The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 to be an international pandemic. What rights do Illinois employees have when it comes to health, safety, employment, and unemployment?
Temporarily Laid Off Illinois Employees Can Collect Unemployment Benefits
If you work for a major airline, hotel, retail company or restaurant, it's likely COVID-19 shutdowns have interrupted or otherwise halted your work schedule. If you were laid off because of a COVID-19 layoff, you should apply for unemployment benefits. According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), "An individual temporarily laid off in this situation could qualify for benefits as long as he or she was able and available for and actively seeking work. Under emergency rules IDES recently adopted, the individual would not have to register with the employment service. He or she would be considered to be actively seeking work as long as the individual was prepared to return to his or her job as soon the employer reopened."
On March 19, 2020, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced the immediate closure of offices to in-person applicants. If you are unemployed at this time, please be advised you can apply for benefits via the IDES’ online website: https://www2.illinois.gov/ides/Pages/default.aspx
If You Call in Sick, It Is Pefectly Legal for Your Job To Ask About Your Symptoms
During the COVID-19 emergency, how much information may an employer request from an employee who calls in sick, in order to protect the rest of its workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic? According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), "During a pandemic, ADA-covered employers may ask such employees if they are experiencing symptoms of the pandemic virus. For COVID-19, these include symptoms such as fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat. Employers must maintain all information about employee illness as a confidential medical record in compliance with the ADA."
Further, according to the EEOC, when employees return to work, employers can require doctors’ notes certifying the employee's fitness for duty. "Such inquiries are permitted under the ADA either because they would not be disability-related or, if the pandemic influenza were truly severe, they would be justified under the ADA standards for disability-related inquiries of employees. As a practical matter, however, doctors and other health care professionals may be too busy during and immediately after a pandemic outbreak to provide fitness-for-duty documentation. Therefore, new approaches may be necessary, such as reliance on local clinics to provide a form, a stamp, or an e-mail to certify that an individual does not have the pandemic virus."
Just Because You Feel Fine, Doesn't Mean You Can Come Into Work
It is perfectly legal for your job to require you to stay at home if you have symptoms of COVID-19. Why? According to the EEOC, the ADA allows employers to require employees to stay home if they have symptoms of the COVID-19. This is because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that employees who become ill with symptoms of COVID-19 should leave the workplace. The EEOC further states, "The ADA does not interfere with employers following this advice."
Due to High Volume in Claims, IL Unemployment Office Now Has Scheduled Filing Times By Last Name
Unemployment claims skyrocketed overnight during the COVID-19 emergency. To handle this, IDES added the following announcement to their website:
In order to process the extremely high volume of unemployment benefit claims due to COVID-19, IDES has implemented the following schedule for those filing claims online and over the phone:
Online Filing Schedule:
Those with last names beginning with letters A-M will be asked to file their claims on Sundays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays.
Those with last names beginning with letters N-Z will be asked to file their claims on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays.
Saturdays will be available for anyone to accommodate those who could not file during their allotted window.
Call Center Filing Schedule:
Those with last names beginning with letters A-M will be asked to call on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 7:30am – 6pm.
Those with last names beginning with letters N-Z will be asked to call on Mondays and Wednesdays between 7:30am – 6pm.
Fridays (7:30am – 6pm) will be available for anyone to accommodate those who could not file during their allotted window.
The day or time of day in which a claim is filed will not impact whether you receive benefits or your benefit amount. Additionally, claims will be back-dated to reflect the date in which a claimant was laid-off or let go from their job due to COVID-19.
Note: The days in which you can file a claim may be different from the days in which you are asked to certify.
