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| Public Act 102-0493 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning employment.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Workers' Compensation Act is amended by | ||||
changing Section 6 as follows:
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(820 ILCS 305/6) (from Ch. 48, par. 138.6)
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Sec. 6. (a) Every employer within the provisions of this | ||||
Act, shall,
under the rules and regulations prescribed by the | ||||
Commission, post
printed notices in their respective places of | ||||
employment in such number
and at such places as may be | ||||
determined by the Commission, containing
such information | ||||
relative to this Act as in the judgment of the
Commission may | ||||
be necessary to aid employees to safeguard their rights
under | ||||
this Act in event of injury.
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In addition thereto, the employer shall post in a | ||||
conspicuous place
on the place of the employment a printed or | ||||
typewritten notice stating
whether he is insured or whether he | ||||
has qualified and is operating as a
self-insured employer. In | ||||
the event the employer is insured, the notice
shall state the | ||||
name and address of his insurance carrier, the number of
the | ||||
insurance policy, its effective date and the date of | ||||
termination. In
the event of the termination of the policy for | ||||
any reason prior to the
termination date stated, the posted | ||||
notice shall promptly be corrected
accordingly. In the event | ||
the employer is operating as a self-insured
employer the | ||
notice shall state the name and address of the company, if
any, | ||
servicing the compensation payments of the employer, and the | ||
name
and address of the person in charge of making | ||
compensation payments.
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(b) Every employer subject to this Act shall maintain | ||
accurate
records of work-related deaths, injuries and illness | ||
other than minor
injuries requiring only first aid treatment | ||
and which do not involve
medical treatment, loss of | ||
consciousness, restriction of work or motion,
or transfer to | ||
another job and file with the Commission, in writing, a
report | ||
of all accidental deaths, injuries and illnesses arising out | ||
of
and in the course of the employment resulting in the loss of | ||
more than
3 scheduled work days. In the case of death such | ||
report shall be
made no later than 2 working days following the | ||
accidental death. In
all other cases such report shall be made | ||
between the 15th and 25th of
each month unless required to be | ||
made sooner by rule of the Commission.
In case the injury | ||
results in permanent disability, a further report
shall be | ||
made as soon as it is determined that such permanent | ||
disability
has resulted or will result from the injury. All | ||
reports shall state
the date of the injury, including the time | ||
of day or night, the nature
of the employer's business, the | ||
name, address, age, sex, conjugal
condition of the injured | ||
person, the specific occupation of the injured
person, the | ||
direct cause of the injury and the nature of the accident,
the | ||
character of the injury, the length of disability, and in case | ||
of
death the length of disability before death, the wages of | ||
the injured
person, whether compensation has been paid to the | ||
injured person, or to
his or her legal representative or his | ||
heirs or next of kin, the amount of
compensation paid, the | ||
amount paid for physicians', surgeons' and
hospital bills, and | ||
by whom paid, and the amount paid for funeral or
burial | ||
expenses if known. The reports shall be made on forms and in | ||
the
manner as prescribed by the Commission and shall contain | ||
such further
information as the Commission shall deem | ||
necessary and require. The
making of these reports releases | ||
the employer from making such reports
to any other officer of | ||
the State and shall satisfy the reporting
provisions as | ||
contained in the Safety Inspection and Education Act, the | ||
Health and Safety Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health | ||
Act. The reports filed with the
Commission pursuant to this | ||
Section shall be made available by the
Commission to the | ||
Director of Labor or his representatives and to all
other | ||
departments of the State of Illinois which shall require such
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information for the proper discharge of their official duties. | ||
Failure
to file with the Commission any of the reports | ||
required in this Section
is a petty offense.
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Except as provided in this paragraph, all reports filed | ||
hereunder shall
be confidential and any person
having access | ||
to such records filed with the Illinois Workers' Compensation | ||
Commission as
herein required, who shall release any | ||
information therein contained
including the names or otherwise | ||
identify any persons sustaining
injuries or disabilities, or | ||
give access to such information to any
unauthorized person, | ||
shall be subject to discipline or discharge, and in
addition | ||
shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. The Commission shall
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compile and distribute to interested persons aggregate | ||
statistics, taken
from the reports filed hereunder. The | ||
aggregate statistics shall not give
the names or otherwise | ||
identify persons sustaining injuries or disabilities
or the | ||
employer of any injured person or person with a disability.
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(c) Notice of the accident shall be given to the employer | ||
as soon as
practicable, but not later than 45 days after the | ||
accident. Provided:
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(1) In case of the legal disability of the employee
or | ||
any dependent of a
deceased employee who may be entitled | ||
to compensation under the
provisions of this Act, the | ||
limitations of time by this Act provided do
not begin to | ||
run against such person under legal disability
until a
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guardian has been appointed.
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(2) In cases of injuries sustained by exposure to | ||
radiological
materials or equipment, notice shall be given | ||
to the employer within 90
days subsequent to the time that | ||
the employee knows or suspects that he
has received an | ||
excessive dose of radiation.
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No defect or inaccuracy of such notice shall be a bar to | ||
the
maintenance of proceedings on arbitration or otherwise by | ||
the employee
unless the employer proves that he is unduly | ||
prejudiced in such
proceedings by such defect or inaccuracy.
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Notice of the accident shall give the approximate date and | ||
place of
the accident, if known, and may be given orally or in | ||
writing.
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(d) Every employer shall notify each injured employee who | ||
has been
granted compensation under the provisions of Section | ||
8 of this Act
of his rights to rehabilitation services and | ||
advise him of the locations
of available public rehabilitation | ||
centers and any other such services
of which the employer has | ||
knowledge.
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In any case, other than one where the injury was caused by | ||
exposure
to radiological materials or equipment or asbestos | ||
unless the application for
compensation is filed with the | ||
Commission within 3 years after the date
of the accident, | ||
where no compensation has been paid, or within 2 years
after | ||
the date of the last payment of compensation, where any has | ||
been
paid, whichever shall be later, the right to file such | ||
application shall
be barred.
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In any case of injury caused by exposure to radiological | ||
materials or
equipment or asbestos, unless application for | ||
compensation is filed with the
Commission within 25 years | ||
after the last day that the employee was
employed in an | ||
environment of hazardous radiological activity or asbestos,
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the right to file such application shall be barred.
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If in any case except one where the injury was caused by | ||
exposure to
radiological materials or equipment or asbestos, | ||
the accidental injury
results in death application for | ||
compensation for death may be filed with the
Commission within | ||
3 years after the date of death where no compensation
has been | ||
paid or within 2 years after the date of the last payment of
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compensation where any has been paid, whichever shall be | ||
later, but not
thereafter.
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If an accidental injury caused by exposure to radiological | ||
material
or equipment or asbestos results in death within 25 | ||
years after the last
day that the employee was so exposed | ||
application for compensation for death may
be filed with the | ||
Commission within 3 years after the date of death,
where no | ||
compensation has been paid, or within 2 years after the date of
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the last payment of compensation where any has been paid, | ||
whichever
shall be later, but not thereafter.
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(e) Any contract or agreement made by any employer or his | ||
agent or
attorney with any employee or any other beneficiary | ||
of any claim under
the provisions of this Act within 7 days | ||
after the injury shall be
presumed to be fraudulent.
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(f) Any condition or impairment of health of an employee | ||
employed as a
firefighter, emergency medical technician (EMT), | ||
emergency medical technician-intermediate (EMT-I), advanced | ||
emergency medical technician (A-EMT), or paramedic which | ||
results
directly or indirectly from any bloodborne pathogen, | ||
contagious staph infection, including Methicillin-resistant | ||
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), lung or respiratory
disease
or | ||
condition, heart
or vascular disease or condition, | ||
hypertension, tuberculosis, or cancer
resulting in any | ||
disability (temporary, permanent, total, or partial) to the
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employee shall be rebuttably presumed to arise out of and in | ||
the course of
the employee's firefighting, EMT, or paramedic | ||
employment and, further, shall
be
rebuttably presumed to be | ||
causally connected to the hazards or exposures of
the | ||
employment. This presumption shall also apply to any hernia or | ||
hearing
loss suffered by an employee employed as a | ||
firefighter, EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, or paramedic.
However, this | ||
presumption shall not apply to any employee who has been | ||
employed
as a firefighter, EMT, or paramedic for less than 5 | ||
years at the time he or she files an Application for Adjustment | ||
of Claim concerning this condition or impairment with the | ||
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. The rebuttable | ||
presumption established under this subsection, however, does | ||
not apply to an emergency medical technician (EMT), emergency | ||
medical technician-intermediate (EMT-I), advanced emergency | ||
medical technician (A-EMT), or paramedic employed by a private | ||
employer if the employee spends the preponderance of his or | ||
her work time for that employer engaged in medical transfers | ||
between medical care facilities or non-emergency medical | ||
transfers to or from medical care facilities. The changes made | ||
to this subsection by Public Act 98-291 shall be narrowly | ||
construed. The Finding and Decision of the Illinois Workers' | ||
Compensation Commission under only the rebuttable presumption | ||
provision of this subsection shall not be admissible or be | ||
deemed res judicata in any disability claim under the Illinois | ||
Pension Code arising out of the same medical condition; | ||
however, this sentence makes no change to the law set forth in | ||
Krohe v. City of Bloomington, 204 Ill.2d 392.
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(Source: P.A. 98-291, eff. 1-1-14; 98-874, eff. 1-1-15; | ||
98-973, eff. 8-15-14; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-143, eff. | ||
7-27-15.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
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