HB1309 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 07506 SPS 17550 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB1309

Introduced 1/28/2025, by Rep. Jay Hoffman

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.

A BILL FOR

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 is intended to be a strong presumption supported by compelling policy considerations to compensate the victims and their families who succumb to the conditions described in this subsection. This presumption 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 listed in this subsection and prove that no aspect of the employment contributed to the condition. The rebuttable presumption relating to hearing loss cannot be overcome with evidence allegedly showing that the injured employee did not meet the exposure thresholds listed in subsections (e) and (f) of Section 8. 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. 102-493, eff. 8-20-21.)