This article explains the UI eligibility · IL unemployment monetary prongs block in the Payroll module: the two Illinois thresholds, how the base period is built, why eligibility lags earnings, what the two meters and the Safe / Approaching / Eligible badges measure, and what to do if a claim is filed. The panel keeps the two meter labels and links here under IDES rules.
The two prongs
Illinois monetary eligibility (820 ILCS 405, as the console encodes it) needs both of these in the base period for the quarter the claim is filed in:
| Prong | Threshold | Meter label |
|---|---|---|
| Total base-period wages | ≥ $1,600 (UI_TOTAL_MIN) | base period {x} / $1,600 |
| Wages outside the highest quarter | ≥ $440 (UI_OUTSIDE_MIN) | outside top quarter {x} / $440 |
The code comment notes the thresholds have been unchanged for over a decade [check: confirm the current IDES figures before relying on them for a decision — the console hardcodes both].
Base period
- Standard base period = the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before the claim quarter.
- Alternate base period = the last 4 completed quarters. IDES falls back to it automatically when the standard one fails; the console evaluates both and reports the better one.
- Wages count in the quarter they were paid (payday), which is exactly what Dripos payrun history gives.
Because a quarter's wages only enter a base period once that quarter has completed, eligibility arrives one to two quarters after the earnings. That lag is why a new hire shows Safe for a while after they start.
Where the numbers come from
- Source: Dripos
GET /payroll/historyandGET /payroll/employees, served throughGET /api/payroll/ui-eligibility(cached 10 minutes; as of is the America/Chicago date). - Only runs with
status === 'paid'and not void count; voided items are skipped. Gross per run = the sum of the item's earnings. - Only current café W-2s appear — the W-2 roster (by
dripos_employee_id) is the gate, so former staff, owners and non-café payees in Dripos history stay out. No paid W-2 payruns yet is the empty state. - The sheet's Wages by calendar quarter (as paid) is the raw per-quarter gross the prongs are computed from.
How the meters and badges are computed
For each employee the console evaluates a claim filed in the current quarter and in each of the next four (Claim-quarter outlook), with wages frozen at what has already been paid. Future payruns can only push these numbers up, never down — so the block is an early-warning floor, not a forecast.
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| claims from {quarter} | The first claim quarter in the outlook where both prongs already pass on paid wages |
| not eligible on BFC wages | No claim quarter in the outlook passes on BFC wages alone |
| Meters | Drawn from the outlook's worst-case claim quarter — the one whose combined fill against the two prongs is highest — using the better of the standard and alternate base periods |
| Eligible (red) | Some claim quarter in the outlook passes both prongs |
| Approaching (amber) | Not yet eligible, but the worst-case quarter is at ≥ 60% of either prong ($960 base or $264 outside) |
| Safe (green) | Below both 60% marks |
BFC wages only — a floor, not a verdict
The tracker sees Black Fodder wages only. IDES aggregates every employer in the base period, so an employee the console calls not eligible may still qualify on wages earned elsewhere. Benefits are charged to each base-period employer in proportion to the wages it paid — being one employer among several reduces, but does not remove, the charge.
If a claim is filed
- Always respond to the IDES claim notice. An ignored notice is charged by default.
- Document performance and attendance issues at separation. Documented misconduct or a voluntary quit is a disqualification with no charge to BFC — regardless of what the meters say, contest on those grounds where they apply.
- The audit's attendance record is the evidence base: every LATE and OVERSTAY instance from the payroll audit is appended to
data/attendance-history.jsonand shown per person on the Team profile, with weekly totals.