benefits are subject to recoupment pursuant to this
17    Section, for benefits for the week in which he or she has
18    been notified of the determination of the claims
19    adjudicator referred to in Section 702 that he or she has
20    committed the offense described in the first paragraph
21    and, thereafter, for 6 weeks (with respect to each of
22    which he or she would be eligible for benefits but for the
23    provisions of this paragraph, not including weeks for

 

 

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1    which such benefits are subject to recoupment pursuant to
2    this Section) for the first offense, and for 2 additional
3    weeks (with respect to each of which he or she would be
4    eligible for benefits but for the provisions of this
5    paragraph, not including weeks for which such benefits are
6    subject to recoupment pursuant to this Section) for each
7    subsequent offense. For the purposes of this paragraph, a
8    separate offense shall be deemed to have been committed in
9    each week for which such an individual has received a sum
10    as benefits for which he or she was not eligible. No
11    ineligibility under the provisions of this paragraph shall
12    accrue with respect to any week beginning after whichever
13    of the following occurs first: (1) 26 weeks (with respect
14    to each of which the individual would be eligible for
15    benefits but for the provisions of this paragraph, not
16    including weeks for which such benefits are subject to
17    recoupment pursuant to this Section) have elapsed since
18    the date that he or she is notified of the determination of
19    the claims adjudicator referred to in Section 702 that he
20    or she has committed the offense described in the first
21    paragraph, or (2) 2 years have elapsed since the date that
22    he or she is notified of the determination of the claims
23    adjudicator referred to in Section 702 that he or she has
24    committed the offense described in the first paragraph.
25    (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), if the individual's
26benefit year begins on or after March 8, 2020, but prior to the

 

 

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1week following the last week of the disaster period
2established by the gubernatorial disaster proclamation in
3response to COVID-19 dated March 9, 2020 and any subsequent
4gubernatorial disaster proclamation in response to COVID-19,
5the penalties and requirements of paragraph B of subsection
6(1) shall not apply to such individuals who are otherwise
7entitled to receive benefits under this Act as long as the
8false statement or failure to disclose a material fact in
9subsection (1) occurred before March 9, 2020. Nothing in this
10Section shall be construed to relieve an individual from any
11penalties imposed under paragraph B of subsection (1), and
12upon expiration of the disaster period established by the
13gubernatorial disaster proclamation in response to COVID-19
14dated March 9, 2020 and any subsequent gubernatorial disaster
15proclamation in response to COVID-19, such penalties may be
16imposed.
17(Source: P.A. 91-342, eff. 1-1-00.)
 
18    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
19becoming law.