Full Text of SB0607 102nd General Assembly
SB0607 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 SB0607 Introduced 2/24/2021, by Sen. Brian W. Stewart SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 5 ILCS 345/1 | from Ch. 70, par. 91 |
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Amends the Public Employee Disability Act. Provides that "eligible employee" under the Act includes part-time law enforcement officers and part-time firefighters (currently, only full-time law enforcement officers and full-time firefighters included).
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning 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 Section 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 or part-time law enforcement officer or any
| 17 | | full-time or part-time firefighter, including a full-time | 18 | | paramedic or a firefighter who performs paramedic duties, who | 19 | | is employed by the State of Illinois, any unit of
local | 20 | | government (including any home rule unit), any State supported | 21 | | college or
university, or any other public entity granted the | 22 | | power to employ persons for
such purposes by law.
| 23 | | (b) Whenever an eligible employee suffers any injury in |
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| 1 | | the line of duty
which causes him to be unable to perform his | 2 | | duties, he shall continue to be
paid by the employing public | 3 | | entity on the same basis as he was paid before the
injury, with | 4 | | no deduction from his sick leave credits, compensatory time | 5 | | for
overtime accumulations or vacation, or service credits in | 6 | | a public employee
pension fund during the time he is unable to | 7 | | perform his duties due to the
result of the injury, but not | 8 | | longer than one year in relation to the same
injury, except as | 9 | | otherwise provided under subsection (b-5). However, no injury | 10 | | to an employee of the Department
of Corrections or
the | 11 | | Prisoner Review Board working within a penal institution or an | 12 | | employee of
the Department of Human Services working within a
| 13 | | departmental mental health or developmental disabilities | 14 | | facility shall
qualify the employee for benefits under this | 15 | | Section unless the
injury is the
direct or indirect result of | 16 | | violence by inmates of the penal institution or
residents of | 17 | | the mental health or developmental
disabilities facility.
| 18 | | (b-5) Upon the occurrence of circumstances, directly or | 19 | | indirectly attributable to COVID-19, occurring on or after | 20 | | March 9, 2020 and on or before December 31, 2020 which would | 21 | | hinder the physical recovery from an injury of an eligible | 22 | | employee within the one-year period as required under | 23 | | subsection (b), the eligible employee shall be entitled to an | 24 | | extension of no longer than 60 days by which he or she shall | 25 | | continue to be paid by the employing public entity on the same | 26 | | basis as he or she was paid before the injury. The employing |
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| 1 | | public entity may require proof of the circumstances hindering | 2 | | an eligible employee's physical recovery before granting the | 3 | | extension provided under this subsection (b-5). | 4 | | (c) At any time during the period for which continuing | 5 | | compensation
is required by this Act, the employing public | 6 | | entity may order at the
expense of that entity physical or | 7 | | medical examinations of the injured
person to determine the | 8 | | degree of disability.
| 9 | | (d) During this period of disability, the injured person | 10 | | shall not
be employed in any other manner, with or without | 11 | | monetary compensation.
Any person who is employed in violation | 12 | | of this paragraph forfeits the
continuing compensation | 13 | | provided by this Act from the time such
employment begins. Any | 14 | | salary compensation due the injured person from
workers' | 15 | | compensation or any salary due him from any type of insurance
| 16 | | which may be carried by the employing public entity shall | 17 | | revert to that
entity during the time for which continuing | 18 | | compensation is paid to him
under this Act. Any person with a | 19 | | disability receiving compensation under the
provisions of this | 20 | | Act shall not be entitled to any benefits for which
he would | 21 | | qualify because of his disability under the provisions of the
| 22 | | Illinois Pension Code.
| 23 | | (e) Any employee of the State of Illinois, as defined in | 24 | | Section 14-103.05
of the Illinois Pension Code, who becomes | 25 | | permanently unable to perform the
duties of such employment | 26 | | due to an injury received in the active performance
of his |
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| 1 | | duties as a State employee as a result of a willful act of | 2 | | violence by
another employee of the State of Illinois, as so | 3 | | defined, committed during such
other employee's course of | 4 | | employment and after January 1, 1988, shall be
eligible for | 5 | | benefits pursuant to the provisions of this Section. For | 6 | | purposes
of this Section, permanent disability is defined as a | 7 | | diagnosis or prognosis of
an inability to return to current | 8 | | job duties by a physician licensed to
practice medicine in all | 9 | | of its branches.
| 10 | | (f) The compensation and other benefits provided to | 11 | | part-time employees
covered by this Section shall be | 12 | | calculated based on the percentage of time
the part-time | 13 | | employee was scheduled to work pursuant to his or her status as
| 14 | | a part-time employee.
| 15 | | (g) Pursuant to paragraphs (h) and (i) of Section 6 of | 16 | | Article VII of
the Illinois Constitution, this Act | 17 | | specifically denies and limits the exercise
by home rule units | 18 | | of any power which is inconsistent herewith, and all
existing | 19 | | laws and ordinances which are inconsistent herewith are hereby
| 20 | | superseded. This Act does not preempt the concurrent exercise | 21 | | by home rule
units of powers consistent herewith.
| 22 | | This Act does not apply to any home rule unit with a | 23 | | population of over
1,000,000.
| 24 | | (h) In those cases where the injury to a State employee for | 25 | | which
a benefit is payable under this Act was caused
under | 26 | | circumstances creating a legal liability for damages on the |
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| 1 | | part
of some person other than the State employer, all of the | 2 | | rights
and privileges, including the right to notice of suit | 3 | | brought against
such other person and the right to commence or | 4 | | join in such suit, as
given the employer, together with the | 5 | | conditions or obligations imposed
under paragraph (b) of | 6 | | Section 5 of the Workers' Compensation Act,
are also given and | 7 | | granted to the State, to the end that, with respect to State | 8 | | employees only, the State
may be paid or reimbursed for the | 9 | | amount of
benefit paid or
to be paid by the
State to the | 10 | | injured employee or his or her personal representative out of | 11 | | any
judgment, settlement, or payment
for such injury obtained | 12 | | by such injured employee or his
or her personal representative | 13 | | from such other person by virtue of the injury. | 14 | | (Source: P.A. 100-1143, eff. 1-1-19; 101-651, eff. 8-7-20.)
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