WAG 09-03-01-g: Unemployment Insurance Benefits

PM 09-03-01-g.

Eligibility for UI is based on the unemployed worker's earnings during a 12-month "base period". To be entitled to UI, a person must be:

  • available for full-time work;
  • actively looking for work; and
  • registered with the local Employment Service office.

The wage verification file inquiry (AWVS) shows the actual dollar amount of wages reported to the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) by quarter from each employer.

  1. (FCRC) Determine the potential eligibility for UI for each adult and for each child over age 16 who is not enrolled in school:
    • at intake; and
    • when an active client loses employment; and
    • at the next 2 scheduled REDEs after the loss of employment.
  2. (FCRC) Complete the "Potential Eligibility for Unemployment Insurance" screen (UI Screen) in AIS or ACM to determine potential eligibility for UI.
    1. (FCRC) Using the AWVS screen, run an AWVS clearance on the client's SSN to determine potential eligibility for UI.
    2. (FCRC) Enter on the UI screen, under "Month Claim to be Filed", the present month and year (4-digit date). This represents the month the claim would be filed if the client were to immediately apply for UI.
    3. (System) Identifies the 12-month base period used to determine eligibility for UI. It divides the base period into its 4 quarters and enters them in chronological order under the quarter fields.
    4. (FCRC)  Enter the actual wages from the client's AWVS clearance under the appropriate quarter(s). More than one dollar amount may be entered under a quarter when the client held more than one job in the quarter.

      To access information from past quarters, enter the 1-position quarter and the 4-position year on the Potential Eligibility for Unemployment Insurance screen.

      NOTE: Not all wages show up on the AWVS, such as wages paid in cash, or wages from certain Federal agencies such as the U.S. Postal Service.

      Other wages that do not show up on AWVS are those for persons who live in Illinois, but who work in another state.

      Missouri wages can be found on the Key Information Delivery System (KIDS). 

  3. (FCRC) Verify wages not on the AWVS. Show in the write-up how the income was verified. Enter the wages under the appropriate quarter(s). When the client held more than one job in a quarter, enter all appropriate dollar amounts.
  4. (System)  Determines potential eligibility for UI from the actual dollar amounts entered for the base period.

    A client is potentially eligible to receive UI if they: 

    • earned at least $1,600 during the base period; and
    • earned at least $440 outside the highest earnings quarter.
    1. Sends one of the following messages to the FCRC:
      • "Participant is potentially eligible for UI."
      • "At this time the participant is not eligible for UI. Eligibility for UI may occur in the future, depending on the Participant's employment record."

        Example: Mrs. J has 4 children ages 10, 12, 13, and 16. She has been employed for over 2 years and has had her earnings budgeted. On 09/10/01 Mrs. J calls her worker and says she has been laid off.

        The worker runs an AWVS clearance on Mrs. J's SSN. The worker then calls up the optional "Potential Eligibility for Unemployment Insurance (UI)" screen on ACM and enters 09/01 under "Month Claim to be Filed" on the screen.

        The system identifies the months of the base period as 07/00 through 06/01 and identifies the 4 quarters of the base period as 3/00, 4/00, 1/01, and 2/01. The AWVS clearance shows for each of the 4 quarters. The caseworker enters the actual dollar amount under each quarter field.

        The system determines that Mrs. J is potentially eligible for UI, since she earned at least $1,600 during the base period and at least $440 outside the highest earnings quarter. The system returns the message "Participant is potentially eligible for UI."

        Since Mrs. J is potentially eligible for UI and not exempt from work and training activities, she must apply for UI as a condition of her ongoing eligibility for TANF. 

  5. (FCRC) Tell the client to take evidence of employment earnings, such as W-2 forms, pay stubs, or the names of employers, to the IDES office when they are required to apply for UI.

NOTE: The UI office provides the client with an ID card, ISES-488. If an application for UI benefits has been filed, the notation of new, reopened, or extended claim may be entered on ISES-488.