97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB1111

 

Introduced 02/07/11, by Rep. Jil Tracy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 405/901  from Ch. 48, par. 491
820 ILCS 405/902 new

    Amends the Unemployment Insurance Act. Provides that an individual who for the purpose of obtaining benefits fails to notify the Department of Employment Security when he or she quits, is discharged from work, or refuses work, or fails to look for work when required to do so, and reports to the Department that he or she searched for work, and thereby obtains any sum as benefits for which he or she is not eligible has committed unemployment insurance fraud. Provides that when any law enforcement official or the Department requests information from an employer or any other person for the purpose of detecting, prosecuting, or preventing unemployment insurance fraud, then the employer or other person shall take all reasonable actions to promptly provide the information requested, subject to any legal privilege protecting the information. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1111LRB097 08378 AEK 48505 b

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 and adding Section 902 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 405/901)  (from Ch. 48, par. 491)
7    Sec. 901. Fraud - Repayment - Ineligibility. An individual
8who, for the purpose of obtaining benefits,
9        1. knowingly makes a false statement; or
10        2. knowingly fails to disclose a material fact; ,
11        3. fails to notify the Department when he or she quits,
12    is discharged from work, or refuses work; or
13        4. fails to look for work when required to do so, and
14    reports to the Department that he or she searched for work
15and thereby obtains any sum as benefits for which he or she is
16not eligible has committed unemployment insurance fraud and:
17    A. Shall be required to repay such sum in cash, or the
18amount thereof may be recovered or recouped pursuant to the
19provisions of Section 900.
20    B. Shall be ineligible, except to the extent that such
21benefits are subject to recoupment pursuant to this Section,
22for benefits for the week in which he or she has been notified
23of the determination of the claims adjudicator referred to in

 

 

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

 

 

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1has committed the offense described in the first paragraph.
2    C. All printed forms provided and required by an employer
3or the Department or otherwise required by law as a condition
4of payment of benefits shall contain a statement, permanently
5affixed to the application or claim form, that clearly states
6in substance the following:
7        It is a crime to knowingly provide false, incomplete,
8    or misleading information to any party to an unemployment
9    security benefits transaction for the purpose of
10    committing fraud. Penalties include imprisonment, fines,
11    and denial of benefits and other sanctions as authorized by
12    law.
13    The lack of a statement required in this Section does not
14constitute a defense in any criminal prosecution under this
15Act.
16(Source: P.A. 91-342, eff. 1-1-00.)
 
17    (820 ILCS 405/902 new)
18    Sec. 902. Employer providing information about fraud.
19    (a) When any law enforcement official or the Department
20requests information from an employer or any other person for
21the purpose of detecting, prosecuting, or preventing
22unemployment insurance fraud, the employer or other person
23shall take all reasonable actions to promptly provide the
24information requested, subject to any legal privilege
25protecting the information.

 

 

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1    (b) Any employer or other person who has reasonable belief
2that an act violating Section 901 of this Act will be, is
3being, or has been committed shall furnish and disclose any
4information in its possession concerning the act to the
5appropriate law enforcement official or the Department,
6subject to any legal privilege protecting the information.
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8becoming law.