After a long negotiation between organized labor and the business community, an agreement on unemployment insurance reform has been reached.
“The agreement reached on UI will go a long way in helping small employers in Illinois not only save money on UI taxes, but keep the integrity of their workplace intact when an employee violates workplace rules,” said Kim Clarke Maisch, state director of NFIB/Illinois, who participated in the negotiations.
“Governor Rauner’s leadership on this issue is appreciated and we believe this agreement is a step in the right direction as we seek to make this state business friendly again,” she said.
In the spring, Gov. Bruce Rauner asked both sides to sit down and hammer out a deal that would change the “misconduct” definition under Illinois’ unemployment insurance law. The governor campaigned on changing the UI law to prevent benefits from going to claimants who violated workplace rules and policies, or committed other egregious acts.
Employers feel strongly that if they fire someone who has violated their workplace rules or who puts themselves or others at risk, those employees should not be eligible for unemployment benefits.
Employers’ UI taxes increase when filed UI claims are successful, adding to the already high cost of doing business in Illinois.
Under current law, in order for an employer to successfully challenge a claimant who is seeking UI benefits the employer must either show that the employee voluntarily quit, or was involved in misconduct in the workplace. Unfortunately, the definition of “misconduct” in the UI act was so high with a “willful and deliberate” legal standard that it was hard to prove.
For decades, employers have tried to get a change in the state’s UI “misconduct” definition. Under the agreement, some of the most common violations like excessive tardiness and absenteeism will be addressed, along with drugs and alcohol, negligent acts in the workplace, providing false documents during the hiring process as well as failing to maintain employer required licenses needed to perform the job.
In exchange for the new misconduct language, organized labor asked to remove the Social Security offset, which allows IL to count as income social security benefits thereby reducing UI benefit payouts to those who qualify. Illinois was one of only a few states who still as a Social Security offset in place.
Also removed were “speed bumps” that would have hiked UI taxes and reduced UI benefits starting in 2016.
The Illinois General Assembly is expected to pass the bill this week. It would take effect on Jan. 1, 2016.
CHANGES TO ILLINOIS “MISCONDUCT” DEFINITION
Change Section 602 as follows:
“For the purposes of this subsection, the term “misconduct” means the deliberate and willful violation of a reasonable rule or policy of the employing unit, governing the individual’s behavior in the performance of his work, provided such violation has harmed the employing unit or other employees or has been repeated by the individual despite a warning or explicit instruction from the employing unit, The previous definition notwithstanding, ‘misconduct’ shall include an individual’s discharge for one or more of the following work-related circumstances:
a) Separation initiated by the employer for falsification of an employment application or any other documentation provided to the employer to obtain employment through subterfuge;
b) Failure to maintain employer reasonably required licenses, registrations and certifications, or those that the individual is required to possess by law, to perform his or her regular job duties unless the failure is not in control of the individual;
c) Knowing, repeated violation of the attendance policies of the employer that are in compliance with state and federal law following a written warning for an attendance violation unless the individual can demonstrate that he or she has made a reasonable effort to remedy the reason or reasons for the violations or that the reason or reasons for the violations was out of the individuals control. Attendance policies of the employer shall be reasonable and provided to the individual in writing, electronically, or via posting in the workplace;
d) Damaging the employer’s property through conduct that is grossly negligent;
e) Refusal to obey an employer’s reasonable and lawful instruction unless the refusal is due to the lack of ability, skills or training for the individual required to obey the instruction or the instruction would result in an unsafe act;
f) Consuming alcohol or illegal or non-prescribed prescription drugs or any off-label use of an impairing substance on the employer’s premises during working hours in violation of the employer’s policies or reporting to work under the influence of alcohol or illegal or non-prescribed prescription drugs or any off-label use of an impairing substance in violation of the employer’s policies unless compelled to report to work by the employer outside of scheduled and on-call working hours. However, if compelled to report to work by the employer, the employee shall inform the employer if they are under the influence of alcohol or illegal or non-prescribed prescription drugs or any off-label use of an impairing substance in violation of the employer’s policies. Nothing in this subsection prohibits the lawful use of over-the-counter medicines as defined by the llinois Controlled Substance Act, provided that the medication does not affect the safe performance of the employee’s work duties; or
g) Grossly negligent conduct endangering the safety of the individual or co-workers;
For purposes of subsections (d) and (g) in section 602 conduct is “grossly negligent” when the individual is, or reasonably should be, aware of a substantial risk that the conduct will result in the harm sought to be prevented and the conduct constitutes a substantial deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would exercise in the situation.
