Public Act 0318 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB2449 Enrolled LRB094 06680 DRH 36774 b

Public Act 094-0318

AN ACT concerning transportation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Railroad Employees Medical Treatment Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.

"Discipline" means to bring charges against in a disciplinary proceeding, suspend, terminate, or make a note of reprimand on an employee's record.

Section 10. Railroad employee access to first aid or medical treatment.

(a) A railroad shall make a good faith effort to provide prompt medical attention for a railroad employee who is injured in the course of his or her employment.

(b) It is unlawful for a railroad or person employed by a railroad to:

(1) deny, delay, or interfere with medical treatment or first aid treatment to an employee of that railroad who has been injured during employment; or

(2) discipline or threaten discipline to an employee of a railroad who has been injured during employment for (i) requesting medical or first aid treatment or (ii) following the orders or treatment plan of his or her treating physician.

(c) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require a railroad or railroad employee to perform first aid or medical care.

(d) This Section does not prevent an employer from:

(1) noting in an employee's record that an injury occurred; or

(2) offering light duty or an alternate work assignment to an injured employee if the light duty or alternate work assignment does not conflict with the orders or treatment plan of the employee's treating physician.

(e) The Commission has exclusive jurisdiction to determine violations of this Section. If, after a proper complaint and hearing, the Commission determines that a violation has occurred, the Commission shall impose, for each violation, a penalty in an amount not exceeding $10,000. This penalty is the exclusive remedy for any violation of this Section. The Commission shall give priority to any complaint alleging a violation of this Section and shall issue its decision as promptly as possible.