Full Text of SB0214 103rd General Assembly
SB0214 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024 SB0214 Introduced 1/31/2023, by Sen. Ram Villivalam SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 5 ILCS 345/1 | from Ch. 70, par. 91 |
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Amends the Public Employee Disability Act. Provides that disability benefits under the Act are extended to eligible employees who suffer any illness.
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| | | STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning State government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Public Employee Disability Act is amended | 5 | | by changing Sections 1 as follows:
| 6 | | (5 ILCS 345/1) (from Ch. 70, par. 91)
| 7 | | Sec. 1. Disability benefit.
| 8 | | (a) For the purposes of this Section, "eligible employee" | 9 | | means any
part-time or full-time State correctional officer or | 10 | | any other full or
part-time employee of the Department of | 11 | | Corrections, any full or part-time
employee of the Prisoner | 12 | | Review Board, any full or part-time employee of the
Department | 13 | | of Human Services working within a
penal institution or a | 14 | | State mental health or developmental
disabilities facility | 15 | | operated by the Department of Human Services, and any
| 16 | | full-time law enforcement officer or
full-time firefighter, | 17 | | including a full-time paramedic or a firefighter who performs | 18 | | paramedic duties, who is employed by the State of Illinois, | 19 | | any unit of
local government (including any home rule unit), | 20 | | any State supported college or
university, or any other public | 21 | | entity granted the power to employ persons for
such purposes | 22 | | by law.
| 23 | | (b) Whenever an eligible employee suffers any injury or |
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| 1 | | illness in the line of duty
which causes him to be unable to | 2 | | perform his duties, he shall continue to be
paid by the | 3 | | employing public entity on the same basis as he was paid before | 4 | | the
injury or illness , with no deduction from his sick leave | 5 | | credits, compensatory time for
overtime accumulations or | 6 | | vacation, or service credits in a public employee
pension fund | 7 | | during the time he is unable to perform his duties due to the
| 8 | | result of the injury or illness , but not longer than one year | 9 | | in relation to the same
injury or illness , except as otherwise | 10 | | provided under subsection (b-5). However, no injury to an | 11 | | employee of the Department
of Corrections or
the Prisoner | 12 | | Review Board working within a penal institution or an employee | 13 | | of
the Department of Human Services working within a
| 14 | | departmental mental health or developmental disabilities | 15 | | facility shall
qualify the employee for benefits under this | 16 | | Section unless the
injury is the
direct or indirect result of | 17 | | violence by inmates of the penal institution or
residents of | 18 | | the mental health or developmental
disabilities facility.
| 19 | | (b-5) Upon the occurrence of circumstances, directly or | 20 | | indirectly attributable to COVID-19, occurring on or after | 21 | | March 9, 2020 and on or before June 30, 2021 (including the | 22 | | period between December 31, 2020 and the effective date of | 23 | | this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly) which would | 24 | | hinder the physical recovery from an injury of an eligible | 25 | | employee within the one-year period as required under | 26 | | subsection (b), the eligible employee shall be entitled to an |
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| 1 | | extension of no longer than 60 days by which he or she shall | 2 | | continue to be paid by the employing public entity on the same | 3 | | basis as he or she was paid before the injury. The employing | 4 | | public entity may require proof of the circumstances hindering | 5 | | an eligible employee's physical recovery before granting the | 6 | | extension provided under this subsection (b-5). | 7 | | (c) At any time during the period for which continuing | 8 | | compensation
is required by this Act, the employing public | 9 | | entity may order at the
expense of that entity physical or | 10 | | medical examinations of the injured
or ill person to determine | 11 | | the degree of disability.
| 12 | | (d) During this period of disability, the injured or ill | 13 | | person shall not
be employed in any other manner, with or | 14 | | without monetary compensation.
Any person who is employed in | 15 | | violation of this paragraph forfeits the
continuing | 16 | | compensation provided by this Act from the time such
| 17 | | employment begins. Any salary compensation due the injured or | 18 | | ill person from
workers' compensation or any salary due him | 19 | | from any type of insurance
which may be carried by the | 20 | | employing public entity shall revert to that
entity during the | 21 | | time for which continuing compensation is paid to him
under | 22 | | this Act. Any person with a disability receiving compensation | 23 | | under the
provisions of this Act shall not be entitled to any | 24 | | benefits for which
he would qualify because of his disability | 25 | | under the provisions of the
Illinois Pension Code.
| 26 | | (e) Any employee of the State of Illinois, as defined in |
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| 1 | | Section 14-103.05
of the Illinois Pension Code, who becomes | 2 | | permanently unable to perform the
duties of such employment | 3 | | due to an injury or illness received in the active performance
| 4 | | of his duties as a State employee as a result of a willful act | 5 | | of violence by
another employee of the State of Illinois, as so | 6 | | defined, committed during such
other employee's course of | 7 | | employment and after January 1, 1988, shall be
eligible for | 8 | | benefits pursuant to the provisions of this Section. For | 9 | | purposes
of this Section, permanent disability is defined as a | 10 | | diagnosis or prognosis of
an inability to return to current | 11 | | job duties by a physician licensed to
practice medicine in all | 12 | | of its branches.
| 13 | | (f) The compensation and other benefits provided to | 14 | | part-time employees
covered by this Section shall be | 15 | | calculated based on the percentage of time
the part-time | 16 | | employee was scheduled to work pursuant to his or her status as
| 17 | | a part-time employee.
| 18 | | (g) Pursuant to paragraphs (h) and (i) of Section 6 of | 19 | | Article VII of
the Illinois Constitution, this Act | 20 | | specifically denies and limits the exercise
by home rule units | 21 | | of any power which is inconsistent herewith, and all
existing | 22 | | laws and ordinances which are inconsistent herewith are hereby
| 23 | | superseded. This Act does not preempt the concurrent exercise | 24 | | by home rule
units of powers consistent herewith.
| 25 | | This Act does not apply to any home rule unit with a | 26 | | population of over
1,000,000.
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| 1 | | (h) In those cases where the injury or illness to a State | 2 | | employee for which
a benefit is payable under this Act was | 3 | | caused
under circumstances creating a legal liability for | 4 | | damages on the part
of some person other than the State | 5 | | employer, all of the rights
and privileges, including the | 6 | | right to notice of suit brought against
such other person and | 7 | | the right to commence or join in such suit, as
given the | 8 | | employer, together with the conditions or obligations imposed
| 9 | | under paragraph (b) of Section 5 of the Workers' Compensation | 10 | | Act,
are also given and granted to the State, to the end that, | 11 | | with respect to State employees only, the State
may be paid or | 12 | | reimbursed for the amount of
benefit paid or
to be paid by the
| 13 | | State to the injured or ill employee or his or her personal | 14 | | representative out of any
judgment, settlement, or payment
for | 15 | | such injury or illness obtained by such injured or ill | 16 | | employee or his
or her personal representative from such other | 17 | | person by virtue of the injury or illness . | 18 | | (Source: P.A. 100-1143, eff. 1-1-19; 101-651, eff. 8-7-20; | 19 | | 101-653, eff. 2-28-21.)
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