Bill Text: IL HB2601 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the computation of time.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB2601 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2011-HB2601-Amended.html
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2601
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2601 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The Workers' Compensation Act is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 11, and 17 and by adding | ||||||
6 | Section 2.1 as follows:
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7 | (820 ILCS 305/1) (from Ch. 48, par. 138.1)
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8 | Sec. 1. This Act may be cited as the Workers' Compensation | ||||||
9 | Act.
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10 | (a) The term "employer" as used in this Act means a person | ||||||
11 | who employs one or more employees. :
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12 | 1. The State and each county, city, town, township, | ||||||
13 | incorporated
village, school district, body politic, or | ||||||
14 | municipal corporation
therein.
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15 | 2. Every person, firm, public or private corporation, | ||||||
16 | including
hospitals, public service, eleemosynary, religious |
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1 | or charitable
corporations or associations who has any person | ||||||
2 | in service or under any
contract for hire, express or implied, | ||||||
3 | oral or written, and who is
engaged in any of the enterprises | ||||||
4 | or businesses enumerated in Section 3
of this Act, or who at or | ||||||
5 | prior to the time of the accident to the
employee for which | ||||||
6 | compensation under this Act may be claimed, has in
the manner | ||||||
7 | provided in this Act elected to become subject to the
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8 | provisions of this Act, and who has not, prior to such | ||||||
9 | accident,
effected a withdrawal of such election in the manner | ||||||
10 | provided in this Act.
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11 | 3. Any one engaging in any business or enterprise referred | ||||||
12 | to in
subsections 1 and 2 of Section 3 of this Act who | ||||||
13 | undertakes to do any
work enumerated therein, is liable to pay | ||||||
14 | compensation to his own
immediate employees in accordance with | ||||||
15 | the provisions of this Act, and
in addition thereto if he | ||||||
16 | directly or indirectly engages any contractor
whether | ||||||
17 | principal or sub-contractor to do any such work, he is liable | ||||||
18 | to
pay compensation to the employees of any such contractor or
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19 | sub-contractor unless such contractor or sub-contractor has | ||||||
20 | insured, in
any company or association authorized under the | ||||||
21 | laws of this State to
insure the liability to pay compensation | ||||||
22 | under this Act, or guaranteed
his liability to pay such | ||||||
23 | compensation. With respect to any time
limitation on the filing | ||||||
24 | of claims provided by this Act, the timely
filing of a claim | ||||||
25 | against a contractor or subcontractor, as the case may
be, | ||||||
26 | shall be deemed to be a timely filing with respect to all |
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1 | persons
upon whom liability is imposed by this paragraph.
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2 | In the event any such person pays compensation under this | ||||||
3 | subsection
he may recover the amount thereof from the | ||||||
4 | contractor or sub-contractor,
if any, and in the event the | ||||||
5 | contractor pays compensation under this
subsection he may | ||||||
6 | recover the amount thereof from the sub-contractor, if any.
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7 | This subsection does not apply in any case where the | ||||||
8 | accident occurs
elsewhere than on, in or about the immediate | ||||||
9 | premises on which the
principal has contracted that the work be | ||||||
10 | done.
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11 | 4. Where an employer operating under and subject to the | ||||||
12 | provisions
of this Act loans an employee to another such | ||||||
13 | employer and such loaned
employee sustains a compensable | ||||||
14 | accidental injury in the employment of
such borrowing employer | ||||||
15 | and where such borrowing employer does not
provide or pay the | ||||||
16 | benefits or payments due such injured employee, such
loaning | ||||||
17 | employer is liable to provide or pay all benefits or payments
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18 | due such employee under this Act and as to such employee the | ||||||
19 | liability
of such loaning and borrowing employers is joint and | ||||||
20 | several, provided
that such loaning employer is in the absence | ||||||
21 | of agreement to the
contrary entitled to receive from such | ||||||
22 | borrowing employer full
reimbursement for all sums paid or | ||||||
23 | incurred pursuant to this paragraph
together with reasonable | ||||||
24 | attorneys' fees and expenses in any hearings
before the | ||||||
25 | Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission or in any action to | ||||||
26 | secure such
reimbursement. Where any benefit is provided or |
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1 | paid by such loaning
employer the employee has the duty of | ||||||
2 | rendering reasonable cooperation
in any hearings, trials or | ||||||
3 | proceedings in the case, including such
proceedings for | ||||||
4 | reimbursement.
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5 | Where an employee files an Application for Adjustment of | ||||||
6 | Claim with
the Illinois Workers' Compensation
Commission | ||||||
7 | alleging that his claim is covered by the
provisions of the | ||||||
8 | preceding paragraph, and joining both the alleged
loaning and | ||||||
9 | borrowing employers, they and each of them, upon written
demand | ||||||
10 | by the employee and within 7 days after receipt of such demand,
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11 | shall have the duty of filing with the Illinois Workers' | ||||||
12 | Compensation Commission a written
admission or denial of the | ||||||
13 | allegation that the claim is covered by the
provisions of the | ||||||
14 | preceding paragraph and in default of such filing or
if any | ||||||
15 | such denial be ultimately determined not to have been bona fide
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16 | then the provisions of Paragraph K of Section 19 of this Act | ||||||
17 | shall apply.
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18 | An employer whose business or enterprise or a substantial | ||||||
19 | part
thereof consists of hiring, procuring or furnishing | ||||||
20 | employees to or for
other employers operating under and subject | ||||||
21 | to the provisions of this
Act for the performance of the work | ||||||
22 | of such other employers and who pays
such employees their | ||||||
23 | salary or wages notwithstanding that they are doing
the work of | ||||||
24 | such other employers shall be deemed a loaning employer
within | ||||||
25 | the meaning and provisions of this Section.
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26 | (b) The term "employee" as used in this Act means:
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1 | 1. Every person in the service of the State, including | ||||||
2 | members of
the General Assembly, members of the Commerce | ||||||
3 | Commission, members of the
Illinois Workers' Compensation | ||||||
4 | Commission, and all persons in the service of the University
of | ||||||
5 | Illinois, county, including deputy sheriffs and assistant | ||||||
6 | state's
attorneys, city, town, township, incorporated village | ||||||
7 | or school
district, body politic, or municipal corporation | ||||||
8 | therein, whether by
election, under appointment or contract of | ||||||
9 | hire, express or implied,
oral or written, including all | ||||||
10 | members of the Illinois National Guard
while on active duty in | ||||||
11 | the service of the State, and all probation
personnel of the | ||||||
12 | Juvenile Court appointed pursuant to Article VI
of the Juvenile | ||||||
13 | Court Act of 1987, and including any official of the
State, any | ||||||
14 | county, city, town, township, incorporated village, school
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15 | district, body politic or municipal corporation therein except | ||||||
16 | any duly
appointed member of a police department in any city | ||||||
17 | whose
population exceeds 200,000 according to the last Federal | ||||||
18 | or State
census, and except any member of a fire insurance | ||||||
19 | patrol maintained by a
board of underwriters in this State. A | ||||||
20 | duly appointed member of a fire
department in any city, the | ||||||
21 | population of which exceeds 200,000 according
to the last | ||||||
22 | federal or State census, is an employee under this Act only
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23 | with respect to claims brought under paragraph (c) of Section | ||||||
24 | 8.
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25 | One employed by a contractor who has contracted with the | ||||||
26 | State, or a
county, city, town, township, incorporated village, |
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1 | school district,
body politic or municipal corporation | ||||||
2 | therein, through its
representatives, is not considered as an | ||||||
3 | employee of the State, county,
city, town, township, | ||||||
4 | incorporated village, school district, body
politic or | ||||||
5 | municipal corporation which made the contract.
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6 | 2. Every person in the service of another under any | ||||||
7 | contract of
hire, express or implied, oral or written, | ||||||
8 | including persons whose
employment is outside of the State of | ||||||
9 | Illinois where the contract of
hire is made within the State of | ||||||
10 | Illinois, persons whose employment
results in fatal or | ||||||
11 | non-fatal injuries within the State of Illinois
where the | ||||||
12 | contract of hire is made outside of the State of Illinois, and
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13 | persons whose employment is principally localized within the | ||||||
14 | State of
Illinois, regardless of the place of the accident or | ||||||
15 | the place where the
contract of hire was made, and including | ||||||
16 | aliens, and minors who, for the
purpose of this Act are | ||||||
17 | considered the same and have the same power to
contract, | ||||||
18 | receive payments and give quittances therefor, as adult | ||||||
19 | employees.
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20 | 3. Every sole proprietor and every partner of a business | ||||||
21 | may elect to
be covered by this Act.
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22 | An employee or his dependents under this Act who shall have | ||||||
23 | a cause
of action by reason of any injury, disablement or death | ||||||
24 | arising out of
and in the course of his employment may elect to | ||||||
25 | pursue his remedy in
the State where injured or disabled, or in | ||||||
26 | the State where the contract
of hire is made, or in the State |
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1 | where the employment is principally
localized.
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2 | However, any employer may elect to provide and pay | ||||||
3 | compensation to
any employee other than those engaged in the | ||||||
4 | usual course of the trade,
business, profession or occupation | ||||||
5 | of the employer by complying with
Sections 2 and 4 of this Act. | ||||||
6 | Employees are not included within the
provisions of this Act | ||||||
7 | when excluded by the laws of the United States
relating to | ||||||
8 | liability of employers to their employees for personal
injuries | ||||||
9 | where such laws are held to be exclusive.
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10 | The term "employee" does not include persons performing | ||||||
11 | services as real
estate broker, broker-salesman, or salesman | ||||||
12 | when such persons are paid by
commission only.
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13 | Nothing in this subsection (b) shall be construed to | ||||||
14 | require coverage of an employee by an employer who elects not | ||||||
15 | to be covered by this Act. | ||||||
16 | (c) "Commission" means the Industrial Commission created | ||||||
17 | by Section
5 of "The Civil Administrative Code of Illinois", | ||||||
18 | approved March 7,
1917, as amended, or the Illinois Workers' | ||||||
19 | Compensation Commission created by Section 13 of
this Act.
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20 | (Source: P.A. 93-721, eff. 1-1-05.)
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21 | (820 ILCS 305/2) (from Ch. 48, par. 138.2)
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22 | Sec. 2.
An employer in this State, who does not come within | ||||||
23 | the classes
enumerated by subsection (a) or (b) of Section 3 of | ||||||
24 | this Act, may elect to provide and pay
compensation for | ||||||
25 | accidental injuries sustained by himself or any employee,
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1 | arising out
of and in the course of the employment according to | ||||||
2 | the provisions of this
Act, and thereby relieve himself from | ||||||
3 | any liability for the recovery of
damages, except as herein | ||||||
4 | provided. The State of Illinois hereby elects to
provide and | ||||||
5 | pay compensation according to the provisions of this Act.
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6 | (a) Election by any employer to provide and pay | ||||||
7 | compensation according
to the provisions of this Act shall be | ||||||
8 | made by the employer filing notice
of such election with the | ||||||
9 | Commission, or by insuring his liability to pay
compensation | ||||||
10 | under this Act in some insurance carrier authorized, licensed
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11 | or permitted to do such insurance business in this State.
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12 | (b) Every employer within the provisions of this Act who | ||||||
13 | has elected to
provide and pay compensation according to the | ||||||
14 | provisions of this Act by
filing notice of such election with | ||||||
15 | the Commission, shall be bound thereby
as to all his employees | ||||||
16 | until January 1st of the next succeeding year and
for terms of | ||||||
17 | each year thereafter.
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18 | Any such employer who may have once elected, may elect not | ||||||
19 | to provide
and pay the compensation herein provided for | ||||||
20 | accidents resulting in either
injury or death and occurring | ||||||
21 | after the expiration of any such calendar
year by filing notice | ||||||
22 | of such election with the Commission at least 60 days
prior to | ||||||
23 | the expiration of any such calendar year, and by posting such
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24 | notice at a conspicuous place in the plant, shop, office, room | ||||||
25 | or place
where such employee is employed, or by personal | ||||||
26 | service, in written or
printed form, upon such employees, at |
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1 | least 60 days prior to the expiration
of any such calendar | ||||||
2 | year.
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3 | Every employer within the provisions of this Act who has | ||||||
4 | elected to
provide and pay compensation according to the | ||||||
5 | provisions of this Act by
insuring his liability to pay | ||||||
6 | compensation under this Act, as above
provided, shall be bound | ||||||
7 | thereby as to all his employees until the date of
expiration or | ||||||
8 | cancellation of such policy of insurance, or any renewal
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9 | thereof.
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10 | (c) In the event any employer mentioned in this section, | ||||||
11 | elects to
provide and pay the compensation provided in this | ||||||
12 | Act, then every employee
of such employer, as a part of his | ||||||
13 | contract of hiring or who may be
employed at the time of the | ||||||
14 | taking effect of this Act and the acceptance of
its provisions | ||||||
15 | by such employer, shall be deemed to have accepted all the
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16 | provisions of this Act and shall be bound thereby unless within | ||||||
17 | 30 days
after such hiring or after the taking effect of this | ||||||
18 | Act, and its
acceptance by such employee, he shall file a | ||||||
19 | notice to the contrary with
the Commission, whose duty it shall | ||||||
20 | be to immediately notify the employer,
and until such notice to | ||||||
21 | the contrary is given to the employer, the measure
of liability | ||||||
22 | of such employer shall be determined according to the
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23 | compensation provisions of this Act.
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24 | However, any employee may withdraw from the operation of | ||||||
25 | this Act,
except those under subsection (a) or (b) of Section | ||||||
26 | 3, upon filing a written notice of withdrawal at
least 10 days |
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1 | prior to January 1st of any year with the Commission, whose
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2 | duty it shall be to immediately notify such employer by | ||||||
3 | registered mail,
and, until such notice to the contrary is | ||||||
4 | given to such employer, the
measure of liability of such | ||||||
5 | employer shall be determined according to the
compensation | ||||||
6 | provisions of this Act.
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7 | (d) Any such employer or employee may, without prejudice to | ||||||
8 | any existing
right or claim withdraw his election to reject | ||||||
9 | this Act by giving 30 days'
written notice in such manner and | ||||||
10 | form as may be provided by the
Commission.
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11 | (e) Any employer who elects not to be covered by this Act | ||||||
12 | is also subject to the notice requirements of Sections 6 and 17 | ||||||
13 | and any notice requirements in the rules of the Commission. | ||||||
14 | (Source: P.A. 83-190.)
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15 | (820 ILCS 305/2.1 new) | ||||||
16 | Sec. 2.1. Common-law defenses; burden of proof; waiver. | ||||||
17 | (a) In an action against an employer who elects not to be | ||||||
18 | covered by this Act and the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act | ||||||
19 | to recover damages for personal injuries, disability, or death | ||||||
20 | sustained by an employee in the course and scope of the | ||||||
21 | employment, it is not a defense that: | ||||||
22 | (1) the employee was guilty of negligence; | ||||||
23 | (2) the employee assumed the risk of injury, | ||||||
24 | disability, or death; or | ||||||
25 | (3) the injury, disability, or death was caused by the |
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1 | negligence of a fellow employee. | ||||||
2 | (b) This Section does not reinstate or otherwise affect the | ||||||
3 | availability of defenses at common law, including the defenses | ||||||
4 | described by subsection (a). | ||||||
5 | (c) The employer may defend the action on the ground that | ||||||
6 | the injury or disability was caused: | ||||||
7 | (1) by an act of the employee intended to bring about | ||||||
8 | the injury or disability; or | ||||||
9 | (2) while the employee was in a state of intoxication. | ||||||
10 | (d) In an action described by subsection (a) against an | ||||||
11 | employer who elects not to be covered by this Act, the | ||||||
12 | plaintiff must prove negligence of the employer or of an agent | ||||||
13 | or servant of the employer acting within the general scope of | ||||||
14 | the agent's or servant's employment. | ||||||
15 | (e) A cause of action described by subsection (a) may not | ||||||
16 | be waived by an employee before the employee's injury, | ||||||
17 | disability, or death. Any agreement by an employee to waive a | ||||||
18 | cause of action or any right described in subsection (a) before | ||||||
19 | the employee's injury, disability, or death is void and | ||||||
20 | unenforceable. | ||||||
21 | (f) A cause of action described by subsection (a) may not | ||||||
22 | be waived by an employee after the employee's injury unless: | ||||||
23 | (1) the employee voluntarily enters into the waiver | ||||||
24 | with knowledge of the waiver's effect; | ||||||
25 | (2) the waiver is entered into not earlier than the | ||||||
26 | 10th business day after the date of the initial report of |
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1 | injury or disability; | ||||||
2 | (3) the employee, before signing the waiver, has | ||||||
3 | received a medical evaluation from a nonemergency care | ||||||
4 | doctor; and | ||||||
5 | (4) the waiver is in a writing under which the true | ||||||
6 | intent of the parties is specifically stated in the | ||||||
7 | document. | ||||||
8 | (g) The waiver provisions required under subsection (f) | ||||||
9 | must be conspicuous and appear on the face of the agreement. To | ||||||
10 | be conspicuous, the waiver provisions must appear in a type | ||||||
11 | larger than the type contained in the body of the agreement or | ||||||
12 | in contrasting colors.
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13 | (820 ILCS 305/3) (from Ch. 48, par. 138.3)
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14 | Sec. 3.
(a) The provisions of this Act hereinafter | ||||||
15 | following shall apply
automatically and without election to the | ||||||
16 | State, county, city, town,
township, incorporated village or | ||||||
17 | school district, body politic or
municipal corporation . | ||||||
18 | (b) A governmental entity that enters into a building or | ||||||
19 | construction contract shall require the contractor to certify | ||||||
20 | in writing that the contractor has elected to provide workers' | ||||||
21 | compensation coverage for each employee of the contractor | ||||||
22 | employed on the public project. Each subcontractor on the | ||||||
23 | public project shall provide such a certificate relating to | ||||||
24 | coverage of the subcontractor's employees to the general | ||||||
25 | contractor, who shall provide the subcontractor's certificate |
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1 | to the governmental entity. A contractor who has a contract | ||||||
2 | that requires workers' compensation coverage may provide the | ||||||
3 | coverage through a group plan or other method satisfactory to | ||||||
4 | the governing body of the governmental entity. The employment | ||||||
5 | of a maintenance employee by an employer who is not engaging in | ||||||
6 | building or construction as the employer's primary business | ||||||
7 | does not constitute engaging in building or construction. As | ||||||
8 | used in this subsection (b): | ||||||
9 | (1) "Building or construction" includes: | ||||||
10 | (A) erecting or preparing to erect a structure, | ||||||
11 | including a building, bridge, roadway, public utility | ||||||
12 | facility, or related appurtenance; | ||||||
13 | (B) remodeling, extending, repairing, or | ||||||
14 | demolishing a structure; or | ||||||
15 | (C) otherwise improving real property or an | ||||||
16 | appurtenance to real property through similar | ||||||
17 | activities. | ||||||
18 | (2) "Governmental entity" means an entity listed in | ||||||
19 | subsection (a). | ||||||
20 | , and to all employers and all their employees,
engaged in any | ||||||
21 | department of the following enterprises or
businesses which are | ||||||
22 | declared to be extra hazardous, namely:
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23 | 1. The erection, maintaining, removing, remodeling, | ||||||
24 | altering or
demolishing of any structure.
| ||||||
25 | 2. Construction, excavating or electrical work.
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26 | 3. Carriage by land, water or aerial service and loading or
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1 | unloading in connection therewith, including the distribution | ||||||
2 | of any
commodity by horsedrawn or motor vehicle where the | ||||||
3 | employer employs more
than 2 employees in the enterprise or | ||||||
4 | business.
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5 | 4. The operation of any warehouse or general or terminal | ||||||
6 | storehouses.
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7 | 5. Mining, surface mining or quarrying.
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8 | 6. Any enterprise in which explosive materials are | ||||||
9 | manufactured,
handled or used in dangerous quantities.
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10 | 7. In any business or enterprise, wherein molten metal, or | ||||||
11 | explosive
or injurious gases, dusts or vapors, or inflammable | ||||||
12 | vapors, dusts or
fluids, corrosive acids, or atomic radiation | ||||||
13 | are manufactured, used,
generated, stored or conveyed.
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14 | 8. Any enterprise in which sharp edged cutting tools, | ||||||
15 | grinders or
implements are used, including all enterprises | ||||||
16 | which buy, sell or handle
junk and salvage, demolish or | ||||||
17 | reconstruct machinery.
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18 | 9. In any enterprise in which statutory or municipal | ||||||
19 | ordinance
regulations are now or shall hereafter be imposed for | ||||||
20 | the regulating,
guarding, use or the placing of machinery or | ||||||
21 | appliances or for the
protection and safeguarding of the | ||||||
22 | employees or the public therein; each
of which occupations, | ||||||
23 | enterprises or businesses are hereby declared to
be extra | ||||||
24 | hazardous.
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25 | 10. Any enterprise, business or work in connection with the | ||||||
26 | laying
out or improvement of subdivisions of tracts of land.
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1 | 11. Any enterprise for the treatment of cross-ties, | ||||||
2 | switch-ties,
telegraph poles, timber or other wood with | ||||||
3 | creosote or other
preservatives.
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4 | 12. Establishments open to the general public wherein | ||||||
5 | alcoholic
beverages are sold to the general public for | ||||||
6 | consumption on the
premises.
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7 | 13. The operation of any public beauty shop wherein
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8 | chemicals, solutions, or heated instruments or objects are used | ||||||
9 | or
applied by any employee in the dressing, treatment or waving | ||||||
10 | of human
hair.
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11 | 14. Any business or enterprise serving food to the public | ||||||
12 | for
consumption on the premises wherein any employee as a | ||||||
13 | substantial part
of the employee's work uses handcutting | ||||||
14 | instruments or slicing machines or
other devices for the | ||||||
15 | cutting of meat or other food or wherein any employee
is in the | ||||||
16 | hazard of being scalded or burned by hot grease, hot water, hot
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17 | foods, or other hot fluids, substances or objects.
| ||||||
18 | 15. Any business or enterprise in which electric, gasoline | ||||||
19 | or other
power driven equipment is used in the operation | ||||||
20 | thereof.
| ||||||
21 | 16. Any business or enterprise in which goods, wares or | ||||||
22 | merchandise
are produced, manufactured or fabricated.
| ||||||
23 | 17. (a) Any business or enterprise in which goods, wares or | ||||||
24 | merchandise
are sold or in which services are rendered to the | ||||||
25 | public at large,
provided that this paragraph shall not apply | ||||||
26 | to
such business or enterprise unless the annual payroll during |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | the year
next preceding the date of injury shall be in excess | ||||||
2 | of $1,000.
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3 | (b) The corporate
officers of any
domestic or foreign | ||||||
4 | corporation employed by the corporation may elect to
withdraw | ||||||
5 | themselves
as individuals from the operation of this Act. Upon | ||||||
6 | an election by the
corporate
officers to withdraw, written | ||||||
7 | notice shall be provided to the insurance
carrier of such | ||||||
8 | election to withdraw, which election shall be effective
upon | ||||||
9 | receipt by the insurance carrier of such
written notice. A | ||||||
10 | corporate officer who thereafter elects to resume coverage
| ||||||
11 | under the Act as an individual shall provide written notice of | ||||||
12 | such election
to the insurance carrier which election shall be | ||||||
13 | effective upon receipt by the
insurance carrier of such written | ||||||
14 | notice. For the purpose of this paragraph,
a "corporate | ||||||
15 | officer" is defined as a bona fide President, Vice President,
| ||||||
16 | Secretary or Treasurer of a corporation who voluntarily elects | ||||||
17 | to withdraw.
| ||||||
18 | 18. On and after July 1, 1980, but not before, any | ||||||
19 | household or residence
wherein domestic workers are employed | ||||||
20 | for a total of 40 or
more hours per week for a period of 13 or | ||||||
21 | more weeks during a calendar year.
| ||||||
22 | (c) 19. Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to | ||||||
23 | apply to any
agricultural enterprise, including aquaculture, | ||||||
24 | employing less than 400
working days of
agricultural or | ||||||
25 | aquacultural labor per quarter during the preceding calendar
| ||||||
26 | year,
exclusive of working hours of the employer's spouse and |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | other members of
his or her immediate family residing with him | ||||||
2 | or her.
| ||||||
3 | (d) 20. Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to | ||||||
4 | apply to any sole
proprietor or partner
or member of a limited | ||||||
5 | liability company
who elects not to provide and pay | ||||||
6 | compensation for
accidental injuries sustained by himself, | ||||||
7 | arising out of and in the course
of the employment according to | ||||||
8 | the provisions of this Act.
| ||||||
9 | (Source: P.A. 91-591, eff. 8-14-99.)
| ||||||
10 | (820 ILCS 305/4) (from Ch. 48, par. 138.4)
| ||||||
11 | Sec. 4. (a) Any employer , including but not limited to | ||||||
12 | general contractors
and their subcontractors, who shall come | ||||||
13 | within the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of
Section 3 of | ||||||
14 | this Act, and any other employer who shall elect to provide
and | ||||||
15 | pay the compensation provided for in this Act shall:
| ||||||
16 | (1) File with the Commission annually an application | ||||||
17 | for approval as a
self-insurer which shall include a | ||||||
18 | current financial statement, and
annually, thereafter, an | ||||||
19 | application for renewal of self-insurance, which
shall | ||||||
20 | include a current financial statement. Said
application | ||||||
21 | and financial statement shall be signed and sworn to by the
| ||||||
22 | president or vice president and secretary or assistant | ||||||
23 | secretary of the
employer if it be a corporation, or by all | ||||||
24 | of the partners, if it be a
copartnership, or by the owner | ||||||
25 | if it be neither a copartnership nor a
corporation. All |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | initial applications and all applications for renewal of
| ||||||
2 | self-insurance must be submitted at least 60 days prior to | ||||||
3 | the requested
effective date of self-insurance. An | ||||||
4 | employer may elect to provide and pay
compensation as | ||||||
5 | provided
for in this Act as a member of a group workers' | ||||||
6 | compensation pool under Article
V 3/4 of the Illinois | ||||||
7 | Insurance Code. If an employer becomes a member of a
group | ||||||
8 | workers' compensation pool, the employer shall not be | ||||||
9 | relieved of any
obligations imposed by this Act.
| ||||||
10 | If the sworn application and financial statement of any | ||||||
11 | such employer
does not satisfy the Commission of the | ||||||
12 | financial ability of the employer
who has filed it, the | ||||||
13 | Commission shall require such employer to,
| ||||||
14 | (2) Furnish security, indemnity or a bond guaranteeing | ||||||
15 | the payment
by the employer of the compensation provided | ||||||
16 | for in this Act, provided
that any such employer whose | ||||||
17 | application and financial statement shall
not have | ||||||
18 | satisfied the commission of his or her financial ability | ||||||
19 | and
who shall have secured his liability in part by excess | ||||||
20 | liability insurance
shall be required to furnish to the | ||||||
21 | Commission security, indemnity or bond
guaranteeing his or | ||||||
22 | her payment up to the effective limits of the excess
| ||||||
23 | coverage, or
| ||||||
24 | (3) Insure his entire liability to pay such | ||||||
25 | compensation in some
insurance carrier authorized, | ||||||
26 | licensed, or permitted to do such
insurance business in |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | this State. Every policy of an insurance carrier,
insuring | ||||||
2 | the payment of compensation under this Act shall cover all | ||||||
3 | the
employees and the entire compensation liability of the | ||||||
4 | insured:
Provided, however, that any employer may insure | ||||||
5 | his or her compensation
liability with 2 or more insurance | ||||||
6 | carriers or may insure a part and
qualify under subsection | ||||||
7 | 1, 2, or 4 for the remainder of his or her
liability to pay | ||||||
8 | such compensation, subject to the following two | ||||||
9 | provisions:
| ||||||
10 | Firstly, the entire compensation liability of the | ||||||
11 | employer to
employees working at or from one location | ||||||
12 | shall be insured in one such
insurance carrier or shall | ||||||
13 | be self-insured, and
| ||||||
14 | Secondly, the employer shall submit evidence | ||||||
15 | satisfactorily to the
Commission that his or her entire | ||||||
16 | liability for the compensation provided
for in this Act | ||||||
17 | will be secured. Any provisions in any policy, or in | ||||||
18 | any
endorsement attached thereto, attempting to limit | ||||||
19 | or modify in any way,
the liability of the insurance | ||||||
20 | carriers issuing the same except as
otherwise provided | ||||||
21 | herein shall be wholly void.
| ||||||
22 | Nothing herein contained shall apply to policies of | ||||||
23 | excess liability
carriage secured by employers who have | ||||||
24 | been approved by the Commission
as self-insurers, or
| ||||||
25 | (4) Make some other provision, satisfactory to the | ||||||
26 | Commission, for
the securing of the payment of compensation |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | provided for in this Act,
and
| ||||||
2 | (5) Upon becoming subject to this Act and thereafter as | ||||||
3 | often as the
Commission may in writing demand, file with | ||||||
4 | the Commission in form prescribed
by it evidence of his or | ||||||
5 | her compliance with the provision of this Section.
| ||||||
6 | (a-1) Regardless of its state of domicile or its principal | ||||||
7 | place of
business, an employer shall make payments to its | ||||||
8 | insurance carrier or group
self-insurance fund, where | ||||||
9 | applicable, based upon the premium rates of the
situs where the | ||||||
10 | work or project is located in Illinois if:
| ||||||
11 | (A) the employer is engaged primarily in the building | ||||||
12 | and
construction industry; and
| ||||||
13 | (B) subdivision (a)(3) of this Section applies to the | ||||||
14 | employer or
the employer is a member of a group | ||||||
15 | self-insurance plan as defined in
subsection (1) of Section | ||||||
16 | 4a.
| ||||||
17 | The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission shall impose | ||||||
18 | a penalty upon an employer
for violation of this subsection | ||||||
19 | (a-1) if:
| ||||||
20 | (i) the employer is given an opportunity at a hearing | ||||||
21 | to present
evidence of its compliance with this subsection | ||||||
22 | (a-1); and
| ||||||
23 | (ii) after the hearing, the Commission finds that the | ||||||
24 | employer
failed to make payments upon the premium rates of | ||||||
25 | the situs where the work or
project is located in Illinois.
| ||||||
26 | The penalty shall not exceed $1,000 for each day of work |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | for which
the employer failed to make payments upon the premium | ||||||
2 | rates of the situs where
the
work or project is located in | ||||||
3 | Illinois, but the total penalty shall not exceed
$50,000 for | ||||||
4 | each project or each contract under which the work was
| ||||||
5 | performed.
| ||||||
6 | Any penalty under this subsection (a-1) must be imposed not | ||||||
7 | later
than one year after the expiration of the applicable | ||||||
8 | limitation period
specified in subsection (d) of Section 6 of | ||||||
9 | this Act. Penalties imposed under
this subsection (a-1) shall | ||||||
10 | be deposited into the Illinois Workers' Compensation | ||||||
11 | Commission
Operations Fund, a special fund that is created in | ||||||
12 | the State treasury. Subject
to appropriation, moneys in the | ||||||
13 | Fund shall be used solely for the operations
of the Illinois | ||||||
14 | Workers' Compensation Commission and by the Department of | ||||||
15 | Financial and Professional Regulation for the purposes | ||||||
16 | authorized in subsection (c) of Section 25.5 of this Act.
| ||||||
17 | (b) The sworn application and financial statement, or | ||||||
18 | security,
indemnity or bond, or amount of insurance, or other | ||||||
19 | provisions, filed,
furnished, carried, or made by the employer, | ||||||
20 | as the case may be, shall
be subject to the approval of the | ||||||
21 | Commission.
| ||||||
22 | Deposits under escrow agreements shall be cash, negotiable | ||||||
23 | United
States government bonds or negotiable general | ||||||
24 | obligation bonds of the
State of Illinois. Such cash or bonds | ||||||
25 | shall be deposited in
escrow with any State or National Bank or | ||||||
26 | Trust Company having trust
authority in the State of Illinois.
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Upon the approval of the sworn application and financial | ||||||
2 | statement,
security, indemnity or bond or amount of insurance, | ||||||
3 | filed, furnished or
carried, as the case may be, the Commission | ||||||
4 | shall send to the employer
written notice of its approval | ||||||
5 | thereof. The certificate of compliance
by the employer with the | ||||||
6 | provisions of subparagraphs (2) and (3) of
paragraph (a) of | ||||||
7 | this Section shall be delivered by the insurance
carrier to the | ||||||
8 | Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission within five days | ||||||
9 | after the
effective date of the policy so certified. The | ||||||
10 | insurance so certified
shall cover all compensation liability | ||||||
11 | occurring during the time that
the insurance is in effect and | ||||||
12 | no further certificate need be filed in case
such insurance is | ||||||
13 | renewed, extended or otherwise continued by such
carrier. The | ||||||
14 | insurance so certified shall not be cancelled or in the
event | ||||||
15 | that such insurance is not renewed, extended or otherwise
| ||||||
16 | continued, such insurance shall not be terminated until at | ||||||
17 | least 10
days after receipt by the Illinois Workers' | ||||||
18 | Compensation Commission of notice of the
cancellation or | ||||||
19 | termination of said insurance; provided, however, that
if the | ||||||
20 | employer has secured insurance from another insurance carrier, | ||||||
21 | or
has otherwise secured the payment of compensation in | ||||||
22 | accordance with
this Section, and such insurance or other | ||||||
23 | security becomes effective
prior to the expiration of the 10 | ||||||
24 | days, cancellation or termination may, at
the option of the | ||||||
25 | insurance carrier indicated in such notice, be effective
as of | ||||||
26 | the effective date of such other insurance or security.
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | (c) Whenever the Commission shall find that any | ||||||
2 | corporation,
company, association, aggregation of individuals, | ||||||
3 | reciprocal or
interinsurers exchange, or other insurer | ||||||
4 | effecting workers' compensation
insurance in this State shall | ||||||
5 | be insolvent, financially unsound, or
unable to fully meet all | ||||||
6 | payments and liabilities assumed or to be
assumed for | ||||||
7 | compensation insurance in this State, or shall practice a
| ||||||
8 | policy of delay or unfairness toward employees in the | ||||||
9 | adjustment,
settlement, or payment of benefits due such | ||||||
10 | employees, the Commission
may after reasonable notice and | ||||||
11 | hearing order and direct that such
corporation, company, | ||||||
12 | association, aggregation of individuals,
reciprocal or | ||||||
13 | interinsurers exchange, or insurer, shall from and after a
date | ||||||
14 | fixed in such order discontinue the writing of any such | ||||||
15 | workers'
compensation insurance in this State. Subject to such | ||||||
16 | modification of
the order as the Commission may later make on | ||||||
17 | review of the order,
as herein provided, it shall thereupon be | ||||||
18 | unlawful for any such
corporation, company, association, | ||||||
19 | aggregation of individuals,
reciprocal or interinsurers | ||||||
20 | exchange, or insurer to effect any workers'
compensation | ||||||
21 | insurance in this State. A copy of the order shall be served
| ||||||
22 | upon the Director of Insurance by registered mail. Whenever the | ||||||
23 | Commission
finds that any service or adjustment company used or | ||||||
24 | employed
by a self-insured employer or by an insurance carrier | ||||||
25 | to process,
adjust, investigate, compromise or otherwise | ||||||
26 | handle claims under this
Act, has practiced or is practicing a |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | policy of delay or unfairness
toward employees in the | ||||||
2 | adjustment, settlement or payment of benefits
due such | ||||||
3 | employees, the Commission may after reasonable notice and
| ||||||
4 | hearing order and direct that such service or adjustment | ||||||
5 | company shall
from and after a date fixed in such order be | ||||||
6 | prohibited from processing,
adjusting, investigating, | ||||||
7 | compromising or otherwise handling claims
under this Act.
| ||||||
8 | Whenever the Commission finds that any self-insured | ||||||
9 | employer has
practiced or is practicing delay or unfairness | ||||||
10 | toward employees in the
adjustment, settlement or payment of | ||||||
11 | benefits due such employees, the
Commission may, after | ||||||
12 | reasonable notice and hearing, order and direct
that after a | ||||||
13 | date fixed in the order such self-insured employer shall be
| ||||||
14 | disqualified to operate as a self-insurer and shall be required | ||||||
15 | to
insure his entire liability to pay compensation in some | ||||||
16 | insurance
carrier authorized, licensed and permitted to do such | ||||||
17 | insurance business
in this State, as provided in subparagraph 3 | ||||||
18 | of paragraph (a) of this
Section.
| ||||||
19 | All orders made by the Commission under this Section shall | ||||||
20 | be subject
to review by the courts, said review to be taken in | ||||||
21 | the same manner and
within the same time as provided by Section | ||||||
22 | 19 of this Act for review of
awards and decisions of the | ||||||
23 | Commission, upon the party seeking the
review filing with the | ||||||
24 | clerk of the court to which said review is taken
a bond in an | ||||||
25 | amount to be fixed and approved by the court to which the
| ||||||
26 | review is taken, conditioned upon the payment of all |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | compensation awarded
against the person taking said review | ||||||
2 | pending a decision thereof and
further conditioned upon such | ||||||
3 | other obligations as the court may impose.
Upon the review the | ||||||
4 | Circuit Court shall have power to review all questions
of fact | ||||||
5 | as well as of law. The penalty hereinafter provided for in this
| ||||||
6 | paragraph shall not attach and shall not begin to run until the | ||||||
7 | final
determination of the order of the Commission.
| ||||||
8 | (d) Whenever a panel of 3 Commissioners comprised of one | ||||||
9 | member of the employing class, one member of the employee | ||||||
10 | class, and one member not identified with either the employing | ||||||
11 | or employee class, with due process and after a hearing, | ||||||
12 | determines an employer has knowingly failed to provide coverage | ||||||
13 | as required by paragraph (a) of this Section, the failure shall | ||||||
14 | be deemed an immediate serious danger to public health, safety, | ||||||
15 | and welfare sufficient to justify service by the Commission of | ||||||
16 | a work-stop order on such employer, requiring the cessation of | ||||||
17 | all business operations of such employer at the place of | ||||||
18 | employment or job site. Any law enforcement agency in the State | ||||||
19 | shall, at the request of the Commission, render any assistance | ||||||
20 | necessary to carry out the provisions of this Section, | ||||||
21 | including, but not limited to, preventing any employee of such | ||||||
22 | employer from remaining at a place of employment or job site | ||||||
23 | after a work-stop order has taken effect. Any work-stop order | ||||||
24 | shall be lifted upon proof of insurance as required by this | ||||||
25 | Act. Any orders under this Section are appealable under Section | ||||||
26 | 19(f) to the Circuit Court.
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Any individual employer, corporate officer or director of a | ||||||
2 | corporate employer, partner of an employer partnership, or | ||||||
3 | member of an employer limited liability company who knowingly | ||||||
4 | fails to provide coverage as required by paragraph (a) of this | ||||||
5 | Section is guilty of a Class 4 felony. This provision shall not | ||||||
6 | apply to any corporate officer or director of any | ||||||
7 | publicly-owned corporation. Each day's violation constitutes a | ||||||
8 | separate offense. The State's Attorney of the county in which | ||||||
9 | the violation occurred, or the Attorney General, shall bring | ||||||
10 | such actions in the name of the People of the State of | ||||||
11 | Illinois, or may, in addition to other remedies provided in | ||||||
12 | this Section, bring an action for an injunction to restrain the | ||||||
13 | violation or to enjoin the operation of any such employer.
| ||||||
14 | Any individual employer, corporate officer or director of a | ||||||
15 | corporate employer, partner of an employer partnership, or | ||||||
16 | member of an employer limited liability company who negligently | ||||||
17 | fails to provide coverage as required by paragraph (a) of this | ||||||
18 | Section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. This provision | ||||||
19 | shall not apply to any corporate officer or director of any | ||||||
20 | publicly-owned corporation. Each day's violation constitutes a | ||||||
21 | separate offense. The State's Attorney of the county in which | ||||||
22 | the violation occurred, or the Attorney General, shall bring | ||||||
23 | such actions in the name of the People of the State of | ||||||
24 | Illinois.
| ||||||
25 | The criminal penalties in this subsection (d) shall not | ||||||
26 | apply where
there exists a good faith dispute as to the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | existence of an
employment relationship. Evidence of good faith | ||||||
2 | shall
include, but not be limited to, compliance with the | ||||||
3 | definition
of employee as used by the Internal Revenue Service.
| ||||||
4 | Employers who are subject to and who knowingly fail to | ||||||
5 | comply with this Section shall not be entitled to the benefits | ||||||
6 | of this Act during the period of noncompliance, but shall be | ||||||
7 | liable in an action under any other applicable law of this | ||||||
8 | State. In the action, such employer shall not avail himself or | ||||||
9 | herself of the defenses of assumption of risk or negligence or | ||||||
10 | that the injury was due to a co-employee. In the action, proof | ||||||
11 | of the injury shall constitute prima facie evidence of | ||||||
12 | negligence on the part of such employer and the burden shall be | ||||||
13 | on such employer to show freedom of negligence resulting in the | ||||||
14 | injury. The employer shall not join any other defendant in any | ||||||
15 | such civil action. Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 94th | ||||||
16 | General Assembly shall affect the employee's rights under | ||||||
17 | subdivision (a)3 of Section 1 of this Act. Any employer or | ||||||
18 | carrier who makes payments under subdivision (a)3 of Section 1 | ||||||
19 | of this Act shall have a right of reimbursement from the | ||||||
20 | proceeds of any recovery under this Section.
| ||||||
21 | An employee of an uninsured employer, or the employee's | ||||||
22 | dependents in case death ensued, may, instead of proceeding | ||||||
23 | against the employer in a civil action in court, file an | ||||||
24 | application for adjustment of claim with the Commission in | ||||||
25 | accordance with the provisions of this Act and the Commission | ||||||
26 | shall hear and determine the application for adjustment of |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | claim in the manner in which other claims are heard and | ||||||
2 | determined before the Commission.
| ||||||
3 | All proceedings under this subsection (d) shall be reported | ||||||
4 | on an annual basis to the Workers' Compensation Advisory Board.
| ||||||
5 | Upon a finding by the Commission, after reasonable notice | ||||||
6 | and
hearing, of the knowing and wilful failure or refusal of an | ||||||
7 | employer to
comply with
any of the provisions of paragraph (a) | ||||||
8 | of this Section or the failure or
refusal of an employer, | ||||||
9 | service or adjustment company, or an insurance
carrier to | ||||||
10 | comply with any order of the Illinois Workers' Compensation | ||||||
11 | Commission pursuant to
paragraph (c) of this Section | ||||||
12 | disqualifying him or her to operate as a self
insurer and | ||||||
13 | requiring him or her to insure his or her liability, the
| ||||||
14 | Commission may assess a civil penalty of up to $500 per day for | ||||||
15 | each day of
such failure or refusal after the effective date of | ||||||
16 | this amendatory Act of
1989. The minimum penalty under this | ||||||
17 | Section shall be the sum of $10,000.
Each day of such failure | ||||||
18 | or refusal shall constitute a separate offense.
The Commission | ||||||
19 | may assess the civil penalty personally and individually
| ||||||
20 | against the corporate officers and directors of a corporate | ||||||
21 | employer, the
partners of an employer partnership, and the | ||||||
22 | members of an employer limited
liability company, after a | ||||||
23 | finding of a knowing and willful refusal or failure
of each | ||||||
24 | such named corporate officer, director, partner, or member to | ||||||
25 | comply
with this Section. The liability for the assessed | ||||||
26 | penalty shall be
against the named employer first, and
if the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | named employer fails or refuses to pay the penalty to the
| ||||||
2 | Commission within 30 days after the final order of the | ||||||
3 | Commission, then the
named
corporate officers, directors, | ||||||
4 | partners, or members who have been found to have
knowingly and | ||||||
5 | willfully refused or failed to comply with this Section shall | ||||||
6 | be
liable for the unpaid penalty or any unpaid portion of the | ||||||
7 | penalty. Upon investigation by the insurance non-compliance | ||||||
8 | unit of the Commission, the Attorney General shall have the | ||||||
9 | authority to prosecute all proceedings to enforce the civil and | ||||||
10 | administrative provisions of this Section before the | ||||||
11 | Commission. The Commission shall promulgate procedural rules | ||||||
12 | for enforcing this Section.
| ||||||
13 | Upon the failure or refusal of any employer, service or | ||||||
14 | adjustment
company or insurance carrier to comply with the | ||||||
15 | provisions of this Section
and with the orders of the | ||||||
16 | Commission under this Section, or the order of
the court on | ||||||
17 | review after final adjudication, the Commission may bring a
| ||||||
18 | civil action to recover the amount of the penalty in Cook | ||||||
19 | County or in
Sangamon County in which litigation the Commission | ||||||
20 | shall be represented by
the Attorney General. The Commission | ||||||
21 | shall send notice of its finding of
non-compliance and | ||||||
22 | assessment of the civil penalty to the Attorney General.
It | ||||||
23 | shall be the duty of the Attorney General within 30 days after | ||||||
24 | receipt
of the notice, to institute prosecutions and promptly | ||||||
25 | prosecute all
reported violations of this Section.
| ||||||
26 | Any individual employer, corporate officer or director of a |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | corporate employer, partner of an employer partnership, or | ||||||
2 | member of an employer limited liability company who, with the | ||||||
3 | intent to avoid payment of compensation under this Act to an | ||||||
4 | injured employee or the employee's dependents, knowingly | ||||||
5 | transfers, sells, encumbers, assigns, or in any manner disposes | ||||||
6 | of, conceals, secretes, or destroys any property belonging to | ||||||
7 | the employer, officer, director, partner, or member is guilty | ||||||
8 | of a Class 4 felony.
| ||||||
9 | Penalties and fines collected pursuant to this paragraph | ||||||
10 | (d) shall be deposited upon receipt into a special fund which | ||||||
11 | shall be designated the Injured Workers' Benefit Fund, of which | ||||||
12 | the State Treasurer is ex-officio custodian, such special fund | ||||||
13 | to be held and disbursed in accordance with this paragraph (d) | ||||||
14 | for the purposes hereinafter stated in this paragraph (d), upon | ||||||
15 | the final order of the Commission. The Injured Workers' Benefit | ||||||
16 | Fund shall be deposited the same as are State funds and any | ||||||
17 | interest accruing thereon shall be added thereto every 6 | ||||||
18 | months. The Injured Workers' Benefit Fund is subject to audit | ||||||
19 | the same as State funds and accounts and is protected by the | ||||||
20 | general bond given by the State Treasurer. The Injured Workers' | ||||||
21 | Benefit Fund is considered always appropriated for the purposes | ||||||
22 | of disbursements as provided in this paragraph, and shall be | ||||||
23 | paid out and disbursed as herein provided and shall not at any | ||||||
24 | time be appropriated or diverted to any other use or purpose. | ||||||
25 | Moneys in the Injured Workers' Benefit Fund shall be used only | ||||||
26 | for payment of workers' compensation benefits for injured |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | employees when the employer has failed to provide coverage as | ||||||
2 | determined under this paragraph (d) and has failed to pay the | ||||||
3 | benefits due to the injured employee. The Commission shall have | ||||||
4 | the right to obtain reimbursement from the employer for | ||||||
5 | compensation obligations paid by the Injured Workers' Benefit | ||||||
6 | Fund. Any such amounts obtained shall be deposited by the | ||||||
7 | Commission into the Injured Workers' Benefit Fund. If an | ||||||
8 | injured employee or his or her personal representative receives | ||||||
9 | payment from the Injured Workers' Benefit Fund, the State of | ||||||
10 | Illinois has the same rights under paragraph (b) of Section 5 | ||||||
11 | that the employer who failed to pay the benefits due to the | ||||||
12 | injured employee would have had if the employer had paid those | ||||||
13 | benefits, and any moneys recovered by the State as a result of | ||||||
14 | the State's exercise of its rights under paragraph (b) of | ||||||
15 | Section 5 shall be deposited into the Injured Workers' Benefit | ||||||
16 | Fund. The custodian of the Injured Workers' Benefit Fund shall | ||||||
17 | be joined with the employer as a party respondent in the | ||||||
18 | application for adjustment of claim. After July 1, 2006, the | ||||||
19 | Commission shall make disbursements from the Fund once each | ||||||
20 | year to each eligible claimant. An eligible claimant is an | ||||||
21 | injured worker who has within the previous fiscal year obtained | ||||||
22 | a final award for benefits from the Commission against the | ||||||
23 | employer and the Injured Workers' Benefit Fund and has notified | ||||||
24 | the Commission within 90 days of receipt of such award. Within | ||||||
25 | a reasonable time after the end of each fiscal year, the | ||||||
26 | Commission shall make a disbursement to each eligible claimant. |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | At the time of disbursement, if there are insufficient moneys | ||||||
2 | in the Fund to pay all claims, each eligible claimant shall | ||||||
3 | receive a pro-rata share, as determined by the Commission, of | ||||||
4 | the available moneys in the Fund for that year. Payment from | ||||||
5 | the Injured Workers' Benefit Fund to an eligible claimant | ||||||
6 | pursuant to this provision shall discharge the obligations of | ||||||
7 | the Injured Workers' Benefit Fund regarding the award entered | ||||||
8 | by the Commission.
| ||||||
9 | (e) This Act shall not affect or disturb the continuance of | ||||||
10 | any
existing insurance, mutual aid, benefit, or relief | ||||||
11 | association or
department, whether maintained in whole or in | ||||||
12 | part by the employer or
whether maintained by the employees, | ||||||
13 | the payment of benefits of such
association or department being | ||||||
14 | guaranteed by the employer or by some
person, firm or | ||||||
15 | corporation for him or her: Provided, the employer contributes
| ||||||
16 | to such association or department an amount not less than the | ||||||
17 | full
compensation herein provided, exclusive of the cost of the | ||||||
18 | maintenance
of such association or department and without any | ||||||
19 | expense to the
employee. This Act shall not prevent the | ||||||
20 | organization and maintaining
under the insurance laws of this | ||||||
21 | State of any benefit or insurance
company for the purpose of | ||||||
22 | insuring against the compensation provided
for in this Act, the | ||||||
23 | expense of which is maintained by the employer.
This Act shall | ||||||
24 | not prevent the organization or maintaining under the
insurance | ||||||
25 | laws of this State of any voluntary mutual aid, benefit or
| ||||||
26 | relief association among employees for the payment of |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | additional
accident or sick benefits.
| ||||||
2 | (f) No existing insurance, mutual aid, benefit or relief | ||||||
3 | association
or department shall, by reason of anything herein | ||||||
4 | contained, be
authorized to discontinue its operation without | ||||||
5 | first discharging its
obligations to any and all persons | ||||||
6 | carrying insurance in the same or
entitled to relief or | ||||||
7 | benefits therein.
| ||||||
8 | (g) Any contract, oral, written or implied, of employment | ||||||
9 | providing
for relief benefit, or insurance or any other device | ||||||
10 | whereby the
employee is required to pay any premium or premiums | ||||||
11 | for insurance
against the compensation provided for in this Act | ||||||
12 | shall be null and
void. Any employer withholding from the wages | ||||||
13 | of any employee any
amount for the purpose of paying any such | ||||||
14 | premium shall be guilty of a
Class B misdemeanor.
| ||||||
15 | In the event the employer does not pay the compensation for | ||||||
16 | which he or
she is liable, then an insurance company, | ||||||
17 | association or insurer which may
have insured such employer | ||||||
18 | against such liability shall become primarily
liable to pay to | ||||||
19 | the employee, his or her personal representative or
beneficiary | ||||||
20 | the compensation required by the provisions of this Act to
be | ||||||
21 | paid by such employer. The insurance carrier may be made a | ||||||
22 | party to
the proceedings in which the employer is a party and | ||||||
23 | an award may be
entered jointly against the employer and the | ||||||
24 | insurance carrier.
| ||||||
25 | (h) It shall be unlawful for any employer, insurance | ||||||
26 | company or
service or adjustment company to interfere with, |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | restrain or coerce an
employee in any manner whatsoever in the | ||||||
2 | exercise of the rights or
remedies granted to him or her by | ||||||
3 | this Act or to discriminate, attempt to
discriminate, or | ||||||
4 | threaten to discriminate against an employee in any way
because | ||||||
5 | of his or her exercise of the rights or remedies granted to
him | ||||||
6 | or her by this Act.
| ||||||
7 | It shall be unlawful for any employer, individually or | ||||||
8 | through any
insurance company or service or adjustment company, | ||||||
9 | to discharge or to
threaten to discharge, or to refuse to | ||||||
10 | rehire or recall to active
service in a suitable capacity an | ||||||
11 | employee because of the exercise of
his or her rights or | ||||||
12 | remedies granted to him or her by this Act.
| ||||||
13 | (i) If an employer elects to obtain a life insurance policy | ||||||
14 | on his
employees, he may also elect to apply such benefits in | ||||||
15 | satisfaction of all
or a portion of the death benefits payable | ||||||
16 | under this Act, in which case,
the employer's compensation | ||||||
17 | premium shall be reduced accordingly.
| ||||||
18 | (j) Within 45 days of receipt of an initial application or | ||||||
19 | application
to renew self-insurance privileges the | ||||||
20 | Self-Insurers Advisory Board shall
review and submit for | ||||||
21 | approval by the Chairman of the Commission
recommendations of | ||||||
22 | disposition of all initial applications to self-insure
and all | ||||||
23 | applications to renew self-insurance privileges filed by | ||||||
24 | private
self-insurers pursuant to the provisions of this | ||||||
25 | Section and Section 4a-9
of this Act. Each private self-insurer | ||||||
26 | shall submit with its initial and
renewal applications the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | application fee required by Section 4a-4 of this Act.
| ||||||
2 | The Chairman of the Commission shall promptly act upon all | ||||||
3 | initial
applications and applications for renewal in full | ||||||
4 | accordance with the
recommendations of the Board or, should the | ||||||
5 | Chairman disagree with any
recommendation of disposition of the | ||||||
6 | Self-Insurer's Advisory Board, he
shall within 30 days of | ||||||
7 | receipt of such recommendation provide to the Board
in writing | ||||||
8 | the reasons supporting his decision. The Chairman shall also
| ||||||
9 | promptly notify the employer of his decision within 15 days of | ||||||
10 | receipt of
the recommendation of the Board.
| ||||||
11 | If an employer is denied a renewal of self-insurance | ||||||
12 | privileges pursuant
to application it shall retain said | ||||||
13 | privilege for 120 days after receipt of
a notice of | ||||||
14 | cancellation of the privilege from the Chairman of the | ||||||
15 | Commission.
| ||||||
16 | All orders made by the Chairman under this Section shall be | ||||||
17 | subject to
review by the courts, such review to be taken in the | ||||||
18 | same manner and within
the same time as provided by subsection | ||||||
19 | (f) of Section 19 of this Act for
review of awards and | ||||||
20 | decisions of the Commission, upon the party seeking
the review | ||||||
21 | filing with the clerk of the court to which such review is | ||||||
22 | taken
a bond in an amount to be fixed and approved by the court | ||||||
23 | to which the
review is taken, conditioned upon the payment of | ||||||
24 | all compensation awarded
against the person taking such review | ||||||
25 | pending a decision thereof and
further conditioned upon such | ||||||
26 | other obligations as the court may impose.
Upon the review the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Circuit Court shall have power to review all questions
of fact | ||||||
2 | as well as of law.
| ||||||
3 | (Source: P.A. 93-721, eff. 1-1-05; 94-277, eff. 7-20-05; | ||||||
4 | 94-839, eff. 6-6-06.)
| ||||||
5 | (820 ILCS 305/6) (from Ch. 48, par. 138.6)
| ||||||
6 | Sec. 6. (a) Every employer within the provisions of this | ||||||
7 | Act, shall,
under the rules and regulations prescribed by the | ||||||
8 | Commission, post
printed notices in their respective places of | ||||||
9 | employment in such number
and at such places as may be | ||||||
10 | determined by the Commission, containing
such information | ||||||
11 | relative to this Act as in the judgment of the
Commission may | ||||||
12 | be necessary to aid employees to safeguard their rights
under | ||||||
13 | this Act in event of injury.
| ||||||
14 | In addition thereto, the employer shall post in a | ||||||
15 | conspicuous place
on the place of the employment a printed or | ||||||
16 | typewritten notice stating
whether he is insured or whether he | ||||||
17 | has qualified and is operating as a
self-insured employer. In | ||||||
18 | the event the employer is insured, the notice
shall state the | ||||||
19 | name and address of his insurance carrier, the number of
the | ||||||
20 | insurance policy, its effective date and the date of | ||||||
21 | termination. In
the event of the termination of the policy for | ||||||
22 | any reason prior to the
termination date stated, the posted | ||||||
23 | notice shall promptly be corrected
accordingly. In the event | ||||||
24 | the employer is operating as a self-insured
employer the notice | ||||||
25 | shall state the name and address of the company, if
any, |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | servicing the compensation payments of the employer, and the | ||||||
2 | name
and address of the person in charge of making compensation | ||||||
3 | payments.
| ||||||
4 | (a-5) An employer shall notify each employee whether or not | ||||||
5 | the employer is covered under this Act. The employer shall | ||||||
6 | notify a new employee of the existence or absence of coverage | ||||||
7 | under this Act at the time the employee is hired. Each employer | ||||||
8 | shall post a notice of whether the employer is covered under | ||||||
9 | this Act at conspicuous locations at the employer's place of | ||||||
10 | business as necessary to provide reasonable notice to the | ||||||
11 | employees. The Commission may adopt rules relating to the form | ||||||
12 | and content of the notice. The employer shall revise the notice | ||||||
13 | when the information contained in the notice is changed. An | ||||||
14 | employer who elects to be covered under this Act or who | ||||||
15 | withdraws from coverage shall notify each employee that the | ||||||
16 | coverage has been elected or withdrawn not later than the 15th | ||||||
17 | day after the date on which the election or withdrawal takes | ||||||
18 | effect. | ||||||
19 | (b) Every employer subject to this Act shall maintain | ||||||
20 | accurate
records of work-related deaths, injuries and illness | ||||||
21 | other than minor
injuries requiring only first aid treatment | ||||||
22 | and which do not involve
medical treatment, loss of | ||||||
23 | consciousness, restriction of work or motion,
or transfer to | ||||||
24 | another job and file with the Commission, in writing, a
report | ||||||
25 | of all accidental deaths, injuries and illnesses arising out of
| ||||||
26 | and in the course of the employment resulting in the loss of |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | more than
3 scheduled work days. In the case of death such | ||||||
2 | report shall be
made no later than 2 working days following the | ||||||
3 | accidental death. In
all other cases such report shall be made | ||||||
4 | between the 15th and 25th of
each month unless required to be | ||||||
5 | made sooner by rule of the Commission.
In case the injury | ||||||
6 | results in permanent disability, a further report
shall be made | ||||||
7 | as soon as it is determined that such permanent disability
has | ||||||
8 | resulted or will result from the injury. All reports shall | ||||||
9 | state
the date of the injury, including the time of day or | ||||||
10 | night, the nature
of the employer's business, the name, | ||||||
11 | address, age, sex, conjugal
condition of the injured person, | ||||||
12 | the specific occupation of the injured
person, the direct cause | ||||||
13 | of the injury and the nature of the accident,
the character of | ||||||
14 | the injury, the length of disability, and in case of
death the | ||||||
15 | length of disability before death, the wages of the injured
| ||||||
16 | person, whether compensation has been paid to the injured | ||||||
17 | person, or to
his or her legal representative or his heirs or | ||||||
18 | next of kin, the amount of
compensation paid, the amount paid | ||||||
19 | for physicians', surgeons' and
hospital bills, and by whom | ||||||
20 | paid, and the amount paid for funeral or
burial expenses if | ||||||
21 | known. The reports shall be made on forms and in the
manner as | ||||||
22 | prescribed by the Commission and shall contain such further
| ||||||
23 | information as the Commission shall deem necessary and require. | ||||||
24 | The
making of these reports releases the employer from making | ||||||
25 | such reports
to any other officer of the State and shall | ||||||
26 | satisfy the reporting
provisions as contained in the "Health |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | and Safety Act" and "An Act in
relation to safety inspections | ||||||
2 | and education in industrial and
commercial establishments and | ||||||
3 | to repeal an Act therein named", approved
July 18, 1955, as now | ||||||
4 | or hereafter amended. The reports filed with the
Commission | ||||||
5 | pursuant to this Section shall be made available by the
| ||||||
6 | Commission to the Director of Labor or his representatives and | ||||||
7 | to all
other departments of the State of Illinois which shall | ||||||
8 | require such
information for the proper discharge of their | ||||||
9 | official duties. Failure
to file with the Commission any of the | ||||||
10 | reports required in this Section
is a petty offense.
| ||||||
11 | Except as provided in this paragraph, all reports filed | ||||||
12 | hereunder shall
be confidential and any person
having access to | ||||||
13 | such records filed with the Illinois Workers' Compensation | ||||||
14 | Commission as
herein required, who shall release any | ||||||
15 | information therein contained
including the names or otherwise | ||||||
16 | identify any persons sustaining
injuries or disabilities, or | ||||||
17 | give access to such information to any
unauthorized person, | ||||||
18 | shall be subject to discipline or discharge, and in
addition | ||||||
19 | shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. The Commission shall
| ||||||
20 | compile and distribute to interested persons aggregate | ||||||
21 | statistics, taken
from the reports filed hereunder. The | ||||||
22 | aggregate statistics shall not give
the names or otherwise | ||||||
23 | identify persons sustaining injuries or disabilities
or the | ||||||
24 | employer of any injured or disabled person.
| ||||||
25 | (c) Notice of the accident shall be given to the employer | ||||||
26 | as soon as
practicable, but not later than 45 days after the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | accident. Provided:
| ||||||
2 | (1) In case of the legal disability of the employee
or any | ||||||
3 | dependent of a
deceased employee who may be entitled to | ||||||
4 | compensation under the
provisions of this Act, the limitations | ||||||
5 | of time by this Act provided do
not begin to run against such | ||||||
6 | person under legal disability
until a
guardian has been | ||||||
7 | appointed.
| ||||||
8 | (2) In cases of injuries sustained by exposure to | ||||||
9 | radiological
materials or equipment, notice shall be given to | ||||||
10 | the employer within 90
days subsequent to the time that the | ||||||
11 | employee knows or suspects that he
has received an excessive | ||||||
12 | dose of radiation.
| ||||||
13 | No defect or inaccuracy of such notice shall be a bar to | ||||||
14 | the
maintenance of proceedings on arbitration or otherwise by | ||||||
15 | the employee
unless the employer proves that he is unduly | ||||||
16 | prejudiced in such
proceedings by such defect or inaccuracy.
| ||||||
17 | Notice of the accident shall give the approximate date and | ||||||
18 | place of
the accident, if known, and may be given orally or in | ||||||
19 | writing.
| ||||||
20 | (d) Every employer shall notify each injured employee who | ||||||
21 | has been
granted compensation under the provisions of Section 8 | ||||||
22 | of this Act
of his rights to rehabilitation services and advise | ||||||
23 | him of the locations
of available public rehabilitation centers | ||||||
24 | and any other such services
of which the employer has | ||||||
25 | knowledge.
| ||||||
26 | In any case, other than one where the injury was caused by |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | exposure
to radiological materials or equipment or asbestos | ||||||
2 | unless the application for
compensation is filed with the | ||||||
3 | Commission within 3 years after the date
of the accident, where | ||||||
4 | no compensation has been paid, or within 2 years
after the date | ||||||
5 | of the last payment of compensation, where any has been
paid, | ||||||
6 | whichever shall be later, the right to file such application | ||||||
7 | shall
be barred.
| ||||||
8 | In any case of injury caused by exposure to radiological | ||||||
9 | materials or
equipment or asbestos, unless application for | ||||||
10 | compensation is filed with the
Commission within 25 years after | ||||||
11 | the last day that the employee was
employed in an environment | ||||||
12 | of hazardous radiological activity or asbestos,
the right to | ||||||
13 | file such application shall be barred.
| ||||||
14 | If in any case except one where the injury was caused by | ||||||
15 | exposure to
radiological materials or equipment or asbestos, | ||||||
16 | the accidental injury
results in death application for | ||||||
17 | compensation for death may be filed with the
Commission within | ||||||
18 | 3 years after the date of death where no compensation
has been | ||||||
19 | paid or within 2 years after the date of the last payment of
| ||||||
20 | compensation where any has been paid, whichever shall be later, | ||||||
21 | but not
thereafter.
| ||||||
22 | If an accidental injury caused by exposure to radiological | ||||||
23 | material
or equipment or asbestos results in death within 25 | ||||||
24 | years after the last
day that the employee was so exposed | ||||||
25 | application for compensation for death may
be filed with the | ||||||
26 | Commission within 3 years after the date of death,
where no |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | compensation has been paid, or within 2 years after the date of
| ||||||
2 | the last payment of compensation where any has been paid, | ||||||
3 | whichever
shall be later, but not thereafter.
| ||||||
4 | (e) Any contract or agreement made by any employer or his | ||||||
5 | agent or
attorney with any employee or any other beneficiary of | ||||||
6 | any claim under
the provisions of this Act within 7 days after | ||||||
7 | the injury shall be
presumed to be fraudulent.
| ||||||
8 | (f) Any condition or impairment of health of an employee | ||||||
9 | employed as a
firefighter, emergency medical technician (EMT), | ||||||
10 | or paramedic which results
directly or indirectly from any | ||||||
11 | bloodborne pathogen, lung or respiratory
disease
or condition, | ||||||
12 | heart
or vascular disease or condition, hypertension, | ||||||
13 | tuberculosis, or cancer
resulting in any disability | ||||||
14 | (temporary, permanent, total, or partial) to the
employee shall | ||||||
15 | be rebuttably presumed to arise out of and in the course of
the | ||||||
16 | employee's firefighting, EMT, or paramedic employment and, | ||||||
17 | further, shall
be
rebuttably presumed to be causally connected | ||||||
18 | to the hazards or exposures of
the employment. This presumption | ||||||
19 | shall also apply to any hernia or hearing
loss suffered by an | ||||||
20 | employee employed as a firefighter, EMT, or paramedic.
However, | ||||||
21 | this presumption shall not apply to any employee who has been | ||||||
22 | employed
as a firefighter, EMT, or paramedic for less than 5 | ||||||
23 | years at the time he or she files an Application for Adjustment | ||||||
24 | of Claim concerning this condition or impairment with the | ||||||
25 | Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. The Finding and | ||||||
26 | Decision of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | under only the rebuttable presumption provision of this | ||||||
2 | subsection shall not be admissible or be deemed res judicata in | ||||||
3 | any disability claim under the Illinois Pension Code arising | ||||||
4 | out of the same medical condition; however, this sentence makes | ||||||
5 | no change to the law set forth in Krohe v. City of Bloomington, | ||||||
6 | 204 Ill.2d 392.
| ||||||
7 | (Source: P.A. 95-316, eff. 1-1-08.)
| ||||||
8 | (820 ILCS 305/11) (from Ch. 48, par. 138.11)
| ||||||
9 | Sec. 11. The compensation herein provided, together with | ||||||
10 | the
provisions of this Act, shall be the measure of the | ||||||
11 | responsibility of
any employer who comes within subsection (a) | ||||||
12 | or (b)_of engaged in any of the enterprises or businesses | ||||||
13 | enumerated
in Section 3 of this Act, or of any employer who | ||||||
14 | does not come within subsection (a) or (b)_of Section 3 of this | ||||||
15 | Act is not engaged in any
such enterprises or businesses, but | ||||||
16 | who has elected to provide and pay
compensation for accidental | ||||||
17 | injuries sustained by any employee arising
out of and in the | ||||||
18 | course of the employment according to the provisions
of this | ||||||
19 | Act, and whose election to continue under this Act, has not | ||||||
20 | been
nullified by any action of his employees as provided for | ||||||
21 | in this Act.
| ||||||
22 | Accidental injuries incurred while participating in | ||||||
23 | voluntary recreational
programs including but not limited to | ||||||
24 | athletic events, parties and picnics
do not arise out of and in | ||||||
25 | the course of the employment even though the
employer pays some |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | or all of the cost thereof. This exclusion shall not apply
in | ||||||
2 | the event that the injured employee was ordered or assigned by | ||||||
3 | his employer
to participate in the program.
| ||||||
4 | Accidental injuries incurred while participating as a | ||||||
5 | patient in a drug
or alcohol rehabilitation program do not | ||||||
6 | arise out of and in the course
of employment even though the | ||||||
7 | employer pays some or all of the costs thereof. | ||||||
8 | Any injury to or disease or death of an employee arising | ||||||
9 | from the administration of a vaccine, including without | ||||||
10 | limitation smallpox vaccine, to prepare for, or as a response | ||||||
11 | to, a threatened or potential bioterrorist incident to the | ||||||
12 | employee as part of a voluntary inoculation program in | ||||||
13 | connection with the person's employment or in connection with | ||||||
14 | any governmental program or recommendation for the inoculation | ||||||
15 | of workers in the employee's occupation, geographical area, or | ||||||
16 | other category that includes the employee is deemed to arise | ||||||
17 | out of and in the course of the employment for all purposes | ||||||
18 | under this Act. This paragraph added by this amendatory Act of | ||||||
19 | the 93rd General Assembly is declarative of existing law and is | ||||||
20 | not a new enactment.
| ||||||
21 | (Source: P.A. 93-829, eff. 7-28-04.)
| ||||||
22 | (820 ILCS 305/17) (from Ch. 48, par. 138.17)
| ||||||
23 | Sec. 17. The Commission shall cause to be printed and | ||||||
24 | furnish free of
charge upon request by any employer or employee | ||||||
25 | such blank forms as may
facilitate or promote efficient |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | administration and the performance of
the duties of the | ||||||
2 | Commission. It shall provide a proper record in which
shall be | ||||||
3 | entered and indexed the name of any employer who shall file a
| ||||||
4 | notice of declination or withdrawal under this Act, and the | ||||||
5 | date of the
filing thereof; and a proper record in which shall | ||||||
6 | be entered and
indexed the name of any employee who shall file | ||||||
7 | such notice of
declination or withdrawal, and the date of the | ||||||
8 | filing thereof; and such
other notices as may be required by | ||||||
9 | this Act; and records in which shall
be recorded all | ||||||
10 | proceedings, orders and awards had or made by the
Commission or | ||||||
11 | by the arbitration committees, and such other books or
records | ||||||
12 | as it shall deem
necessary, all such records to be kept in the
| ||||||
13 | office of the Commission.
| ||||||
14 | An employer who elects not to be covered by this Act or who | ||||||
15 | withdraws from coverage under this Act must file a
notice of | ||||||
16 | declination or withdrawal under this Act with the Commission in | ||||||
17 | writing, in the time and as prescribed by Commission rule, that | ||||||
18 | the employer elects not to be covered. The Commission shall | ||||||
19 | prescribe forms to be used for the employer notification and | ||||||
20 | shall require the employer to provide reasonable information to | ||||||
21 | the Commission about the employer's business. | ||||||
22 | The Commission may destroy all papers and documents which | ||||||
23 | have been
on file for more than 5 years where there is no claim | ||||||
24 | for compensation
pending or where more than 2 years have | ||||||
25 | elapsed since the termination of
the compensation period.
| ||||||
26 | The Commission shall compile and distribute to interested |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | persons aggregate
statistics, taken from any records and | ||||||
2 | reports in the possession of the
Commission. The aggregate | ||||||
3 | statistics shall not give the names or otherwise
identify | ||||||
4 | persons sustaining injuries or disabilities or the employer of
| ||||||
5 | any injured or disabled person.
| ||||||
6 | The Commission is authorized to establish reasonable fees | ||||||
7 | and methods
of payment limited to covering only the costs to | ||||||
8 | the Commission for processing,
maintaining and generating | ||||||
9 | records or data necessary for the computerized
production of | ||||||
10 | documents, records and other materials except to the extent
of | ||||||
11 | any salaries or compensation of Commission officers or | ||||||
12 | employees.
| ||||||
13 | All fees collected by the Commission under this Section | ||||||
14 | shall be deposited
in the Statistical Services Revolving Fund | ||||||
15 | and credited to the account of
the Illinois Workers' | ||||||
16 | Compensation Commission.
| ||||||
17 | (Source: P.A. 93-721, eff. 1-1-05.)
| ||||||
18 | Section 10. The Workers' Occupational Diseases Act is | ||||||
19 | amended by changing Sections 1, 2, 6, and 17 and by adding | ||||||
20 | Section 2.1 as follows:
| ||||||
21 | (820 ILCS 310/1) (from Ch. 48, par. 172.36)
| ||||||
22 | Sec. 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the | ||||||
23 | "Workers'
Occupational Diseases Act".
| ||||||
24 | (a) The term "employer" as used in this Act means a person |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | who employs one or more employees. shall be construed to
be:
| ||||||
2 | 1. The State and each county, city, town, township, | ||||||
3 | incorporated
village, school district, body politic, or | ||||||
4 | municipal corporation
therein.
| ||||||
5 | 2. Every person, firm, public or private corporation, | ||||||
6 | including
hospitals, public service, eleemosynary, | ||||||
7 | religious or charitable
corporations or associations, who | ||||||
8 | has any person in service or under any
contract for hire, | ||||||
9 | express or implied, oral or written.
| ||||||
10 | 3. Where an employer operating under and subject to the | ||||||
11 | provisions
of this Act loans an employee to another such | ||||||
12 | employer and such loaned
employee sustains a compensable | ||||||
13 | occupational disease in the employment
of such borrowing | ||||||
14 | employer and where such borrowing employer does not
provide | ||||||
15 | or pay the benefits or payments due such employee, such | ||||||
16 | loaning
employer shall be liable to provide or pay all | ||||||
17 | benefits or payments due
such employee under this Act and | ||||||
18 | as to such employee the liability of
such loaning and | ||||||
19 | borrowing employers shall be joint and several,
provided | ||||||
20 | that such loaning employer shall in the absence of | ||||||
21 | agreement to
the contrary be entitled to receive from such | ||||||
22 | borrowing employer full
reimbursement for all sums paid or | ||||||
23 | incurred pursuant to this paragraph
together with | ||||||
24 | reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses in any hearings
| ||||||
25 | before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission or in | ||||||
26 | any action to secure such
reimbursement. Where any benefit |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | is provided or paid by such loaning
employer, the employee | ||||||
2 | shall have the duty of rendering reasonable
co-operation in | ||||||
3 | any hearings, trials or proceedings in the case,
including | ||||||
4 | such proceedings for reimbursement.
| ||||||
5 | Where an employee files an Application for Adjustment | ||||||
6 | of Claim with
the Illinois Workers' Compensation | ||||||
7 | Commission alleging that his or her claim is covered by
the | ||||||
8 | provisions of the preceding paragraph, and joining both the | ||||||
9 | alleged
loaning and borrowing employers, they and each of | ||||||
10 | them, upon written
demand by the employee and within 7 days | ||||||
11 | after receipt of such demand,
shall have the duty of filing | ||||||
12 | with the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission a | ||||||
13 | written
admission or denial of the allegation that the | ||||||
14 | claim is covered by the
provisions of the preceding | ||||||
15 | paragraph and in default of such filing or
if any such | ||||||
16 | denial be ultimately determined not to have been bona fide
| ||||||
17 | then the provisions of Paragraph K of Section 19 of this | ||||||
18 | Act shall
apply.
| ||||||
19 | An employer whose business or enterprise or a | ||||||
20 | substantial part
thereof consists of hiring, procuring or | ||||||
21 | furnishing employees to or for
other employers operating | ||||||
22 | under and subject to the provisions of this
Act for the | ||||||
23 | performance of the work of such other employers and who | ||||||
24 | pays
such employees their salary or wage notwithstanding | ||||||
25 | that they are doing
the work of such other employers shall | ||||||
26 | be deemed a loaning employer
within the meaning and |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | provisions of this Section.
| ||||||
2 | (b) The term "employee" as used in this Act, shall be | ||||||
3 | construed to
mean:
| ||||||
4 | 1. Every person in the service of the State, county, | ||||||
5 | city, town,
township, incorporated village or school | ||||||
6 | district, body politic or
municipal corporation therein, | ||||||
7 | whether by election, appointment or
contract of hire, | ||||||
8 | express or implied, oral or written, including any
official | ||||||
9 | of the State, or of any county, city, town, township,
| ||||||
10 | incorporated village, school district, body politic or | ||||||
11 | municipal
corporation therein and except any duly | ||||||
12 | appointed member of the fire
department in any city whose | ||||||
13 | population exceeds 500,000 according to the
last Federal or | ||||||
14 | State census, and except any member of a fire insurance
| ||||||
15 | patrol maintained by a board of underwriters in this State. | ||||||
16 | One employed
by a contractor who has contracted with the | ||||||
17 | State, or a county, city,
town, township, incorporated | ||||||
18 | village, school district, body politic or
municipal | ||||||
19 | corporation therein, through its representatives, shall | ||||||
20 | not be
considered as an employee of the State, county, | ||||||
21 | city, town, township,
incorporated village, school | ||||||
22 | district, body politic or municipal
corporation which made | ||||||
23 | the contract.
| ||||||
24 | 2. Every person in the service of another under any | ||||||
25 | contract of
hire, express or implied, oral or written, who | ||||||
26 | contracts an occupational
disease while working in the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | State of Illinois, or who contracts an
occupational disease | ||||||
2 | while working outside of the State of Illinois but
where | ||||||
3 | the contract of hire is made within the State of Illinois, | ||||||
4 | and any
person whose employment is principally localized | ||||||
5 | within the State of
Illinois, regardless of the place where | ||||||
6 | the disease was contracted or
place where the contract of | ||||||
7 | hire was made, including aliens, and minors
who, for the | ||||||
8 | purpose of this Act, except Section 3 hereof, shall be
| ||||||
9 | considered the same and have the same power to contract, | ||||||
10 | receive
payments and give quittances therefor, as adult | ||||||
11 | employees. An employee
or his or her dependents under this | ||||||
12 | Act who shall have a cause of action
by reason of an | ||||||
13 | occupational disease, disablement or death arising out
of | ||||||
14 | and in the course of his or her employment may elect or | ||||||
15 | pursue
his or her remedy in the State where the disease was | ||||||
16 | contracted, or in the
State where the contract of hire is | ||||||
17 | made, or in the State where the
employment is principally | ||||||
18 | localized.
| ||||||
19 | Nothing in this subsection (b) shall be construed to | ||||||
20 | require coverage of an employee by an employer who elects not | ||||||
21 | to be covered by this Act. | ||||||
22 | (c) "Commission" means the Illinois Workers' Compensation | ||||||
23 | Commission created by the
Workers' Compensation Act, approved | ||||||
24 | July 9, 1951, as amended.
| ||||||
25 | (d) In this Act the term "Occupational Disease" means a | ||||||
26 | disease
arising out of and in the course of the employment or |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | which has become
aggravated and rendered disabling as a result | ||||||
2 | of the exposure of the
employment. Such aggravation shall arise | ||||||
3 | out of a risk peculiar to or
increased by the employment and | ||||||
4 | not common to the general public.
| ||||||
5 | A disease shall be deemed to arise out of the employment if | ||||||
6 | there is
apparent to the rational mind, upon consideration of | ||||||
7 | all the
circumstances, a causal connection between the | ||||||
8 | conditions under which
the work is performed and the | ||||||
9 | occupational disease. The disease need not
to have been | ||||||
10 | foreseen or expected but after its contraction it must
appear | ||||||
11 | to have had its origin or aggravation in a risk connected with
| ||||||
12 | the employment and to have flowed from that source as a | ||||||
13 | rational
consequence.
| ||||||
14 | An employee shall be conclusively deemed to have been | ||||||
15 | exposed to the
hazards of an occupational disease when, for any | ||||||
16 | length of time however
short, he or she is employed in an | ||||||
17 | occupation or process in which the
hazard of the disease | ||||||
18 | exists; provided however, that in a claim of
exposure to atomic | ||||||
19 | radiation, the fact of such exposure must be verified
by the | ||||||
20 | records of the central registry of radiation exposure | ||||||
21 | maintained
by the Department of Public Health or by some other | ||||||
22 | recognized
governmental agency maintaining records of such | ||||||
23 | exposures whenever and
to the extent that the records are on | ||||||
24 | file with the Department of Public
Health or the agency. | ||||||
25 | Any injury to or disease or death of an employee arising | ||||||
26 | from the administration of a vaccine, including without |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | limitation smallpox vaccine, to prepare for, or as a response | ||||||
2 | to, a threatened or potential bioterrorist incident to the | ||||||
3 | employee as part of a voluntary inoculation program in | ||||||
4 | connection with the person's employment or in connection with | ||||||
5 | any governmental program or recommendation for the inoculation | ||||||
6 | of workers in the employee's occupation, geographical area, or | ||||||
7 | other category that includes the employee is deemed to arise | ||||||
8 | out of and in the course of the employment for all purposes | ||||||
9 | under this Act. This paragraph added by Public Act 93-829 is | ||||||
10 | declarative of existing law and is not a new enactment.
| ||||||
11 | The employer liable for the compensation in this Act | ||||||
12 | provided shall
be the employer in whose employment the employee | ||||||
13 | was last exposed to the
hazard of the occupational disease | ||||||
14 | claimed upon regardless of the length
of time of such last | ||||||
15 | exposure, except, in cases of silicosis or
asbestosis, the only | ||||||
16 | employer liable shall be the last employer in whose
employment | ||||||
17 | the employee was last exposed during a period of 60 days or
| ||||||
18 | more after the effective date of this Act, to the hazard of | ||||||
19 | such
occupational disease, and, in such cases, an exposure | ||||||
20 | during a period of
less than 60 days, after the effective date | ||||||
21 | of this Act, shall not be
deemed a last exposure. If a miner | ||||||
22 | who is suffering or suffered from
pneumoconiosis was employed | ||||||
23 | for 10 years or more in one or more coal
mines there shall, | ||||||
24 | effective July 1, 1973 be a rebuttable presumption
that his or | ||||||
25 | her pneumoconiosis arose out of such employment.
| ||||||
26 | If a deceased miner was employed for 10 years or more in |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | one or more
coal mines and died from a respirable disease there | ||||||
2 | shall, effective
July 1, 1973, be a rebuttable presumption that | ||||||
3 | his or her death was due
to pneumoconiosis.
| ||||||
4 | Any condition or impairment of health of an employee | ||||||
5 | employed as a
firefighter, emergency medical technician (EMT), | ||||||
6 | or paramedic which results
directly or indirectly from any | ||||||
7 | bloodborne pathogen, lung or respiratory
disease
or
condition, | ||||||
8 | heart
or vascular disease or condition, hypertension, | ||||||
9 | tuberculosis, or cancer
resulting
in any disability | ||||||
10 | (temporary, permanent, total, or partial) to the employee
shall | ||||||
11 | be rebuttably presumed to arise out of and in the course of the
| ||||||
12 | employee's firefighting, EMT, or paramedic employment and, | ||||||
13 | further, shall be
rebuttably presumed to be causally connected | ||||||
14 | to the hazards or exposures of
the employment. This presumption | ||||||
15 | shall also apply to any hernia or hearing
loss suffered by an | ||||||
16 | employee employed as a firefighter, EMT, or paramedic.
However, | ||||||
17 | this presumption shall not apply to any employee who has been | ||||||
18 | employed
as a firefighter, EMT, or paramedic for less than 5 | ||||||
19 | years at the time he or she files an Application for Adjustment | ||||||
20 | of Claim concerning this condition or impairment with the | ||||||
21 | Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. The Finding and | ||||||
22 | Decision of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission | ||||||
23 | under only the rebuttable presumption provision of this | ||||||
24 | paragraph shall not be admissible or be deemed res judicata in | ||||||
25 | any disability claim under the Illinois Pension Code arising | ||||||
26 | out of the same medical condition; however, this sentence makes |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | no change to the law set forth in Krohe v. City of Bloomington, | ||||||
2 | 204 Ill.2d 392.
| ||||||
3 | The insurance carrier liable shall be the carrier whose | ||||||
4 | policy was in
effect covering the employer liable on the last | ||||||
5 | day of the exposure
rendering such employer liable in | ||||||
6 | accordance with the provisions of this
Act.
| ||||||
7 | (e) "Disablement" means an impairment or partial | ||||||
8 | impairment,
temporary or permanent, in the function of the body | ||||||
9 | or any of the
members of the body, or the event of becoming | ||||||
10 | disabled from earning full
wages at the work in which the | ||||||
11 | employee was engaged when last exposed to
the hazards of the | ||||||
12 | occupational disease by the employer from whom he or
she claims | ||||||
13 | compensation, or equal wages in other suitable employment;
and | ||||||
14 | "disability" means the state of being so incapacitated.
| ||||||
15 | (f) No compensation shall be payable for or on account of | ||||||
16 | any
occupational disease unless disablement, as herein | ||||||
17 | defined, occurs
within two years after the last day of the last | ||||||
18 | exposure to the hazards
of the disease, except in cases of | ||||||
19 | occupational disease caused by
berylliosis or by the inhalation | ||||||
20 | of silica dust or asbestos dust and, in
such cases, within 3 | ||||||
21 | years after the last day of the last exposure to
the hazards of | ||||||
22 | such disease and except in the case of occupational
disease | ||||||
23 | caused by exposure to radiological materials or equipment, and
| ||||||
24 | in such case, within 25 years after the last day of last | ||||||
25 | exposure to the
hazards of such disease.
| ||||||
26 | (Source: P.A. 95-316, eff. 1-1-08; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | (820 ILCS 310/2) (from Ch. 48, par. 172.37)
| ||||||
2 | Sec. 2. (a) Where any employer in this State is | ||||||
3 | automatically
and without election subject to and bound by the | ||||||
4 | provisions of
the Workers' Compensation Act by reason of the | ||||||
5 | provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of
Section 3 thereof, as | ||||||
6 | heretofore or hereafter amended, then
such employer and all of | ||||||
7 | his employees working within this
State shall be automatically | ||||||
8 | and without election subject to
and bound by the compensation | ||||||
9 | provisions of this Act with
respect to all cases in which the | ||||||
10 | last day of the last exposure
to the hazards of the disease | ||||||
11 | claimed upon shall have been on
or after the effective date of | ||||||
12 | this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly July 1, 1957 . | ||||||
13 | However, nothing contained in this Act
shall be construed to | ||||||
14 | apply to any business, enterprise,
household or residence which | ||||||
15 | is exempt from the compensation
provisions of the Workers' | ||||||
16 | Compensation Act under subsection (c) of paragraphs
17, 18 and | ||||||
17 | 19 of Section 3 of that Act.
| ||||||
18 | (b) Any employer in this State who does not come within the | ||||||
19 | classes
enumerated by Section 2 (a) of this Act may elect to | ||||||
20 | provide and pay
compensation according to the provisions of | ||||||
21 | this Act, for disability or
death resulting from occupational | ||||||
22 | diseases, and such election, when
effective, shall apply to all | ||||||
23 | cases in which the last day of the last
exposure as defined in | ||||||
24 | this Act to the hazards of the occupational
disease claimed | ||||||
25 | upon shall have occurred on or after the effective date
of such |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | election, and shall relieve such employer of all liability | ||||||
2 | under
Section 3 of this Act and all other liability with | ||||||
3 | respect to injury to
health or death therefrom by reason of any | ||||||
4 | disease contracted or
sustained in the course of the | ||||||
5 | employment. The State of Illinois hereby
elects to provide and | ||||||
6 | pay compensation according to the provisions of
this Act.
| ||||||
7 | (c) Election by any employer, pursuant to paragraph (b) of | ||||||
8 | this
Section shall be made by filing notice of such election | ||||||
9 | with the
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission or by | ||||||
10 | insuring his liability to pay compensation
under this Act in | ||||||
11 | some insurance carrier authorized, licensed or
permitted to do | ||||||
12 | such insurance business in this State. Such employer
shall | ||||||
13 | either furnish to his employees personally or post in a
| ||||||
14 | conspicuous place in the place of employment notice of his | ||||||
15 | election.
| ||||||
16 | (d) Every employer who has elected pursuant to paragraphs | ||||||
17 | (b) and
(c) of this section to provide and pay compensation | ||||||
18 | shall, from and
after the effective date of such election be | ||||||
19 | and operate under all
provisions of this Act except Section 3 | ||||||
20 | hereof, with respect to all his
employees except those who have | ||||||
21 | rejected in due time as provided in
paragraph (e). Any employer | ||||||
22 | having elected, prior to October 1, 1941,
not to provide and | ||||||
23 | pay compensation may at any time thereafter again
elect | ||||||
24 | pursuant to paragraphs (b) and (c) to provide and pay
| ||||||
25 | compensation, but having thus elected for the second time to | ||||||
26 | provide and
pay compensation such employer shall, from and |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | after the effective date
of such last said election, be and | ||||||
2 | operate under all provisions of this
Act, except Section 3 | ||||||
3 | hereof, with respect to all employees except those
who have | ||||||
4 | rejected in due time as provided in paragraph (e) of this
| ||||||
5 | section.
| ||||||
6 | (e) If any employer elects, pursuant to paragraph (b) and | ||||||
7 | (c) of
this section, then every employee of such employer, who | ||||||
8 | may be employed
at the time of such election by such employer, | ||||||
9 | shall be deemed to have
accepted all the compensation | ||||||
10 | provisions of this Act and shall be bound
thereby unless within | ||||||
11 | 30 days after such election he shall file a notice
to the | ||||||
12 | contrary with the Commission whose duty it shall be immediately
| ||||||
13 | to notify the employer, and until such notice is given to the | ||||||
14 | employer,
the measure of liability of such employer shall be | ||||||
15 | determined according
to the compensation provisions of this | ||||||
16 | Act; and every employee of such
employer, hired after such | ||||||
17 | employer's election, as a part of his
contract of hiring shall | ||||||
18 | be deemed to have accepted all of the
compensation provisions | ||||||
19 | of this Act, and shall have no right of
rejection.
| ||||||
20 | (f) Every employer within the provisions of this Act who | ||||||
21 | has elected
to provide any pay compensation according to the | ||||||
22 | provisions of this Act
by filing notice of such election with | ||||||
23 | the Commission, shall be bound
thereby as to all his employees | ||||||
24 | until January 1st of the next succeeding
year and for terms of | ||||||
25 | each year thereafter.
| ||||||
26 | Any such employer who may have once elected, may elect not |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | to provide
and pay the compensation herein provided for | ||||||
2 | accidents resulting in
either injury or death and occurring | ||||||
3 | after the expiration of any such
calendar year by filing notice | ||||||
4 | of such election with the Commission at
least 60 days prior to | ||||||
5 | the expiration of any such calendar year, and by
posting such | ||||||
6 | notice at a conspicuous place in the plant, shop, office,
room | ||||||
7 | or place where such employee is employed, or by personal | ||||||
8 | service,
in written or printed form, upon such employees, at | ||||||
9 | least 60 days prior
to the expiration of any such calendar | ||||||
10 | year.
| ||||||
11 | Every employer within the provisions of this Act who has | ||||||
12 | elected to
provide and pay compensation according to the | ||||||
13 | provisions of this Act by
insuring his liability to pay | ||||||
14 | compensation under this Act, as above
provided, shall be bound | ||||||
15 | thereby as to all his employees until the date
of expiration or | ||||||
16 | cancellation of such policy of insurance, or any
renewal | ||||||
17 | thereof.
| ||||||
18 | (g) An employer who elects to be covered under the Workers' | ||||||
19 | Compensation Act may not decline coverage under this Act. An | ||||||
20 | employer who declines coverage under the Workers' Compensation | ||||||
21 | Act may not elect to be covered under this Act. An employer who | ||||||
22 | withdraws from coverage under the Workers' Compensation Act | ||||||
23 | must also withdraw from coverage under this Act. | ||||||
24 | (Source: P.A. 93-721, eff. 1-1-05.)
| ||||||
25 | (820 ILCS 310/2.1 new) |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Sec. 2.1. Common-law defenses; burden of proof; waiver. | ||||||
2 | Section 2.1 of the Workers' Compensation Act applies when an | ||||||
3 | employer who elects not to be covered by this Act and the | ||||||
4 | Workers' Compensation Act.
| ||||||
5 | (820 ILCS 310/6) (from Ch. 48, par. 172.41)
| ||||||
6 | Sec. 6. (a) Every employer operating under the compensation
| ||||||
7 | provisions of this Act, shall post printed notices in their | ||||||
8 | respective
places of employment in conspicuous places and in | ||||||
9 | such number and at
such places as may be determined by the | ||||||
10 | Commission, containing such
information relative to this Act as | ||||||
11 | in the judgment of the Commission
may be necessary to aid | ||||||
12 | employees to safeguard their rights under this Act.
| ||||||
13 | In addition thereto, the employer shall post in a | ||||||
14 | conspicuous place
on the premises of the employment a printed | ||||||
15 | or typewritten notice
stating whether he is insured or whether | ||||||
16 | he has qualified and is
operating as a self-insured employer. | ||||||
17 | In the event the employer is
insured, the notice shall state | ||||||
18 | the name and address of his or her insurance
carrier, the | ||||||
19 | number of the insurance policy, its effective date and the
date | ||||||
20 | of termination. In the event of the termination of the policy | ||||||
21 | for
any reason prior to the termination date stated, the posted | ||||||
22 | notice shall
promptly be corrected accordingly. In the event | ||||||
23 | the employer is
operating as a self-insured employer the notice | ||||||
24 | shall state the name and
address of the company, if any, | ||||||
25 | servicing the compensation payments of
the employer, and the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | name and address of the person in charge of making
compensation | ||||||
2 | payments.
| ||||||
3 | (a-5) An employer shall notify each employee whether or not | ||||||
4 | the employer is covered under this Act. The employer shall | ||||||
5 | notify a new employee of the existence or absence of coverage | ||||||
6 | under this Act at the time the employee is hired. Each employer | ||||||
7 | shall post a notice of whether the employer is covered under | ||||||
8 | this Act at conspicuous locations at the employer's place of | ||||||
9 | business as necessary to provide reasonable notice to the | ||||||
10 | employees. The Commission may adopt rules relating to the form | ||||||
11 | and content of the notice. The employer shall revise the notice | ||||||
12 | when the information contained in the notice is changed. An | ||||||
13 | employer who elects to be covered under this Act or who | ||||||
14 | withdraws from coverage shall notify each employee that the | ||||||
15 | coverage has been elected or withdrawn not later than the 15th | ||||||
16 | day after the date on which the election or withdrawal takes | ||||||
17 | effect. | ||||||
18 | (b) Every employer subject to this Act shall maintain | ||||||
19 | accurate
records of work-related deaths, injuries and | ||||||
20 | illnesses other than minor
injuries requiring only first aid | ||||||
21 | treatment and which do not involve
medical treatment, loss of | ||||||
22 | consciousness, restriction of work or motion
or transfer to | ||||||
23 | another job and file with the Illinois Workers' Compensation | ||||||
24 | Commission, in
writing, a report of all occupational diseases | ||||||
25 | arising out of and in the
course of the employment and | ||||||
26 | resulting in death, or disablement or
illness resulting in the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | loss of more than 3 scheduled work
days. In the case
of death | ||||||
2 | such report shall be made no later than 2 working days
| ||||||
3 | following the occupational death. In all other cases such | ||||||
4 | report shall
be made between the 15th and 25th of each month | ||||||
5 | unless required to be
made sooner by rule of the Illinois | ||||||
6 | Workers' Compensation Commission. In case the
occupational | ||||||
7 | disease results in permanent disability, a further report
shall | ||||||
8 | be made as soon as it is determined that such permanent | ||||||
9 | disability
has resulted or will result therefrom. All reports | ||||||
10 | shall state the date
of the disablement, the nature of the | ||||||
11 | employer's business, the name,
address, the age, sex, conjugal | ||||||
12 | condition of the disabled person, the
specific occupation of | ||||||
13 | the person, the nature and character of the
occupational | ||||||
14 | disease, the length of disability, and, in case of death,
the | ||||||
15 | length of disability before death, the wages of the employee,
| ||||||
16 | whether compensation has been paid to the employee, or to his | ||||||
17 | legal
representative or his heirs or next of kin, the amount of | ||||||
18 | compensation
paid, the amount paid for physicians', surgeons' | ||||||
19 | and hospital bills, and
by whom paid, and the amount paid for | ||||||
20 | funeral or burial expenses, if
known. The reports shall be made | ||||||
21 | on forms and in the manner as
prescribed by the Illinois | ||||||
22 | Workers' Compensation
Commission and shall contain such | ||||||
23 | further
information as the Commission shall deem necessary and | ||||||
24 | require. The
making of such reports releases the employer from | ||||||
25 | making such reports to
any other officer of the State and shall | ||||||
26 | satisfy the reporting
provisions as contained in the "Health |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | And Safety Act" and "An Act in
relation to safety inspections | ||||||
2 | and education in industrial and
commercial establishments and | ||||||
3 | to repeal an Act therein named", approved
July 18, 1955, as | ||||||
4 | amended. The report filed with the Illinois Workers' | ||||||
5 | Compensation
Commission pursuant to the provisions of this | ||||||
6 | Section shall be made
available by the Illinois Workers' | ||||||
7 | Compensation Commission to the Director of Labor or his
| ||||||
8 | representatives, to the Department of Public Health pursuant to | ||||||
9 | the
Illinois Health and Hazardous Substances Registry Act, and | ||||||
10 | to all other
departments of the State of Illinois which shall | ||||||
11 | require such information
for the proper discharge of their | ||||||
12 | official duties. Failure to file with
the Commission any of the | ||||||
13 | reports required in this Section is a petty offense.
| ||||||
14 | Except as provided in this paragraph, all reports filed | ||||||
15 | hereunder shall
be confidential and any person
having access to | ||||||
16 | such records filed with the Illinois Workers' Compensation | ||||||
17 | Commission as
herein required, who shall release the names or | ||||||
18 | otherwise identify any
persons sustaining injuries or | ||||||
19 | disabilities, or gives access to such
information to any | ||||||
20 | unauthorized person, shall be subject to discipline
or | ||||||
21 | discharge, and in addition shall be guilty of a Class B | ||||||
22 | misdemeanor.
The Commission shall compile and distribute to | ||||||
23 | interested persons aggregate
statistics, taken from the | ||||||
24 | reports filed hereunder. The aggregate statistics
shall not | ||||||
25 | give the names or otherwise identify persons sustaining | ||||||
26 | injuries
or disabilities or the employer of any injured or |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | disabled person.
| ||||||
2 | (c) There shall be given notice to the employer of | ||||||
3 | disablement
arising from an occupational disease as soon as | ||||||
4 | practicable after the
date of the disablement. If the | ||||||
5 | Commission shall find that the failure
to give such notice | ||||||
6 | substantially prejudices the rights of the employer
the | ||||||
7 | Commission in its discretion may order that the right of the
| ||||||
8 | employee to proceed under this Act shall be barred.
| ||||||
9 | In case of legal disability of the employee or any | ||||||
10 | dependent of a
deceased employee who may be entitled to | ||||||
11 | compensation, under the
provisions of this Act, the limitations | ||||||
12 | of time in this Section of this
Act provided shall not begin to | ||||||
13 | run against such person who is under legal
disability until a | ||||||
14 | conservator or guardian has been appointed. No defect or
| ||||||
15 | inaccuracy of such notice shall be a bar to the maintenance of | ||||||
16 | proceedings on
arbitration or otherwise by the employee unless | ||||||
17 | the employer proves that
he or she is unduly prejudiced in such | ||||||
18 | proceedings by such defect or
inaccuracy. Notice of the | ||||||
19 | disabling disease may be given orally or in writing.
In any | ||||||
20 | case, other than injury or death caused by exposure to | ||||||
21 | radiological
materials or equipment or asbestos, unless | ||||||
22 | application for compensation
is filed with the Commission | ||||||
23 | within 3 years after the date of the
disablement, where no | ||||||
24 | compensation has been paid, or within 2 years
after the date of | ||||||
25 | the last payment of compensation, where any has been
paid, | ||||||
26 | whichever shall be later, the right to file such application
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | shall be barred. If the occupational disease results in death,
| ||||||
2 | application for compensation for death may be filed with the | ||||||
3 | Commission
within 3 years after the date of death where no | ||||||
4 | compensation has been
paid, or within 3 years after the last | ||||||
5 | payment of compensation, where
any has been paid, whichever is | ||||||
6 | later, but not thereafter.
| ||||||
7 | Effective July 1, 1973 in cases of disability caused by | ||||||
8 | coal miners
pneumoconiosis unless application for compensation | ||||||
9 | is filed with the
Commission within 5 years after the employee | ||||||
10 | was last exposed where no
compensation has been paid, or within | ||||||
11 | 5 years after the last payment of
compensation where any has | ||||||
12 | been paid, the right to file such application
shall be barred.
| ||||||
13 | In cases of disability caused by exposure to radiological | ||||||
14 | materials
or equipment or asbestos, unless application for | ||||||
15 | compensation is filed with the
Commission within 25 years after | ||||||
16 | the employee was so exposed, the right
to file such application | ||||||
17 | shall be barred.
| ||||||
18 | In cases of death occurring within 25 years from the last | ||||||
19 | exposure to
radiological material or equipment or asbestos, | ||||||
20 | application for compensation
must be filed within 3 years of | ||||||
21 | death where no compensation has been paid, or
within 3 years, | ||||||
22 | after the date of the last payment where any has been
paid, but | ||||||
23 | not thereafter.
| ||||||
24 | (d) Any contract or agreement made by any employer or his | ||||||
25 | agent or
attorney with any employee or any other beneficiary of | ||||||
26 | any claim under
the provisions of this Act within 7 days after |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | the disablement shall be
presumed to be fraudulent.
| ||||||
2 | (Source: P.A. 93-721, eff. 1-1-05.)
| ||||||
3 | (820 ILCS 310/17) (from Ch. 48, par. 172.52)
| ||||||
4 | Sec. 17. The Commission shall cause to be printed and shall | ||||||
5 | furnish
free of charge upon request by any employer or employee | ||||||
6 | such blank forms
as it shall deem requisite to facilitate or | ||||||
7 | promote the efficient
administration of this Act, and the | ||||||
8 | performance of the duties of the
Commission. It shall provide a | ||||||
9 | proper record in which shall be entered
and indexed the name of | ||||||
10 | any employer who shall file a notice of election
under this | ||||||
11 | Act, and the date of the filing thereof; and a proper record
in | ||||||
12 | which shall be entered and indexed the name of any employee who | ||||||
13 | shall
file a notice of election, and the date of the filing | ||||||
14 | thereof; and such
other notices as may be required by this Act; | ||||||
15 | and records in which shall
be recorded all proceedings, orders | ||||||
16 | and awards had or made by the
Commission, or by the arbitration | ||||||
17 | committees, and such other books or
records as it shall deem | ||||||
18 | necessary, all such records to be kept in the
office of the | ||||||
19 | Commission. The Commission, in its discretion, may destroy
all | ||||||
20 | papers and documents except notices of election and waivers | ||||||
21 | which
have been on file for more than five years where there is | ||||||
22 | no claim for
compensation pending, or where more than two years | ||||||
23 | have elapsed since
the termination of the compensation period.
| ||||||
24 | An employer who elects not to be covered by this Act or who | ||||||
25 | withdraws from coverage under this Act must file a
notice of |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | declination or withdrawal under this Act with the Commission in | ||||||
2 | writing, in the time and as prescribed by Commission rule, that | ||||||
3 | the employer elects not to be covered. The Commission shall | ||||||
4 | prescribe forms to be used for the employer notification and | ||||||
5 | shall require the employer to provide reasonable information to | ||||||
6 | the Commission about the employer's business. | ||||||
7 | The Commission shall compile and distribute to interested | ||||||
8 | persons aggregate
statistics, taken from any records and | ||||||
9 | reports in the possession of the
Commission. The aggregate | ||||||
10 | statistics shall not give the names or otherwise
identify | ||||||
11 | persons sustaining injuries or disabilities or the employer of
| ||||||
12 | any injured or disabled person.
| ||||||
13 | The Commission is authorized to establish reasonable fees | ||||||
14 | and methods
of payment limited to covering only the costs to | ||||||
15 | the Commission for processing,
maintaining and generating | ||||||
16 | records or data necessary for the computerized
production of | ||||||
17 | documents, records and other materials except to the extent
of | ||||||
18 | any salaries or compensation of Commission officers or | ||||||
19 | employees.
| ||||||
20 | All fees collected by the Commission under this Section | ||||||
21 | shall be deposited
in the Statistical Services Revolving Fund | ||||||
22 | and credited to the account of
the Illinois Workers' | ||||||
23 | Compensation Commission.
| ||||||
24 | (Source: P.A. 93-721, eff. 1-1-05.)".
|