SB3009 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 22163 KTG 31292 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB3009

Introduced 1/5/2022, by Sen. Linda Holmes

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

820 ILCS 405/612

from Ch. 48, par. 442

Amends the Unemployment Insurance Act. In a provision making certain academic personnel ineligible for unemployment benefits during the period between 2 successive academic years if there is a reasonable assurance such individuals would perform services for the educational institution during the period immediately following the first academic year or term, provides that in order for there to be "reasonable assurance" certain requirements must be met, including, but not limited to: (i) the educational institution has made an offer of employment in the following academic year or term that is either written, oral, or implied; (ii) the employment offered in the following academic year or term is in the same capacity; and (iii) based on a totality of the circumstances, it is highly probable that there is a job available for the claimant in the following academic year or term. Requires determinations by the Department of Employment Security to be done on a case-by-case basis. Requires each educational institution to provide the Department, in a form prescribed by the Director of Employment Security, no less than 10 business days prior to the end of the academic year or term: (1) a list of all employees who the educational institution has concluded do not have a reasonable assurance of employment in the following academic year or term; and (2) for each employee that the educational institution maintains does have a reasonable assurance of employment in the following academic year or term, a statement explaining the manner in which the employee was given a reasonable assurance of employment. Provides that an educational institution's failure to provide the statement required under item (2) shall result in a rebuttable presumption that the claimant does not have a reasonable assurance of employment in the following academic year or term. Provides that any rules adopted to implement the amendatory Act must meet federal requirements.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning employment.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by changing Section 612 as follows:

(820 ILCS 405/612) (from Ch. 48, par. 442)

Sec. 612. Academic personnel; ineligibility personnel - ineligibility between academic years or terms.

A. Benefits based on wages for services which are employment under the provisions of Sections 211.1, 211.2, and 302C shall be payable in the same amount, on the same terms, and subject to the same conditions as benefits payable on the basis of wages for other services which are employment under this Act; except that:

1. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits, on the basis of wages for employment in an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity performed for an institution of higher education, for any week which begins during the period between two successive academic years, or during a similar period between two regular terms, whether or not successive, or during a period of paid sabbatical leave provided for in the individual's contract, if the individual has a contract or contracts to perform services in any such capacity for any institution or institutions of higher education for both such academic years or both such terms.

This paragraph 1 shall apply with respect to any week which begins prior to January 1, 1978.

2. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits, on the basis of wages for service in employment in any capacity other than those referred to in paragraph 1, performed for an institution of higher learning, for any week which begins after September 30, 1983, during a period between two successive academic years or terms, if the individual performed such service in the first of such academic years or terms and there is a reasonable assurance that the individual will perform such service in the second of such academic years or terms.

3. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits, on the basis of wages for service in employment in any capacity other than those referred to in paragraph 1, performed for an institution of higher education, for any week which begins after January 5, 1985, during an established and customary vacation period or holiday recess, if the individual performed such service in the period immediately before such vacation period or holiday recess and there is a reasonable assurance that the individual will perform such service in the period immediately following such vacation period or holiday recess.

B. Benefits based on wages for services which are employment under the provisions of Sections 211.1 and 211.2 shall be payable in the same amount, on the same terms, and subject to the same conditions, as benefits payable on the basis of wages for other services which are employment under this Act, except that:

1. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits, on the basis of wages for service in employment in an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity performed for an educational institution, for any week which begins after December 31, 1977, during a period between two successive academic years, or during a similar period between two regular terms, whether or not successive, or during a period of paid sabbatical leave provided for in the individual's contract, if the individual performed such service in the first of such academic years (or terms) and if there is a contract or a reasonable assurance that the individual will perform service in any such capacity for any educational institution in the second of such academic years (or terms).

2. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits, on the basis of wages for service in employment in any capacity other than those referred to in paragraph 1, performed for an educational institution, for any week which begins after December 31, 1977, during a period between two successive academic years or terms, if the individual performed such service in the first of such academic years or terms and there is a reasonable assurance that the individual will perform such service in the second of such academic years or terms.

3. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits, on the basis of wages for service in employment in any capacity performed for an educational institution, for any week which begins after January 5, 1985, during an established and customary vacation period or holiday recess, if the individual performed such service in the period immediately before such vacation period or holiday recess and there is a reasonable assurance that the individual will perform such service in the period immediately following such vacation period or holiday recess.

4. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits on the basis of wages for service in employment in any capacity performed in an educational institution while in the employ of an educational service agency for any week which begins after January 5, 1985, (a) during a period between two successive academic years or terms, if the individual performed such service in the first of such academic years or terms and there is a reasonable assurance that the individual will perform such service in the second of such academic years or terms; and (b) during an established and customary vacation period or holiday recess, if the individual performed such service in the period immediately before such vacation period or holiday recess and there is a reasonable assurance that the individual will perform such service in the period immediately following such vacation period or holiday recess. The term "educational service agency" means a governmental agency or governmental entity which is established and operated exclusively for the purpose of providing such services to one or more educational institutions.

C. 1. If benefits are denied to any individual under the provisions of paragraph 2 of either subsection A or B of this Section for any week which begins on or after September 3, 1982 and such individual is not offered a bona fide opportunity to perform such services for the educational institution for the second of such academic years or terms, such individual shall be entitled to a retroactive payment of benefits for each week for which the individual filed a timely claim for benefits as determined by the rules and regulations issued by the Director for the filing of claims for benefits, provided that such benefits were denied solely because of the provisions of paragraph 2 of either subsection A or B of this Section.

2. If benefits on the basis of wages for service in employment in other than an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity performed in an educational institution while in the employ of an educational service agency are denied to any individual under the provisions of subparagraph (a) of paragraph 4 of subsection B and such individual is not offered a bona fide opportunity to perform such services in an educational institution while in the employ of an educational service agency for the second of such academic years or terms, such individual shall be entitled to a retroactive payment of benefits for each week for which the individual filed a timely claim for benefits as determined by the rules and regulations issued by the Director for the filing of claims for benefits, provided that such benefits were denied solely because of subparagraph (a) of paragraph 4 of subsection B of this Section.

D. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Section or paragraph 2 of subsection C of Section 500 to the contrary, with respect to a week of unemployment beginning on or after March 15, 2020, and before September 4, 2021, (including any week of unemployment beginning on or after January 1, 2021 and on or before June 25, 2021 (the effective date of Public Act 102-26) this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly), benefits shall be payable to an individual on the basis of wages for employment in other than an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity performed for an educational institution or an educational service agency under any of the circumstances described in this Section, to the extent permitted under Section 3304(a)(6) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, as long as the individual is otherwise eligible for benefits.

E. 1. For the purposes of this Section, in order for there to be a "reasonable assurance" all of the following requirements shall be met:

(a) The educational institution has made an offer of employment in the following academic year or term that is either written, oral, or implied.

(b) The offer of employment in the following academic year or term was made by an individual with actual authority to offer employment.

(c) The employment offered in the following academic year or term is in the same capacity.

(d) The economic conditions of the employment offered may not be considerably less in the following academic year or term than in the then current academic year or term. As used in this subparagraph, "considerably less" means that the claimant will earn less than 90% of the amount the claimant earned in the then current academic year or term.

(e) The offer of employment in the following academic year or term is not contingent upon a factor or factors that are within the educational institution's control, including, but not limited to, course programming, decisions on how to allocate available funding, final course offerings, program changes, and facility availability.

(f) Based on a totality of the circumstances, it is highly probable that there is a job available for the claimant in the following academic year or term. If a job offer contains a contingency, primary weight should be given to the contingent nature of the offer of employment. Contingencies that are not necessarily within the educational institution's control, such as funding, enrollment, and seniority, may be taken into consideration but the existence of any one contingency should not determine whether it is highly probably that there is a job available for the claimant in the following academic year or term.

2. Determinations by the Department whether claimants have a reasonable assurance shall be done on a case-by-case basis.

3. Each educational institution shall provide the following to the Department, in a form, including electronic form, prescribed by the Director, no less than 10 business days prior to the end of the academic year or term:

(a) a list of all employees who the educational institution has concluded do not have a reasonable assurance of employment in the following academic year or term, along with information prescribed by the Director regarding each such employee, which information shall include, but not be limited to, name and social security number; and

(b) for each employee that the educational institution maintains does have a reasonable assurance of employment in the following academic year or term, a statement explaining the manner in which the employee was given a reasonable assurance of employment, that is, whether it was in writing, oral, or implied, and what information about the offer, including contingencies, was communicated to the individual.

4. The statement required under subparagraph (b) of paragraph 3 may be used by the Department in its analysis under paragraphs 1 and 2, but it does not conclusively demonstrate that the claimant has a reasonable assurance of employment in the following academic year or term.

5. Failure of an educational institution to provide the statement required under subparagraph (b) of paragraph 3 not less than 10 business days prior to the end of the academic year or term shall result in a rebuttable presumption that the claimant does not have a reasonable assurance of employment in the following academic year or term. This rebuttable presumption shall give rise to an inference that the claimant does not have a reasonable assurance of employment in the following academic year or term, but shall not conclusively demonstrate that the claimant does not have a reasonable assurance of employment in the following academic year or term.

6. Any rules adopted to implement this subsection shall meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the State or the granting of federal unemployment tax credits to employers in this State.

(Source: P.A. 101-633, eff. 6-5-20; 102-26, eff. 6-25-21; revised 8-3-21.)