Illinois Compiled Statutes

820 ILCS 405/603 (2026)

Refusal of work

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section IL-ILGAilga.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
(820 ILCS 405/603) (from Ch. 48, par. 433)
    Sec. 603. Refusal of work. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits if he has failed, without good cause, either to apply for available, suitable work when so directed by the employment office or the Director, or to accept suitable work when offered him by the employment office or an employing unit, or to return to his customary self-employment (if any) when so directed by the employment office or the Director. Such ineligibility shall continue for the week in which such failure occurred and, thereafter, until he has become reemployed and has had earnings equal to or in excess of his 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.
    In determining whether or not any work is suitable for an individual, consideration shall be given to the degree of risk involved to his health, safety, and morals, his physical fitness and prior training, his experience and prior earnings, his length of unemployment and prospects for securing local work in his customary occupation, and the distance of the available work from his residence.
    Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, no work shall be deemed suitable and benefits shall not be denied under this Act to any otherwise eligible individual for refusing to accept new work under any of the following conditions:
    If the position offered is vacant due directly to a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute; if the wages, hours, or other conditions of the work offered are substantially less favorable to the individual than those prevailing for similar work in the locality; if, as a condition of being employed, the individual would be required to join a company union or to resign from or refrain from joining any bona fide labor organization; if the position offered is 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, when the acceptance of such other work by the individual would require the separation from that work of another individual currently performing it.
(Source: P.A. 82-22.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 1994–2020 · leading case: Petrovic v. Dep't of Emp. Sec., 2016 IL 118562 (Ill. 2016).
Petrovic v. Dep't of Emp. Sec., 2016 IL 118562 (Ill. 2016). “For example, individuals who leave work voluntarily without good cause attributable to the employing unit (820 ILCS 405/601 (West 2012)), individuals who are discharged for misconduct connected with their work (820 ILCS 405/602 (West 2012)), and individuals who fail to apply for…”
Lester v. Dep't of Emp. Sec., 819 N.E.2d 1143 (Ill. App. Ct. 2004). · cites it 2× “After her claim was denied by an adjudicator and a referee, plaintiff appealed to the Board of Review (Board), which affirmed these decisions, stating that plaintiff was ineligible for benefits because she failed, without good cause, to accept suitable work offered by her former…”
Petrovic v. The Dep't of Emp. Sec., 2016 IL 118562 (Ill. 2016). “For example, individuals who leave work voluntarily without good cause attributable to the employing unit (820 ILCS 405/601 (West 2012)), individuals who are discharged for misconduct connected with their work (820 ILCS 405/602 (West 2012)), and individuals who fail to apply for…”
Chicago Transit Auth. v. Didrickson, 659 N.E.2d 28 (Ill. App. Ct. 1995). “where the claimant is an independent contractor (820 ILCS 405/212 (West 1994)), where the claimant’s principal occupation is that of a student (820 ILCS 405/500(0(4) (West 1994)), where the claimant is unemployed due to a work stoppage which exists because of a labor dispute…”
Hawkins v. Dep't of Emp. Sec., 645 N.E.2d 428 (Ill. App. Ct. 1994). “433 (now 820 ILCS 405/603 (West 1992)).) Kartridg-Pak has no application to the case at bar.”
Am. Kitchen Delights, Inc. v. Illinois Dep't of Emp. Sec., 2020 IL App (1st) 190786-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2020). · cites it 4× “(American Kitchen), appeals the order of the circuit court affirming a final administrative decision of the Board of, defendant-appellee, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (the Department), which determined that No.”
Lester v. Dep't of Emp. Sec. (Ill. App. Ct. 2004). · cites it 2× “After her claim was denied by an adjudicator and a referee, plaintiff appealed to the Board of Review (Board), which affirmed these decisions, stating that plaintiff was ineligible for benefits because she failed, without good cause, to accept suitable work offered by her former…”
Petrovic v. Dep't of Emp. Sec., 2016 IL 118562 (Ill. 2016). “For example, individuals who leave work voluntarily without good cause attributable to the employing unit (820 ILCS 405/601 (West 2012)), individuals who are discharged for misconduct connected with their work (820 ILCS 405/602 (West 2012)), and individuals who fail to apply for…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.