101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB1354

 

Introduced 2/13/2019, by Sen. Brian W. Stewart

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 345/1  from Ch. 70, par. 91

    Amends the Public Employee Disability Act. Provides that "eligible employee" under the Act includes part-time law enforcement officers and part-time firefighters (currently, only full-time law enforcement officers and full-time firefighters included).


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A BILL FOR

 

SB1354LRB101 09023 RJF 54116 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Public Employee Disability Act is amended by
5changing Section 1 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 345/1)  (from Ch. 70, par. 91)
7    Sec. 1. Disability benefit.
8    (a) For the purposes of this Section, "eligible employee"
9means any part-time or full-time State correctional officer or
10any other full or part-time employee of the Department of
11Corrections, any full or part-time employee of the Prisoner
12Review Board, any full or part-time employee of the Department
13of Human Services working within a penal institution or a State
14mental health or developmental disabilities facility operated
15by the Department of Human Services, and any full-time or
16part-time law enforcement officer or any full-time or part-time
17firefighter, including a full-time paramedic or a firefighter
18who performs paramedic duties, who is employed by the State of
19Illinois, any unit of local government (including any home rule
20unit), any State supported college or university, or any other
21public entity granted the power to employ persons for such
22purposes by law.
23    (b) Whenever an eligible employee suffers any injury in the

 

 

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1line of duty which causes him to be unable to perform his
2duties, he shall continue to be paid by the employing public
3entity on the same basis as he was paid before the injury, with
4no deduction from his sick leave credits, compensatory time for
5overtime accumulations or vacation, or service credits in a
6public employee pension fund during the time he is unable to
7perform his duties due to the result of the injury, but not
8longer than one year in relation to the same injury. However,
9no injury to an employee of the Department of Corrections or
10the Prisoner Review Board working within a penal institution or
11an employee of the Department of Human Services working within
12a departmental mental health or developmental disabilities
13facility shall qualify the employee for benefits under this
14Section unless the injury is the direct or indirect result of
15violence by inmates of the penal institution or residents of
16the mental health or developmental disabilities facility.
17    (c) At any time during the period for which continuing
18compensation is required by this Act, the employing public
19entity may order at the expense of that entity physical or
20medical examinations of the injured person to determine the
21degree of disability.
22    (d) During this period of disability, the injured person
23shall not be employed in any other manner, with or without
24monetary compensation. Any person who is employed in violation
25of this paragraph forfeits the continuing compensation
26provided by this Act from the time such employment begins. Any

 

 

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1salary compensation due the injured person from workers'
2compensation or any salary due him from any type of insurance
3which may be carried by the employing public entity shall
4revert to that entity during the time for which continuing
5compensation is paid to him under this Act. Any person with a
6disability receiving compensation under the provisions of this
7Act shall not be entitled to any benefits for which he would
8qualify because of his disability under the provisions of the
9Illinois Pension Code.
10    (e) Any employee of the State of Illinois, as defined in
11Section 14-103.05 of the Illinois Pension Code, who becomes
12permanently unable to perform the duties of such employment due
13to an injury received in the active performance of his duties
14as a State employee as a result of a willful act of violence by
15another employee of the State of Illinois, as so defined,
16committed during such other employee's course of employment and
17after January 1, 1988, shall be eligible for benefits pursuant
18to the provisions of this Section. For purposes of this
19Section, permanent disability is defined as a diagnosis or
20prognosis of an inability to return to current job duties by a
21physician licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches.
22    (f) The compensation and other benefits provided to
23part-time employees covered by this Section shall be calculated
24based on the percentage of time the part-time employee was
25scheduled to work pursuant to his or her status as a part-time
26employee.

 

 

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1    (g) Pursuant to paragraphs (h) and (i) of Section 6 of
2Article VII of the Illinois Constitution, this Act specifically
3denies and limits the exercise by home rule units of any power
4which is inconsistent herewith, and all existing laws and
5ordinances which are inconsistent herewith are hereby
6superseded. This Act does not preempt the concurrent exercise
7by home rule units of powers consistent herewith.
8    This Act does not apply to any home rule unit with a
9population of over 1,000,000.
10    (h) In those cases where the injury to a State employee for
11which a benefit is payable under this Act was caused under
12circumstances creating a legal liability for damages on the
13part of some person other than the State employer, all of the
14rights and privileges, including the right to notice of suit
15brought against such other person and the right to commence or
16join in such suit, as given the employer, together with the
17conditions or obligations imposed under paragraph (b) of
18Section 5 of the Workers' Compensation Act, are also given and
19granted to the State, to the end that, with respect to State
20employees only, the State may be paid or reimbursed for the
21amount of benefit paid or to be paid by the State to the
22injured employee or his or her personal representative out of
23any judgment, settlement, or payment for such injury obtained
24by such injured employee or his or her personal representative
25from such other person by virtue of the injury.
26(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 100-1143, eff. 1-1-19.)