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Public Act 100-1097 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing | ||||
Sections 4-112, 7-109, and 7-109.3 as follows:
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(40 ILCS 5/4-112) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-112)
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Sec. 4-112. Determination of disability; restoration to | ||||
active service; disability cannot constitute cause for | ||||
discharge. A disability pension shall not be paid until | ||||
disability
has been established by the board by examinations
of | ||||
the firefighter at pension fund expense by 3 physicians | ||||
selected
by the board and such other evidence as the board | ||||
deems
necessary. The 3 physicians selected by the board need | ||||
not agree as to the existence of any disability or the nature | ||||
and extent of a disability. Medical examination of a | ||||
firefighter
receiving a disability pension shall be made at | ||||
least once each year prior
to attainment of age 50 in order to | ||||
verify continuance of disability , except that a medical | ||||
examination of a firefighter receiving a disability pension for | ||||
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to his or her | ||||
service as a firefighter shall not be made if: (1) the | ||||
firefighter has attained age 45; (2) the firefighter has | ||||
provided to the board documentation approving the |
discontinuance of the medical examination from at least 2 | ||
physicians; and (3) at least 4 members of the board have voted | ||
in the affirmative to allow the firefighter to discontinue the | ||
medical examination . No
examination shall be required after age | ||
50. No physical or mental disability that constitutes, in whole | ||
or in part, the basis of an application for benefits under this | ||
Article may be used, in whole or in part, by any municipality | ||
or fire protection district employing firefighters, emergency | ||
medical technicians, or paramedics as cause for discharge.
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Upon satisfactory proof to the board that a firefighter on | ||
the disability
pension has recovered from disability, the board | ||
shall
terminate the
disability pension.
The firefighter shall | ||
report to the marshal or chief
of the fire department, who | ||
shall thereupon
order immediate reinstatement into active | ||
service, and the municipality shall immediately return the | ||
firefighter to its payroll, in the same rank or grade held
at | ||
the date he or she was placed on disability pension. If the | ||
firefighter must file a civil action against the municipality | ||
to enforce his or her mandated return to payroll under this | ||
paragraph, then the firefighter is entitled to recovery of | ||
reasonable court costs and attorney's fees.
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The firefighter shall be entitled to 10 days notice before
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any hearing or meeting of the board at which the question of | ||
his or her
disability is to be considered, and shall have the | ||
right to be present
at any such hearing or meeting, and to be | ||
represented by counsel; however,
the board shall not have any |
obligation to provide such fireman with counsel.
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(Source: P.A. 95-681, eff. 10-11-07.)
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(40 ILCS 5/7-109) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-109)
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Sec. 7-109. Employee.
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(1) "Employee" means any person who:
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(a) 1. Receives earnings as payment for the performance | ||
of personal
services or official duties out of the general | ||
fund of a municipality,
or out of any special fund or funds | ||
controlled by a municipality, or by
an instrumentality | ||
thereof, or a participating instrumentality, including,
in | ||
counties, the fees or earnings of any county fee office; | ||
and
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2. Under the usual common law rules applicable in | ||
determining the
employer-employee relationship, has the | ||
status of an employee with a
municipality, or any | ||
instrumentality thereof, or a participating
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instrumentality, including aldermen, county supervisors | ||
and other
persons (excepting those employed as independent | ||
contractors) who are
paid compensation, fees, allowances | ||
or other emolument for official
duties, and, in counties, | ||
the several county fee offices.
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(b) Serves as a township treasurer appointed under the | ||
School
Code, as heretofore or hereafter amended, and
who | ||
receives for such services regular compensation as | ||
distinguished
from per diem compensation, and any regular |
employee in the office of
any township treasurer whether or | ||
not his earnings are paid from the
income of the permanent | ||
township fund or from funds subject to
distribution to the | ||
several school districts and parts of school
districts as | ||
provided in the School Code, or from both such sources; or | ||
is the chief executive officer, chief educational officer, | ||
chief fiscal officer, or other employee of a Financial | ||
Oversight Panel established pursuant to Article 1H of the | ||
School Code, other than a superintendent or certified | ||
school business official, except that such person shall not | ||
be treated as an employee under this Section if that person | ||
has negotiated with the Financial Oversight Panel, in | ||
conjunction with the school district, a contractual | ||
agreement for exclusion from this Section.
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(c) Holds an elective office in a municipality, | ||
instrumentality
thereof or participating instrumentality.
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(2) "Employee" does not include persons who:
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(a) Are eligible for inclusion under any of the | ||
following laws:
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1. "An Act in relation to an Illinois State | ||
Teachers' Pension and
Retirement Fund", approved May | ||
27, 1915, as amended;
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2. Articles 15 and 16 of this Code.
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However, such persons shall be included as employees to | ||
the extent of
earnings that are not eligible for inclusion | ||
under the foregoing laws
for services not of an |
instructional nature of any kind.
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However, any member of the armed forces who is employed | ||
as a teacher
of subjects in the Reserve Officers Training | ||
Corps of any school and who
is not certified under the law | ||
governing the certification of teachers
shall be included | ||
as an employee.
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(b) Are designated by the governing body of a | ||
municipality in which a
pension fund is required by law to | ||
be established for policemen or
firemen, respectively, as | ||
performing police or fire protection duties,
except that | ||
when such persons are the heads of the police or fire
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department and are not eligible to be included within any | ||
such pension
fund, they shall be included within this | ||
Article; provided, that such
persons shall not be excluded | ||
to the extent of concurrent service and
earnings not | ||
designated as being for police or fire protection duties.
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However, (i) any head of a police department who was a | ||
participant under this
Article immediately before October | ||
1, 1977 and did not elect, under Section
3-109 of this Act, | ||
to participate in a police pension fund shall be an
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"employee", and (ii) any chief of police who became a | ||
participating employee under this Article before January | ||
1, 2019 and who elects to participate in this
Fund under | ||
Section 3-109.1 of this Code, regardless of whether such | ||
person
continues to be employed as chief of police or is | ||
employed in some other
rank or capacity within the police |
department, shall be an employee under
this Article for so | ||
long as such person is employed to perform police
duties by | ||
a participating municipality and has not lawfully | ||
rescinded that
election. | ||
(b-5) Were not participating employees under this | ||
Article before the effective date of this amendatory Act of | ||
the 100th General Assembly and participated as a chief of | ||
police in a fund under Article 3 and return to work in any | ||
capacity with the police department, with any oversight of | ||
the police department, or in an advisory capacity for the | ||
police department with the same municipality with which | ||
that pension was earned, regardless of whether they are | ||
considered an employee of the police department or are | ||
eligible for inclusion in the municipality's Article 3 | ||
fund. | ||
(c) Are contributors to or eligible to contribute to a | ||
Taft-Hartley pension plan to which the participating | ||
municipality is required to contribute as the person's | ||
employer based on earnings from the municipality. Nothing | ||
in this paragraph shall affect service credit or creditable | ||
service for any period of service prior to the effective | ||
date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, | ||
and this paragraph shall not apply to individuals who are | ||
participating in the Fund prior to the effective date of | ||
this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly.
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(d) Become an employee of any of the following |
participating instrumentalities on or after the effective | ||
date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly: | ||
the Illinois Municipal League; the Illinois Association of | ||
Park Districts; the Illinois Supervisors, County | ||
Commissioners and Superintendents of Highways Association; | ||
an association, or not-for-profit corporation, membership | ||
in which is authorized under Section 85-15 of the Township | ||
Code; the United Counties Council; or the Will County | ||
Governmental League. | ||
(3) All persons, including, without limitation, public | ||
defenders and
probation officers, who receive earnings from | ||
general or special funds
of a county for performance of | ||
personal services or official duties
within the territorial | ||
limits of the county, are employees of the county
(unless | ||
excluded by subsection (2) of this Section) notwithstanding | ||
that
they may be appointed by and are subject to the direction | ||
of a person or
persons other than a county board or a county | ||
officer. It is hereby
established that an employer-employee | ||
relationship under the usual
common law rules exists between | ||
such employees and the county paying
their salaries by reason | ||
of the fact that the county boards fix their
rates of | ||
compensation, appropriate funds for payment of their earnings
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and otherwise exercise control over them. This finding and this
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amendatory Act shall apply to all such employees from the date | ||
of
appointment whether such date is prior to or after the | ||
effective date of
this amendatory Act and is intended to |
clarify existing law pertaining
to their status as | ||
participating employees in the Fund.
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(Source: P.A. 99-830, eff. 1-1-17; 100-281, eff. 8-24-17.)
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(40 ILCS 5/7-109.3) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-109.3)
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Sec. 7-109.3. "Sheriff's Law Enforcement Employees".
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(a) "Sheriff's law enforcement employee" or "SLEP" means:
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(1) A county sheriff and all deputies, other than | ||
special deputies,
employed on a full time basis in the | ||
office of the sheriff.
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(2) A person who has elected to participate in this | ||
Fund under Section
3-109.1 of this Code, and who is | ||
employed by a participating municipality
to perform police | ||
duties.
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(3) A law enforcement officer employed on a full time | ||
basis by a Forest
Preserve District, provided that such | ||
officer shall be deemed a "sheriff's
law enforcement | ||
employee" for the purposes of this Article, and service in
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that capacity shall be deemed to be service as a sheriff's | ||
law enforcement
employee, only if the board of | ||
commissioners of the District have so
elected by adoption | ||
of an affirmative resolution. Such election, once made,
may | ||
not be rescinded.
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(4) A person not eligible to participate in a fund | ||
established under
Article 3 of this Code who is employed on | ||
a full-time basis by a
participating municipality or |
participating instrumentality to perform
police duties at | ||
an airport, but only if the governing authority of the
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employer has approved sheriff's law enforcement employee | ||
status for its
airport police employees by adoption of an | ||
affirmative resolution. Such
approval, once given, may not | ||
be rescinded.
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(5) A person first hired on or after January 1, 2011 | ||
who (i) is employed by a participating municipality that | ||
has both 30 or more full-time police officers and 50 or | ||
more full-time firefighters and has not established a fund | ||
under
Article 3 or Article 4 of this Code and (ii) is | ||
employed on a full-time basis by that
participating | ||
municipality to perform
police duties or firefighting and | ||
EMS duties; but only if the governing authority of that | ||
municipality has approved sheriff's law enforcement | ||
employee status for its
police officer or firefighter | ||
employees by adoption of an affirmative resolution. The | ||
resolution must specify that SLEP status shall be | ||
applicable to such employment occurring on or after the | ||
adoption of the resolution. Such resolution shall be | ||
irrevocable, but shall automatically terminate upon the | ||
establishment of an Article 3 or 4 fund by the | ||
municipality. | ||
(b) An employee who is a sheriff's law enforcement employee | ||
and is granted
military leave or authorized leave of absence | ||
shall receive service credit in
that capacity. Sheriff's law |
enforcement employees shall not be entitled to
out-of-State | ||
service credit under Section 7-139.
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(Source: P.A. 100-354, eff. 8-25-17.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
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