Illinois Code § 820 ILCS 405/601

Voluntary leaving.
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A. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits for the week in which the individual has left work voluntarily without good cause attributable to the employing unit and, thereafter, until the individual has become reemployed and has had earnings equal to or in excess of the individual's current weekly benefit amount in each of four calendar weeks which are either for services in employment, or have been or will be reported pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act by each employing unit for which such services are performed and which submits a statement certifying to that fact. 
 
B. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to an individual who has left work voluntarily: 
 
 
1. Because the individual, prior to voluntarily 
 
leaving: 
 
 
 
(a) is deemed physically unable to perform the 
 
 
individual's work by a licensed and practicing physician, licensed and practicing nurse practitioner, or licensed and practicing physician assistant and the employer is unable to accommodate the individual;
 
 
 
(b) for claims dated December 28, 2025 through 
 
 
December 24, 2028, is deemed to be unable to perform the individual's work due to a mental health disability by a licensed and practicing psychiatrist and the employer is unable to accommodate the individual; or
 
 
 
(c) is providing necessary assistance to care for 
 
 
the individual's spouse, child, or parent who, according to a licensed and practicing physician or as otherwise reasonably verified, is in poor physical or mental health or is a person with a mental or physical disability and the employer is unable to accommodate the individual's need to provide such assistance; 
 
 
2. To accept other bona fide work and, after such 
 
acceptance, the individual is either not unemployed in each of 2 weeks, or earns remuneration for such work equal to at least twice the individual's current weekly benefit amount; 
 
 
3. In lieu of accepting a transfer to other work 
 
offered to the individual by the employing unit under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or pursuant to an established employer plan, program, or policy, if the acceptance of such other work by the individual would require the separation from that work of another individual currently performing it; 
 
 
4. Solely because of the sexual harassment of the 
 
individual by another employee. Sexual harassment means (1) unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated physical contact or other conduct or communication which is made a term or condition of the employment or (2) the employee's submission to or rejection of such conduct or communication which is the basis for decisions affecting employment, or (3) when such conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment and the employer knows or should know of the existence of the harassment and fails to take timely and appropriate action; 
 
 
5. Which the individual had accepted after separation 
 
from other work, and the work which the individual left voluntarily would be deemed unsuitable under the provisions of Section 603; 
 
 
6.(a) Because the individual left work due to 
 
verified domestic violence as defined in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 where the domestic violence caused the individual to reasonably believe that the individual's continued employment would jeopardize the individual's safety or the safety of the individual's spouse, minor child, or parent
 
 
if the individual provides the following: 
 
 
 
(i) notice to the employing unit of the reason 
 
 
for the individual's voluntarily leaving; and 
 
 
 
(ii) to the Department provides: 
 
 
 
 
(A) an order of protection or other 
 
 
 
documentation of equitable relief issued by a court of competent jurisdiction; or
 
 
 
 
(B) a police report or criminal charges 
 
 
 
documenting the domestic violence; or 
 
 
 
 
(C) medical documentation of the domestic 
 
 
 
violence; or 
 
 
 
 
(D) evidence of domestic violence from a 
 
 
 
member of the clergy, attorney, counselor, social worker, health worker or domestic violence shelter worker.
 
 
(b) If the individual does not meet the provisions of 
 
subparagraph (a), the individual shall be held to have voluntarily terminated employment for the purpose of determining the individual's eligibility for benefits pursuant to subsection A. 
 
 
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision to the 
 
contrary, evidence of domestic violence experienced by an individual, or the individual's spouse, minor child, or parent, including the individual's statement and corroborating evidence, shall not be disclosed by the Department unless consent for disclosure is given by the individual. 
 
 
7. Because, due to a change in location of employment 
 
of the individual's spouse, the individual left work to accompany the individual's spouse to a place from which it is impractical to commute or because the individual left employment to accompany a spouse who has been reassigned from one military assignment to another. The employer's account, however, shall not be charged for any benefits paid out to the individual who leaves work under a circumstance described in this paragraph. 
 
C. Within 90 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the Department shall promulgate rules, pursuant to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and consistent with Section 903(f)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act, to clarify and provide guidance regarding eligibility and the prevention of fraud. 
 
D. On or before January 1, 2030, the Department shall file a report with the General Assembly setting forth the estimated fiscal impact of subparagraph (b) of paragraph 1 of subsection B of Section 601 on the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. 

leaving:
individual's work by a licensed and practicing physician, licensed and practicing nurse practitioner, or licensed and practicing physician assistant and the employer is unable to accommodate the individual;
December 24, 2028, is deemed to be unable to perform the individual's work due to a mental health disability by a licensed and practicing psychiatrist and the employer is unable to accommodate the individual; or
the individual's spouse, child, or parent who, according to a licensed and practicing physician or as otherwise reasonably verified, is in poor physical or mental health or is a person with a mental or physical disability and the employer is unable to accommodate the individual's need to provide such assistance;
acceptance, the individual is either not unemployed in each of 2 weeks, or earns remuneration for such work equal to at least twice the individual's current weekly benefit amount;
offered to the individual by the employing unit under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or pursuant to an established employer plan, program, or policy, if the acceptance of such other work by the individual would require the separation from that work of another individual currently performing it;
individual by another employee. Sexual harassment means (1) unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated physical contact or other conduct or communication which is made a term or condition of the employment or (2) the employee's submission to or rejection of such conduct or communication which is the basis for decisions affecting employment, or (3) when such conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment and the employer knows or should know of the existence of the harassment and fails to take timely and appropriate action;
from other work, and the work which the individual left voluntarily would be deemed unsuitable under the provisions of Section 603;
verified domestic violence as defined in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 where the domestic violence caused the individual to reasonably believe that the individual's continued employment would jeopardize the individual's safety or the safety of the individual's spouse, minor child, or parent
for the individual's voluntarily leaving; and
documentation of equitable relief issued by a court of competent jurisdiction; or
documenting the domestic violence; or
violence; or
member of the clergy, attorney, counselor, social worker, health worker or domestic violence shelter worker.
subparagraph (a), the individual shall be held to have voluntarily terminated employment for the purpose of determining the individual's eligibility for benefits pursuant to subsection A.
contrary, evidence of domestic violence experienced by an individual, or the individual's spouse, minor child, or parent, including the individual's statement and corroborating evidence, shall not be disclosed by the Department unless consent for disclosure is given by the individual.
of the individual's spouse, the individual left work to accompany the individual's spouse to a place from which it is impractical to commute or because the individual left employment to accompany a spouse who has been reassigned from one military assignment to another. The employer's account, however, shall not be charged for any benefits paid out to the individual who leaves work under a circumstance described in this paragraph.

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