You will not be entitled to unemployment benefits if the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) finds that you were fired for “misconduct.”

Misconduct means an employer must show that the actions that led to you being fired were:

• a deliberate and willful violation of a reasonable rule or policy of the employer, and
• that the violation harmed the employer or has been repeated despite warnings from the employer.

Your employer must prove each of these elements to the Referee. 

The Referee may find that you were not fired for misconduct if:

• You were fired because your employer thought your work was not good enough, but you tried your best to do it right,
• You did not know that what you were doing was wrong because you were never told,
• You refused to do a dangerous job after you told your employer about the danger,
• You were fired for reasons that were not related to how you do your job, or 
• You were late or did not show up to work on time but you had a good reason and told your employer you would not be able to come to work. Be ready to prove that you had a good reason and that you told your employer and this was a one-time incident. 

Think about how you will show the Referee that you were not fired because of misconduct. Write down what you want to tell the Referee and bring these notes to your hearing.