Still heading south:
In addition to tightening requirements, states have found other means to keep people from receiving benefits:
Has the economy made it arder to get unemployment benefits?
Not every terminated employee is eligible to receive unemployment benefits. You have to earn a minimum amount to even qualify; you cannot quit or be fired for cause, as defined by Illinois law; and you must actively search for alternative employment. With these requirements in mind, the Illinois Department of Employment Insurance (IDES) has, in the past, generally appeared to lean in favor of the employee when determining eligibility.
However, through working with both executives and small business owners, my office has been seeing a shift. I am not sure if state budget pressures are pushing this change, but IDES employees have been seemingly going out of their way to contact small business owners and encourage them to contest unemployment claims.