Full Text of SB0101 97th General Assembly
SB0101 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012 SB0101 Introduced 1/27/2011, by Sen. Linda Holmes SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 820 ILCS 310/1 | from Ch. 48, par. 172.36 | 30 ILCS 805/8.35 new | |
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Amends the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act. Provides that any condition or impairment of health of a firefighter, emergency medical technician, or paramedic that results directly or indirectly from Parkinson's disease resulting in any disability 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 shall be rebuttably presumed to be causally connected to the hazards or exposures of the employment, except as otherwise specified. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement by the State. Effective immediately.
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| | FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | | STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT |
| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning employment.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Workers' Occupational Diseases Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Section 1 as follows:
| 6 | | (820 ILCS 310/1) (from Ch. 48, par. 172.36)
| 7 | | Sec. 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the | 8 | | "Workers'
Occupational Diseases Act".
| 9 | | (a) The term "employer" as used in this Act shall be | 10 | | construed to
be:
| 11 | | 1. The State and each county, city, town, township, | 12 | | incorporated
village, school district, body politic, or | 13 | | municipal corporation
therein.
| 14 | | 2. Every person, firm, public or private corporation, | 15 | | including
hospitals, public service, eleemosynary, | 16 | | religious or charitable
corporations or associations, who | 17 | | has any person in service or under any
contract for hire, | 18 | | express or implied, oral or written.
| 19 | | 3. Where an employer operating under and subject to the | 20 | | provisions
of this Act loans an employee to another such | 21 | | employer and such loaned
employee sustains a compensable | 22 | | occupational disease in the employment
of such borrowing | 23 | | employer and where such borrowing employer does not
provide |
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| 1 | | or pay the benefits or payments due such employee, such | 2 | | loaning
employer shall be liable to provide or pay all | 3 | | benefits or payments due
such employee under this Act and | 4 | | as to such employee the liability of
such loaning and | 5 | | borrowing employers shall be joint and several,
provided | 6 | | that such loaning employer shall in the absence of | 7 | | agreement to
the contrary be entitled to receive from such | 8 | | borrowing employer full
reimbursement for all sums paid or | 9 | | incurred pursuant to this paragraph
together with | 10 | | reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses in any hearings
| 11 | | before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission or in | 12 | | any action to secure such
reimbursement. Where any benefit | 13 | | is provided or paid by such loaning
employer, the employee | 14 | | shall have the duty of rendering reasonable
co-operation in | 15 | | any hearings, trials or proceedings in the case,
including | 16 | | such proceedings for reimbursement.
| 17 | | Where an employee files an Application for Adjustment | 18 | | of Claim with
the Illinois Workers' Compensation | 19 | | Commission alleging that his or her claim is covered by
the | 20 | | provisions of the preceding paragraph, and joining both the | 21 | | alleged
loaning and borrowing employers, they and each of | 22 | | them, upon written
demand by the employee and within 7 days | 23 | | after receipt of such demand,
shall have the duty of filing | 24 | | with the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission a | 25 | | written
admission or denial of the allegation that the | 26 | | claim is covered by the
provisions of the preceding |
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| 1 | | paragraph and in default of such filing or
if any such | 2 | | denial be ultimately determined not to have been bona fide
| 3 | | then the provisions of Paragraph K of Section 19 of this | 4 | | Act shall
apply.
| 5 | | An employer whose business or enterprise or a | 6 | | substantial part
thereof consists of hiring, procuring or | 7 | | furnishing employees to or for
other employers operating | 8 | | under and subject to the provisions of this
Act for the | 9 | | performance of the work of such other employers and who | 10 | | pays
such employees their salary or wage notwithstanding | 11 | | that they are doing
the work of such other employers shall | 12 | | be deemed a loaning employer
within the meaning and | 13 | | provisions of this Section.
| 14 | | (b) The term "employee" as used in this Act, shall be | 15 | | construed to
mean:
| 16 | | 1. Every person in the service of the State, county, | 17 | | city, town,
township, incorporated village or school | 18 | | district, body politic or
municipal corporation therein, | 19 | | whether by election, appointment or
contract of hire, | 20 | | express or implied, oral or written, including any
official | 21 | | of the State, or of any county, city, town, township,
| 22 | | incorporated village, school district, body politic or | 23 | | municipal
corporation therein and except any duly | 24 | | appointed member of the fire
department in any city whose | 25 | | population exceeds 500,000 according to the
last Federal or | 26 | | State census, and except any member of a fire insurance
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| 1 | | patrol maintained by a board of underwriters in this State. | 2 | | One employed
by a contractor who has contracted with the | 3 | | State, or a county, city,
town, township, incorporated | 4 | | village, school district, body politic or
municipal | 5 | | corporation therein, through its representatives, shall | 6 | | not be
considered as an employee of the State, county, | 7 | | city, town, township,
incorporated village, school | 8 | | district, body politic or municipal
corporation which made | 9 | | the contract.
| 10 | | 2. Every person in the service of another under any | 11 | | contract of
hire, express or implied, oral or written, who | 12 | | contracts an occupational
disease while working in the | 13 | | State of Illinois, or who contracts an
occupational disease | 14 | | while working outside of the State of Illinois but
where | 15 | | the contract of hire is made within the State of Illinois, | 16 | | and any
person whose employment is principally localized | 17 | | within the State of
Illinois, regardless of the place where | 18 | | the disease was contracted or
place where the contract of | 19 | | hire was made, including aliens, and minors
who, for the | 20 | | purpose of this Act, except Section 3 hereof, shall be
| 21 | | considered the same and have the same power to contract, | 22 | | receive
payments and give quittances therefor, as adult | 23 | | employees. An employee
or his or her dependents under this | 24 | | Act who shall have a cause of action
by reason of an | 25 | | occupational disease, disablement or death arising out
of | 26 | | and in the course of his or her employment may elect or |
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| 1 | | pursue
his or her remedy in the State where the disease was | 2 | | contracted, or in the
State where the contract of hire is | 3 | | made, or in the State where the
employment is principally | 4 | | localized.
| 5 | | (c) "Commission" means the Illinois Workers' Compensation | 6 | | Commission created by the
Workers' Compensation Act, approved | 7 | | July 9, 1951, as amended.
| 8 | | (d) In this Act the term "Occupational Disease" means a | 9 | | disease
arising out of and in the course of the employment or | 10 | | which has become
aggravated and rendered disabling as a result | 11 | | of the exposure of the
employment. Such aggravation shall arise | 12 | | out of a risk peculiar to or
increased by the employment and | 13 | | not common to the general public.
| 14 | | A disease shall be deemed to arise out of the employment if | 15 | | there is
apparent to the rational mind, upon consideration of | 16 | | all the
circumstances, a causal connection between the | 17 | | conditions under which
the work is performed and the | 18 | | occupational disease. The disease need not
to have been | 19 | | foreseen or expected but after its contraction it must
appear | 20 | | to have had its origin or aggravation in a risk connected with
| 21 | | the employment and to have flowed from that source as a | 22 | | rational
consequence.
| 23 | | An employee shall be conclusively deemed to have been | 24 | | exposed to the
hazards of an occupational disease when, for any | 25 | | length of time however
short, he or she is employed in an | 26 | | occupation or process in which the
hazard of the disease |
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| 1 | | exists; provided however, that in a claim of
exposure to atomic | 2 | | radiation, the fact of such exposure must be verified
by the | 3 | | records of the central registry of radiation exposure | 4 | | maintained
by the Department of Public Health or by some other | 5 | | recognized
governmental agency maintaining records of such | 6 | | exposures whenever and
to the extent that the records are on | 7 | | file with the Department of Public
Health or the agency. | 8 | | Any injury to or disease or death of an employee arising | 9 | | from the administration of a vaccine, including without | 10 | | limitation smallpox vaccine, to prepare for, or as a response | 11 | | to, a threatened or potential bioterrorist incident to the | 12 | | employee as part of a voluntary inoculation program in | 13 | | connection with the person's employment or in connection with | 14 | | any governmental program or recommendation for the inoculation | 15 | | of workers in the employee's occupation, geographical area, or | 16 | | other category that includes the employee is deemed to arise | 17 | | out of and in the course of the employment for all purposes | 18 | | under this Act. This paragraph added by Public Act 93-829 is | 19 | | declarative of existing law and is not a new enactment.
| 20 | | The employer liable for the compensation in this Act | 21 | | provided shall
be the employer in whose employment the employee | 22 | | was last exposed to the
hazard of the occupational disease | 23 | | claimed upon regardless of the length
of time of such last | 24 | | exposure, except, in cases of silicosis or
asbestosis, the only | 25 | | employer liable shall be the last employer in whose
employment | 26 | | the employee was last exposed during a period of 60 days or
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| 1 | | more after the effective date of this Act, to the hazard of | 2 | | such
occupational disease, and, in such cases, an exposure | 3 | | during a period of
less than 60 days, after the effective date | 4 | | of this Act, shall not be
deemed a last exposure. If a miner | 5 | | who is suffering or suffered from
pneumoconiosis was employed | 6 | | for 10 years or more in one or more coal
mines there shall, | 7 | | effective July 1, 1973 be a rebuttable presumption
that his or | 8 | | her pneumoconiosis arose out of such employment.
| 9 | | If a deceased miner was employed for 10 years or more in | 10 | | one or more
coal mines and died from a respirable disease there | 11 | | shall, effective
July 1, 1973, be a rebuttable presumption that | 12 | | his or her death was due
to pneumoconiosis.
| 13 | | Any condition or impairment of health of an employee | 14 | | employed as a
firefighter, emergency medical technician (EMT), | 15 | | or paramedic which results
directly or indirectly from any | 16 | | bloodborne pathogen, lung or respiratory
disease
or
condition, | 17 | | heart
or vascular disease or condition, hypertension, | 18 | | tuberculosis, or cancer , or Parkinson's disease
resulting
in | 19 | | any disability (temporary, permanent, total, or partial) to the | 20 | | employee
shall be rebuttably presumed to arise out of and in | 21 | | the course of the
employee's firefighting, EMT, or paramedic | 22 | | employment and, further, shall be
rebuttably presumed to be | 23 | | causally connected to the hazards or exposures of
the | 24 | | employment. This presumption shall also apply to any hernia or | 25 | | hearing
loss suffered by an employee employed as a firefighter, | 26 | | EMT, or paramedic.
However, this presumption shall not apply to |
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| 1 | | any employee who has been employed
as a firefighter, EMT, or | 2 | | paramedic for less than 5 years at the time he or she files an | 3 | | Application for Adjustment of Claim concerning this condition | 4 | | or impairment with the Illinois Workers' Compensation | 5 | | Commission. The Finding and Decision of the Illinois Workers' | 6 | | Compensation Commission under only the rebuttable presumption | 7 | | provision of this paragraph shall not be admissible or be | 8 | | deemed res judicata in any disability claim under the Illinois | 9 | | Pension Code arising out of the same medical condition; | 10 | | however, this sentence makes no change to the law set forth in | 11 | | Krohe v. City of Bloomington, 204 Ill.2d 392.
| 12 | | The insurance carrier liable shall be the carrier whose | 13 | | policy was in
effect covering the employer liable on the last | 14 | | day of the exposure
rendering such employer liable in | 15 | | accordance with the provisions of this
Act.
| 16 | | (e) "Disablement" means an impairment or partial | 17 | | impairment,
temporary or permanent, in the function of the body | 18 | | or any of the
members of the body, or the event of becoming | 19 | | disabled from earning full
wages at the work in which the | 20 | | employee was engaged when last exposed to
the hazards of the | 21 | | occupational disease by the employer from whom he or
she claims | 22 | | compensation, or equal wages in other suitable employment;
and | 23 | | "disability" means the state of being so incapacitated.
| 24 | | (f) No compensation shall be payable for or on account of | 25 | | any
occupational disease unless disablement, as herein | 26 | | defined, occurs
within two years after the last day of the last |
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| 1 | | exposure to the hazards
of the disease, except in cases of | 2 | | occupational disease caused by
berylliosis or by the inhalation | 3 | | of silica dust or asbestos dust and, in
such cases, within 3 | 4 | | years after the last day of the last exposure to
the hazards of | 5 | | such disease and except in the case of occupational
disease | 6 | | caused by exposure to radiological materials or equipment, and
| 7 | | in such case, within 25 years after the last day of last | 8 | | exposure to the
hazards of such disease.
| 9 | | (Source: P.A. 95-316, eff. 1-1-08; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
| 10 | | Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding | 11 | | Section 8.35 as follows: | 12 | | (30 ILCS 805/8.35 new) | 13 | | Sec. 8.35. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 | 14 | | of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the | 15 | | implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of | 16 | | the 97th General Assembly.
| 17 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 18 | | becoming law.
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