Illinois Administrative Code › Title 56 - LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT › Part 2865 - CLAIMANT'S AVAILABILITY FOR WORK, ABILITY TO WORK AND ACTIVE SEARCH FOR WORK › Subpart B - REGULAR BENEFITS › Section 2865.110 - Available for Work

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) An
				individual is available for work, even if he or she imposes conditions upon the
				acceptance of work, unless a condition so narrows opportunities that he or she
				has no reasonable prospect of securing work. An individual is considered
				available for work to the full extent permitted by 20 CFR 604, effective
				February 15, 2007, except when inconsistent with the express holding of
				published Illinois case law.
EXAMPLE 1: An individual who lives in a remote rural area
				  limits his availability to jobs within walking distance of his home. If few
				  jobs for which he is qualified are located within walking distance of his home,
				  it could be found that he has no reasonable prospect of securing the work and
				  therefore would not be available for work.
EXAMPLE 2: A claimant who had been a clerk at a retail store
				  is responsible for a minor child who is prevented from attending school due to
				  closures resulting from the COVID-19 virus. The individual must stay home to
				  watch his/her child until school reopens. However, the claimant is able to
				  perform work that could be performed from the isolation of his/her home (e.g.,
				  transcribing, data entry, virtual assistant services) and makes himself/herself
				  available to perform that work. While the claimant is not currently available
				  for work at a retail location, he/she is available for work due to his/her
				  availability for work that could be performed from home.
b) If domestic circumstances prevent an
				individual from working during the normal days and hours that exist in his or
				her occupation (or other work for which he or she is qualified), he or she is
				unavailable for work.
1) EXAMPLE: An
				individual, who was employed as a security guard, has children who require
				full-time care. The individual is able to obtain child care during evenings
				only, leaving him free to work nights only. Because there is a labor market for
				night-shift security guards, he would be determined to be available for
				work.
2) EXAMPLE: An individual and
				her husband obtain a divorce, and she is awarded custody of their children. She
				then quits her job as a hospital respiratory therapist because she is required
				to work rotating shifts and be on emergency call and because she wishes to
				spend all nights and weekends with her children. She states that she still
				applies for work as a respiratory therapist, but has had to eliminate from her
				list most hospitals because they will not guarantee day-shift work, the only
				time for which she will arrange child care. She would be determined to be
				unavailable for work.
3) EXAMPLE:
				When the individual is laid off from her job as a bank teller, she, in turn,
				lays off her babysitter, who is not needed so long as the individual is at
				home. She states that, if she is offered a job, she will rehire her babysitter.
				Despite the fact that she currently has no babysitter, this individual would be
				determined to be available to work.