5 ILCS 345/ Public Employee Disability Act.

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5 ILCS 345/0.01

(5 ILCS 345/0.01) (from Ch. 70, par. 90.9)

Sec. 0.01.

Short title.

This Act may be cited as the

Public Employee Disability Act.

(Source: P.A. 86-1324.)

5 ILCS 345/1

(5 ILCS 345/1) (from Ch. 70, par. 91)

Sec. 1. Disability benefit.

(a) For the purposes of this Section, "eligible employee" means any
part-time or full-time State correctional officer or any other full or
part-time employee of the Department of Corrections, any full or part-time
employee of the Prisoner Review Board, any full or part-time employee of the
Department of Human Services working within a
penal institution or a State mental health or developmental
disabilities facility operated by the Department of Human Services, and any
full-time law enforcement officer or
full-time firefighter, including a full-time paramedic or a firefighter who performs paramedic duties, who is employed by the State of Illinois, any unit of
local government (including any home rule unit), any State supported college or
university, or any other public entity granted the power to employ persons for
such purposes by law.

(b) Whenever an eligible employee suffers any injury in the line of duty
which causes him to be unable to perform his duties, he shall continue to be
paid by the employing public entity on the same basis as he was paid before the
injury, with no deduction from his sick leave credits, compensatory time for
overtime accumulations or vacation, or service credits in a public employee
pension fund during the time he is unable to perform his duties due to the
result of the injury, but not longer than one year in relation to the same
injury, except as otherwise provided under subsection (b-5).  However, no injury to an employee of the Department
of Corrections or
the Prisoner Review Board working within a penal institution or an employee of
the Department of Human Services working within a
departmental mental health or developmental disabilities facility shall
qualify the employee for benefits under this Section unless the
injury is the
direct or indirect result of violence by inmates of the penal institution or
residents of the mental health or developmental
disabilities facility.

(b-5) Upon the occurrence of circumstances, directly or indirectly attributable to COVID-19, occurring on or after March 9, 2020 and on or before June 30, 2021 (including the period between December 31, 2020 and the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly) which would hinder the physical recovery from an injury of an eligible employee within the one-year period as required under subsection (b), the eligible employee shall be entitled to an extension of no longer than 60 days by which he or she shall continue to be paid by the employing public entity on the same basis as he or she was paid before the injury. The employing public entity may require proof of the circumstances hindering an eligible employee's physical recovery before granting the extension provided under this subsection (b-5).

(c) At any time during the period for which continuing compensation
is required by this Act, the employing public entity may order at the
expense of that entity physical or medical examinations of the injured
person to determine the degree of disability.

(d) During this period of disability, the injured person shall not
be employed in any other manner, with or without monetary compensation.
Any person who is employed in violation of this paragraph forfeits the
continuing compensation provided by this Act from the time such
employment begins.  Any salary compensation due the injured person from
workers' compensation or any salary due him from any type of insurance
which may be carried by the employing public entity shall revert to that
entity during the time for which continuing compensation is paid to him
under this Act.  Any person with a disability receiving compensation under the
provisions of this Act shall not be entitled to any benefits for which
he would qualify because of his disability under the provisions of the
Illinois Pension Code.

(e) Any employee of the State of Illinois, as defined in Section 14-103.05
of the Illinois Pension Code, who becomes permanently unable to perform the
duties of such employment due to an injury received in the active performance
of his duties as a State employee as a result of a willful act of violence by
another employee of the State of Illinois, as so defined, committed during such
other employee's course of employment and after January 1, 1988, shall be
eligible for benefits pursuant to the provisions of this Section.  For purposes
of this Section, permanent disability is defined as a diagnosis or prognosis of
an inability to return to current job duties by a physician licensed to
practice medicine in all of its branches.

(f) The compensation and other benefits provided to part-time employees
covered by this Section shall be calculated based on the percentage of time
the part-time employee was scheduled to work pursuant to his or her status as
a part-time employee.

(g) Pursuant to paragraphs (h) and (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of
the Illinois Constitution, this Act specifically denies and limits the exercise
by home rule units of any power which is inconsistent herewith, and all
existing laws and ordinances which are inconsistent herewith are hereby
superseded.  This Act does not preempt the concurrent exercise by home rule
units of powers consistent herewith.

This Act does not apply to any home rule unit with a population of over
1,000,000.

(h) In those cases where the injury to a State employee for which
a benefit is payable under this Act  was caused
under circumstances creating a legal liability for damages on the part
of some person other than the State employer, all of the rights
and privileges, including the right to notice of suit brought against
such other person and the right to commence or join in such suit, as
given the employer, together with the conditions or obligations imposed
under paragraph (b) of Section 5 of the Workers' Compensation Act,
are also given and granted to the State, to the end that, with respect to State employees only, the State
may be paid or reimbursed for the amount of
benefit paid  or
to be paid by the
State to the injured employee or his or her personal representative out of any
judgment, settlement, or payment
for such injury obtained by such injured employee or his
or her personal representative from such other person by virtue of the injury.

(Source: P.A. 100-1143, eff. 1-1-19; 101-651, eff. 8-7-20; 101-653, eff. 2-28-21.)

5 ILCS 345/2

    (5 ILCS 345/2)
    Sec. 2. Illness disability benefit.
    (a) As used in this Section:

"Eligible employee" means any full-time law enforcement officer or full-time firefighter, including a full-time paramedic or a firefighter who performs paramedic duties, who is employed by any unit of local government, including any home rule unit.

"Illness" means any illness, disease, or condition the presence of which in a community results in the declaration of a disaster or emergency by a State, county, or municipal official.

(b) Whenever an eligible employee suffers an illness in the line of duty which causes the employee to be unable to perform the employee's duties, the employee shall continue to be paid by the employing public entity on the same basis as the employee was paid before the illness, with no deduction from the employee's sick leave credits, compensatory time for overtime accumulations or vacation, or service credits in a public pension fund during the time the employee is unable to perform the employee's duties due to the result of the illness, but not longer than one year in relation to the same illness.

(c) At any time during the period for which continuing compensation is required by this Act, the employing public entity may order at the expense of that entity physical or medical examinations of the ill person to determine the degree of disability.

(d) During this period of disability, the ill person shall not be employed in any other manner, with or without a monetary compensation. Any person who is employed in violation of this subsection forfeits the continuing compensation provided by this Act from the time such employment begins. Any salary compensation due to the ill person from workers' compensation or any salary due to the employee from any type of insurance which may be carried by the employing public entity shall revert to that entity during the time for which continuing compensation is paid to the employee under this Act. Any person with a disability receiving compensation under the provisions of this Act shall not be entitled to any benefits for which the employee would qualify because of the employee's disability under the provisions of the Illinois Pension Code.

(e) Pursuant to paragraphs (h) and (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution, this Act specifically denies and limits the exercise by home rule units of any power which is inconsistent herewith, and all existing laws and ordinances which are inconsistent herewith are hereby superseded. This Act does not preempt the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers consistent herewith.

This Act does not apply to any home rule unit with a population of over 1,000,000.
(Source: P.A. 103-63, eff. 1-1-24.)