Temp agency protesting a year later...

by Caroline
(Illinois)

Hi,
I worked for a temp agency back in July of 2009. I worked for them for 5 weeks and they told me that they did not need me for that position any longer. I filed for unemployment the second week of August of 2009. I received unemployment benefits until I began another job through a totally different company in October of 2009. I was let go from that position in January of 2010 because I could not learn the position. I again received unemployment benefits from February of 2010 until April of 2010 when I began another position at a different company. I was laid off from this position and am again receiving unemployment benefits. Now, the temp agency that I received unempl benefits from in August of 2009 is protesting and the IL dept of empl is saying that I owe them nearly $4,000 from all the unempl benefits I received even after the other positions I held at other companies. I have a hearing later this month. Do companies not have a certain time limit in which to protest claims? Can the temp agency come back nearly a year later and say that I was let go because I did not call the agency one day when I left early for a family emergency? This does not seem fair to me when I worked at the other places after that temp agency. Please help in any way you can. Seems like every time I talk to someone different at the unempl office, they tell me something different or they just don't know. Thanks.

Caroline in Illinois



Hi Caroline,

Yes, there are time limits, but who is to say it's not the state that lost the information or response in the first place? Every single Illinois unemployment hearing notice includes the issue of "timeliness".

If I were you .. I'd call the claims department or the appeals section .. whatever it tells you in the instructions sent with the hearing notice and get my hands on the file.

You need to know what's going on with this and all I can do is speculate .. and that's something you should only do if there is no other solution.