COVID-19 Shuts Down Jobs But Provides Financial Security for Some Employees

All Illinois Department of Employment Security offices are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the state agency reported nearly 600,000 unemployment claims have been filed online since April 25, 2020. Photo credit: Wendell Hutson
All Illinois Department of Employment Security offices are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the state agency reported nearly 600,000 unemployment claims have been filed online since April 25, 2020. Photo credit: Wendell Hutson

COVID-19 Shuts Down Jobs But Provides Financial Security for Some Employees

BY WENDELL HUTSON

Contributing Writer

Before he lost his job as a dishwasher at Covene Hospitality in Chicago, Oscar Ross said he struggled to pay his household bills, but thanks to new, federal legislation, he is no longer worried how he will make ends meet.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put thousands of Illinois residents out of work and caused unemployment insurance claims to skyrocket, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), which recorded nearly 600,000 claims as of April 25.

Ross, a 57-year-old husband, father and grandfather, is among those employees that lost his job due to the virus outbreak.

“I am receiving a little more now in unemployment than when I was working, but I’d rather be back at work. I expect to be called back to work next month, so hopefully I won’t be out of work too much longer,” explained Ross, a South Shore resident. “I will admit though, the extra $600 on my unemployment check has made it easier to pay my bills and I can see why some people are not eager to go back to work.”

As part of the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act those receiving unemployment will receive an additional $600 per week until July and have their unemployment benefits extended to 39 weeks from 26 weeks.

Laid off workers receiving more in unemployment than when they were working has become all too common these days especially for many low-wage workers like Geneva McDonald, who said she makes $14 per hour as a part-time cashier at a Family Dollar store.

“This job is for the birds. I bring home less [than] $500 every two weeks after taxes and I could be receiving at least $1,000 every two weeks [after taxes] if I was collecting unemployment,” contends McDonald, 39. “I already checked to see what my benefits would be a if I lose my job, and it makes no sense for me to keep working when I can get more money in unemployment and spend more time with my kids if I were laid off or fired.”

According to the IDES, McDonald would be ineligible for unemployment if she were to quit her job or intentionally did something to get fired, which is described as “misconduct” under eligibility rules by IDES.

Gov. JB Pritzker said independent contractors would be able to file for unemployment benefits by mid-May, and that additional resources are being allotted to the IDES to help process claims faster.

“Our state unemployment filing systems, which were built a decade ago for a much lower number of claims, simply haven’t kept pace,” Pritzker said at a recent COVID-19 news conference. “This was the painful truth that we discovered when unemployment began to spike. “[And] so many families are hurting at a scale this country hasn’t seen ever in our lifetimes.”

He added the state is upgrading the website for the IDES and establishing an outside call center to help process claims faster by hiring an additional 200 customer service agents.

On March 27, President Donald Trump signed into law the CARES Act, which gives states the option of extending unemployment compensation to independent contractors and other workers who are ordinarily ineligible for unemployment benefits. But before that, on March 18, Trump signed into law the FFCR Act (Families First Coronavirus Response), which provided additional flexibility for state unemployment insurance agencies and additional administrative funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), states are now able to process unemployment claims from individuals who are self-employed or those who would otherwise not qualify for regular unemployment compensation. That means babysitters, landscapers, ride-sharing drivers, tutors, dog walkers, and even freelance writers are eligible to receive benefits due to work shortage from COVID-19. But to qualify for PUA benefits, a person must not be eligible for regular unemployment benefits and be unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work because of certain health or economic consequences.

And while weekly benefits for unemployment insurance varies from state to state, the current maximum in Illinois for a single individual is $471; for married with a non-working spouse it’s jumps to $561 and $648 for those with children.

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