103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB1065

 

Introduced 1/12/2023, by Rep. Rita Mayfield

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 305/6  from Ch. 48, par. 138.6

    Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Provides that the rebuttable presumption concerning specified conditions or impairments of health of an employee employed as a firefighter, emergency medical technician, emergency medical technician-intermediate, advanced emergency medical technician, or paramedic is intended to shift the burden of proof to the employing entity and any party attacking the presumption must establish by clear and convincing evidence an independent and non-work related cause for the condition or disability and prove that no aspect of the employment contributed to the condition. Provides that the rebuttable presumption relating to hearing loss cannot be overcome with evidence allegedly showing that the injured employee did not meet specified exposure thresholds.


LRB103 05308 SPS 50326 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1065LRB103 05308 SPS 50326 b

1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Workers' Compensation Act is amended by
5changing Section 6 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 305/6)  (from Ch. 48, par. 138.6)
7    Sec. 6. (a) Every employer within the provisions of this
8Act, shall, under the rules and regulations prescribed by the
9Commission, post printed notices in their respective places of
10employment in such number and at such places as may be
11determined by the Commission, containing such information
12relative to this Act as in the judgment of the Commission may
13be necessary to aid employees to safeguard their rights under
14this Act in event of injury.
15    In addition thereto, the employer shall post in a
16conspicuous place on the place of the employment a printed or
17typewritten notice stating whether he is insured or whether he
18has qualified and is operating as a self-insured employer. In
19the event the employer is insured, the notice shall state the
20name and address of his insurance carrier, the number of the
21insurance policy, its effective date and the date of
22termination. In the event of the termination of the policy for
23any reason prior to the termination date stated, the posted

 

 

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1notice shall promptly be corrected accordingly. In the event
2the employer is operating as a self-insured employer the
3notice shall state the name and address of the company, if any,
4servicing the compensation payments of the employer, and the
5name and address of the person in charge of making
6compensation payments.
7    (b) Every employer subject to this Act shall maintain
8accurate records of work-related deaths, injuries and illness
9other than minor injuries requiring only first aid treatment
10and which do not involve medical treatment, loss of
11consciousness, restriction of work or motion, or transfer to
12another job and file with the Commission, in writing, a report
13of all accidental deaths, injuries and illnesses arising out
14of and in the course of the employment resulting in the loss of
15more than 3 scheduled work days. In the case of death such
16report shall be made no later than 2 working days following the
17accidental death. In all other cases such report shall be made
18between the 15th and 25th of each month unless required to be
19made sooner by rule of the Commission. In case the injury
20results in permanent disability, a further report shall be
21made as soon as it is determined that such permanent
22disability has resulted or will result from the injury. All
23reports shall state the date of the injury, including the time
24of day or night, the nature of the employer's business, the
25name, address, age, sex, conjugal condition of the injured
26person, the specific occupation of the injured person, the

 

 

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1direct cause of the injury and the nature of the accident, the
2character of the injury, the length of disability, and in case
3of death the length of disability before death, the wages of
4the injured person, whether compensation has been paid to the
5injured person, or to his or her legal representative or his
6heirs or next of kin, the amount of compensation paid, the
7amount paid for physicians', surgeons' and hospital bills, and
8by whom paid, and the amount paid for funeral or burial
9expenses if known. The reports shall be made on forms and in
10the manner as prescribed by the Commission and shall contain
11such further information as the Commission shall deem
12necessary and require. The making of these reports releases
13the employer from making such reports to any other officer of
14the State and shall satisfy the reporting provisions as
15contained in the Safety Inspection and Education Act, the
16Health and Safety Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health
17Act. The reports filed with the Commission pursuant to this
18Section shall be made available by the Commission to the
19Director of Labor or his representatives and to all other
20departments of the State of Illinois which shall require such
21information for the proper discharge of their official duties.
22Failure to file with the Commission any of the reports
23required in this Section is a petty offense.
24    Except as provided in this paragraph, all reports filed
25hereunder shall be confidential and any person having access
26to such records filed with the Illinois Workers' Compensation

 

 

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1Commission as herein required, who shall release any
2information therein contained including the names or otherwise
3identify any persons sustaining injuries or disabilities, or
4give access to such information to any unauthorized person,
5shall be subject to discipline or discharge, and in addition
6shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. The Commission shall
7compile and distribute to interested persons aggregate
8statistics, taken from the reports filed hereunder. The
9aggregate statistics shall not give the names or otherwise
10identify persons sustaining injuries or disabilities or the
11employer of any injured person or person with a disability.
12    (c) Notice of the accident shall be given to the employer
13as soon as practicable, but not later than 45 days after the
14accident. Provided:
15        (1) In case of the legal disability of the employee or
16    any dependent of a deceased employee who may be entitled
17    to compensation under the provisions of this Act, the
18    limitations of time by this Act provided do not begin to
19    run against such person under legal disability until a
20    guardian has been appointed.
21        (2) In cases of injuries sustained by exposure to
22    radiological materials or equipment, notice shall be given
23    to the employer within 90 days subsequent to the time that
24    the employee knows or suspects that he has received an
25    excessive dose of radiation.
26    No defect or inaccuracy of such notice shall be a bar to

 

 

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1the maintenance of proceedings on arbitration or otherwise by
2the employee unless the employer proves that he is unduly
3prejudiced in such proceedings by such defect or inaccuracy.
4    Notice of the accident shall give the approximate date and
5place of the accident, if known, and may be given orally or in
6writing.
7    (d) Every employer shall notify each injured employee who
8has been granted compensation under the provisions of Section
98 of this Act of his rights to rehabilitation services and
10advise him of the locations of available public rehabilitation
11centers and any other such services of which the employer has
12knowledge.
13    In any case, other than one where the injury was caused by
14exposure to radiological materials or equipment or asbestos
15unless the application for compensation is filed with the
16Commission within 3 years after the date of the accident,
17where no compensation has been paid, or within 2 years after
18the date of the last payment of compensation, where any has
19been paid, whichever shall be later, the right to file such
20application shall be barred.
21    In any case of injury caused by exposure to radiological
22materials or equipment or asbestos, unless application for
23compensation is filed with the Commission within 25 years
24after the last day that the employee was employed in an
25environment of hazardous radiological activity or asbestos,
26the right to file such application shall be barred.

 

 

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1    If in any case except one where the injury was caused by
2exposure to radiological materials or equipment or asbestos,
3the accidental injury results in death application for
4compensation for death may be filed with the Commission within
53 years after the date of death where no compensation has been
6paid or within 2 years after the date of the last payment of
7compensation where any has been paid, whichever shall be
8later, but not thereafter.
9    If an accidental injury caused by exposure to radiological
10material or equipment or asbestos results in death within 25
11years after the last day that the employee was so exposed
12application for compensation for death may be filed with the
13Commission within 3 years after the date of death, where no
14compensation has been paid, or within 2 years after the date of
15the last payment of compensation where any has been paid,
16whichever shall be later, but not thereafter.
17    (e) Any contract or agreement made by any employer or his
18agent or attorney with any employee or any other beneficiary
19of any claim under the provisions of this Act within 7 days
20after the injury shall be presumed to be fraudulent.
21    (f) Any condition or impairment of health of an employee
22employed as a firefighter, emergency medical technician (EMT),
23emergency medical technician-intermediate (EMT-I), advanced
24emergency medical technician (A-EMT), or paramedic which
25results directly or indirectly from any bloodborne pathogen,
26contagious staph infection, including Methicillin-resistant

 

 

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1Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), lung or respiratory disease or
2condition, heart or vascular disease or condition,
3hypertension, tuberculosis, or cancer resulting in any
4disability (temporary, permanent, total, or partial) to the
5employee shall be rebuttably presumed to arise out of and in
6the course of the employee's firefighting, EMT, or paramedic
7employment and, further, shall be rebuttably presumed to be
8causally connected to the hazards or exposures of the
9employment. This presumption shall also apply to any hernia or
10hearing loss suffered by an employee employed as a
11firefighter, EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, or paramedic. However, this
12presumption shall not apply to any employee who has been
13employed as a firefighter, EMT, or paramedic for less than 5
14years at the time he or she files an Application for Adjustment
15of Claim concerning this condition or impairment with the
16Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. The rebuttable
17presumption established under this subsection is intended to
18be a strong presumption supported by compelling policy
19considerations to compensate the victims and their families
20who succumb to the conditions described in this subsection.
21This presumption is intended to shift the burden of proof to
22the employing entity and any party attacking the presumption
23must establish by clear and convincing evidence an independent
24and non-work related cause for the condition or disability
25listed in this subsection and prove that no aspect of the
26employment contributed to the condition. The rebuttable

 

 

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1presumption relating to hearing loss cannot be overcome with
2evidence allegedly showing that the injured employee did not
3meet the exposure thresholds listed in subsections (e) and (f)
4of Section 8. The rebuttable presumption established under
5this subsection, however, does not apply to an emergency
6medical technician (EMT), emergency medical
7technician-intermediate (EMT-I), advanced emergency medical
8technician (A-EMT), or paramedic employed by a private
9employer if the employee spends the preponderance of his or
10her work time for that employer engaged in medical transfers
11between medical care facilities or non-emergency medical
12transfers to or from medical care facilities. The changes made
13to this subsection by Public Act 98-291 shall be narrowly
14construed. The Finding and Decision of the Illinois Workers'
15Compensation Commission under only the rebuttable presumption
16provision of this subsection shall not be admissible or be
17deemed res judicata in any disability claim under the Illinois
18Pension Code arising out of the same medical condition;
19however, this sentence makes no change to the law set forth in
20Krohe v. City of Bloomington, 204 Ill.2d 392.
21(Source: P.A. 102-493, eff. 8-20-21.)