unemployment fraud in IL

cmergl

My firm has an employee who was terminated in Sept. 2001 under rather unpleasant circumstances. Since then this person has been collecting unemployment. We have heard rumors for quite some time that she has been self employed and working as a consultant at a few companies. Recently, it has been confirmed that she is in fact working as a consultant. However, we do not know the names of any of the firms she has been working for. We would really like to protest the unemployment claims, but have been told by the IL Dept. of Employment Security that they will not investigate this without the employers' names. We have not asked any current employees to tell us who this former employee is working for, but we know that they will not tell us anything. Here's my question - I would like to know if any one has experience dealing with this kind of issue and how we can prove that someone collecting unemployment is working and where they are working. Is there some agency we can contact that can help us with this? Any advice that anyone can provide would be qreatly appreciated.

thank you,
CM

Don D

I'll bet the person with Illinois Labor Department (unemployment) who told you that was either a claimstaker or a clerk-typist who happened to answer the phone. I would suggest you write a letter to The Director of the Unemployment Insurance Division or either to the Director of the Fraud Prevention and Detection unit at their state office. Call them to obtain the proper division title and department head's name. He or she will route it for action. Mention in your formal letter that you have called to report it to the claims office and they expressed no willingness to follow up. Don't state that "rumor has it". Say, "A report has been made to my ofice that..." The agency has an obligation to the employers of Illinois to make sure the program operates correctly and without fraud. Their procedures require that the claimant be called in for an interview (during which she may deny it). In my state, we employers feel we have a responsibility as well to see that the program functions as intended. Employer taxes fund it.