Public Act 102-0493
 
HB3662 EnrolledLRB102 04407 JLS 14425 b


  
    AN ACT concerning employment.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  



 
 
    Section 5. The Workers' Compensation Act is amended  by 
changing Section 6 as follows:
 



    (820 ILCS 305/6)  (from Ch. 48, par. 138.6)


    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.

    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.

    (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

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.

    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

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.

    (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:

        (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

    guardian has been appointed.

        (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.

    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.

    Notice of the accident shall give the approximate date and 
place of
the accident, if known, and may be given orally or in 
writing.

    (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.

    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.

    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,

the right to file such application shall be barred.

    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

compensation where any has been paid, whichever shall be 
later, but not
thereafter.

    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

the last payment of compensation where any has been paid, 
whichever
shall be later, but not thereafter.

    (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.

    (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

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.

(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.)

 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.