HB4151 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB101 16414 KTG 66198 b

101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4151

Introduced 1/22/2020, by Rep. Jay Hoffman

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

See Index

Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. In a provision creating the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, provides that each Commissioner appointed on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall be required to be authorized to practice law in this State by the Illinois Supreme Court and to maintain this authorization throughout his or her term of employment. Removes a provision that requires Commissioner candidates, other than the Chairman, to: (i) be licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois; (ii) have served as an arbitrator at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission for at least 3 years; or (iii) have at least 4 years of professional labor relations experience. Provides that each Commissioner appointed on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall receive an annual salary of 70% of a Circuit Court Judge in the Judicial Court constituted by the First Judicial District under the Salaries Act and the Chairman shall receive an annual salary of 5% more than the other Commissioners. Provides that the performance of all arbitrators shall be reviewed by the Chairman every other year, or more at the discretion of the Chairman (rather than the performance of all arbitrators shall be reviewed by the Chairman on an annual basis). Provides that the Chairman shall have the discretion to assign arbitrators by county (rather than no arbitrator shall hear cases in any county, other than Cook County, for more than 2 years in each 3-year term). Provides that on and after the effective date of the amendatory Act, the Secretary and each arbitrator shall receive a per annum salary of 5% less than the per annum salary of members of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission as provided in a specified provision of the Act, payable in equal monthly installments. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

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 Sections 13 and 14 as follows:

(820 ILCS 305/13) (from Ch. 48, par. 138.13)

Sec. 13. There is created an Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission consisting of 10 members to be appointed by the Governor, by and with the consent of the Senate, 3 of whom shall be representative citizens of the employing class operating under this Act and 3 of whom shall be from a labor organization recognized under the National Labor Relations Act or an attorney who has represented labor organizations or has represented employees in workers' compensation cases, and 4 of whom shall be representative citizens not identified with either the employing or employee classes. Not more than 6 members of the Commission shall be of the same political party. Each Commissioner appointed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly shall be required to be authorized to practice law in this State by the Illinois Supreme Court and to maintain this authorization throughout his or her term of employment.

One of the members not identified with either the employing or employee classes shall be designated by the Governor as Chairman. The Chairman shall be the chief administrative and executive officer of the Commission; and he or she shall have general supervisory authority over all personnel of the Commission, including arbitrators and Commissioners, and the final authority in all administrative matters relating to the Commissioners, including but not limited to the assignment and distribution of cases and assignment of Commissioners to the panels, except in the promulgation of procedural rules and orders under Section 16 and in the determination of cases under this Act.

Notwithstanding the general supervisory authority of the Chairman, each Commissioner, except those assigned to the temporary panel, shall have the authority to hire and supervise 2 staff attorneys each. Such staff attorneys shall report directly to the individual Commissioner.

A formal training program for newly-appointed Commissioners shall be implemented. The training program shall include the following:

(a) substantive and procedural aspects of the office of Commissioner;

(b) current issues in workers' compensation law and practice;

(c) medical lectures by specialists in areas such as orthopedics, ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation counseling;

(d) orientation to each operational unit of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission;

(e) observation of experienced arbitrators and Commissioners conducting hearings of cases, combined with the opportunity to discuss evidence presented and rulings made;

(f) the use of hypothetical cases requiring the newly-appointed Commissioner to issue judgments as a means to evaluating knowledge and writing ability;

(g) writing skills;

(h) professional and ethical standards pursuant to Section 1.1 of this Act;

(i) detection of workers' compensation fraud and reporting obligations of Commission employees and appointees;

(j) standards of evidence-based medical treatment and best practices for measuring and improving quality and health care outcomes in the workers' compensation system, including but not limited to the use of the American Medical Association's "Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment" and the practice of utilization review; and

(k) substantive and procedural aspects of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (black lung) cases.

A formal and ongoing professional development program including, but not limited to, the above-noted areas shall be implemented to keep Commissioners informed of recent developments and issues and to assist them in maintaining and enhancing their professional competence. Each Commissioner shall complete 20 hours of training in the above-noted areas during every 2 years such Commissioner shall remain in office.

The Commissioner candidates, other than the Chairman, must meet one of the following qualifications: (a) licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois; or (b) served as an arbitrator at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission for at least 3 years; or (c) has at least 4 years of professional labor relations experience. The Chairman candidate must have public or private sector management and budget experience, as determined by the Governor.

Each Commissioner shall devote full time to his duties and any Commissioner who is an attorney-at-law shall not engage in the practice of law, nor shall any Commissioner hold any other office or position of profit under the United States or this State or any municipal corporation or political subdivision of this State, nor engage in any other business, employment, or vocation.

The term of office of each member of the Commission holding office on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989 is abolished, but the incumbents shall continue to exercise all of the powers and be subject to all of the duties of Commissioners until their respective successors are appointed and qualified.

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission shall administer this Act.

In the promulgation of procedural rules, the determination of cases heard en banc, and other matters determined by the full Commission, the Chairman's vote shall break a tie in the event of a tie vote.

The members shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, as follows:

(a) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989, 3 members, at least one of each political party, and one of whom shall be a representative citizen of the employing class operating under this Act, one of whom shall be a representative citizen of the class of employees covered under this Act, and one of whom shall be a representative citizen not identified with either the employing or employee classes, shall be appointed to hold office until the third Monday in January of 1993, and until their successors are appointed and qualified, and 4 members, one of whom shall be a representative citizen of the employing class operating under this Act, one of whom shall be a representative citizen of the class of employees covered in this Act, and two of whom shall be representative citizens not identified with either the employing or employee classes, one of whom shall be designated by the Governor as Chairman (at least one of each of the two major political parties) shall be appointed to hold office until the third Monday of January in 1991, and until their successors are appointed and qualified.

(a-5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the term of each member of the Commission who was appointed by the Governor and is in office on June 30, 2003 shall terminate at the close of business on that date or when all of the successor members to be appointed pursuant to this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly have been appointed by the Governor, whichever occurs later. As soon as possible, the Governor shall appoint persons to fill the vacancies created by this amendatory Act. Of the initial commissioners appointed pursuant to this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, 3 shall be appointed for terms ending on the third Monday in January, 2005, and 4 shall be appointed for terms ending on the third Monday in January, 2007.

(a-10) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, the Commission shall be increased to 10 members. As soon as possible after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, the Governor shall appoint, by and with the consent of the Senate, the 3 members added to the Commission under this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, one of whom shall be a representative citizen of the employing class operating under this Act, one of whom shall be a representative of the class of employees covered under this Act, and one of whom shall be a representative citizen not identified with either the employing or employee classes. Of the members appointed under this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, one shall be appointed for a term ending on the third Monday in January, 2007, and 2 shall be appointed for terms ending on the third Monday in January, 2009, and until their successors are appointed and qualified.

(b) Members shall thereafter be appointed to hold office for terms of 4 years from the third Monday in January of the year of their appointment, and until their successors are appointed and qualified. All such appointments shall be made so that the composition of the Commission is in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of this Section.

The Chairman shall receive an annual salary of $42,500, or a salary set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater, and each other member shall receive an annual salary of $38,000, or a salary set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater.

Each Commissioner appointed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly shall receive an annual salary of 70% of a Circuit Court Judge in the Judicial Court constituted by the First Judicial District under the Salaries Act and the Chairman shall receive an annual salary of 5% more than the other Commissioners.

In case of a vacancy in the office of a Commissioner during the recess of the Senate, the Governor shall make a temporary appointment until the next meeting of the Senate, when he shall nominate some person to fill such office. Any person so nominated who is confirmed by the Senate shall hold office during the remainder of the term and until his successor is appointed and qualified.

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission created by this amendatory Act of 1989 shall succeed to all the rights, powers, duties, obligations, records and other property and employees of the Industrial Commission which it replaces as modified by this amendatory Act of 1989 and all applications and reports to actions and proceedings of such prior Industrial Commission shall be considered as applications and reports to actions and proceedings of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission created by this amendatory Act of 1989.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in the event the Chairman shall make a finding that a member is or will be unavailable to fulfill the responsibilities of his or her office, the Chairman shall advise the Governor and the member in writing and shall designate a certified arbitrator to serve as acting Commissioner. The certified arbitrator shall act as a Commissioner until the member resumes the duties of his or her office or until a new member is appointed by the Governor, by and with the consent of the Senate, if a vacancy occurs in the office of the Commissioner, but in no event shall a certified arbitrator serve in the capacity of Commissioner for more than 6 months from the date of appointment by the Chairman. A finding by the Chairman that a member is or will be unavailable to fulfill the responsibilities of his or her office shall be based upon notice to the Chairman by a member that he or she will be unavailable or facts and circumstances made known to the Chairman which lead him to reasonably find that a member is unavailable to fulfill the responsibilities of his or her office. The designation of a certified arbitrator to act as a Commissioner shall be considered representative of citizens not identified with either the employing or employee classes and the arbitrator shall serve regardless of his or her political affiliation. A certified arbitrator who serves as an acting Commissioner shall have all the rights and powers of a Commissioner, including salary.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Governor shall appoint a special panel of Commissioners comprised of 3 members who shall be chosen by the Governor, by and with the consent of the Senate, from among the current ranks of certified arbitrators. Three members shall hold office until the Commission in consultation with the Governor determines that the caseload on review has been reduced sufficiently to allow cases to proceed in a timely manner or for a term of 18 months from the effective date of their appointment by the Governor, whichever shall be earlier. The 3 members shall be considered representative of citizens not identified with either the employing or employee classes and shall serve regardless of political affiliation. Each of the 3 members shall have only such rights and powers of a Commissioner necessary to dispose of those cases assigned to the special panel. Each of the 3 members appointed to the special panel shall receive the same salary as other Commissioners for the duration of the panel.

The Commission may have an Executive Director; if so, the Executive Director shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The salary and duties of the Executive Director shall be fixed by the Commission.

On the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, the name of the Industrial Commission is changed to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. References in any law, appropriation, rule, form, or other document: (i) to the Industrial Commission are deemed, in appropriate contexts, to be references to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission for all purposes; (ii) to the Industrial Commission Operations Fund are deemed, in appropriate contexts, to be references to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission Operations Fund for all purposes; (iii) to the Industrial Commission Operations Fund Fee are deemed, in appropriate contexts, to be references to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission Operations Fund Fee for all purposes; and (iv) to the Industrial Commission Operations Fund Surcharge are deemed, in appropriate contexts, to be references to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission Operations Fund Surcharge for all purposes.

(Source: P.A. 101-384, eff. 1-1-20.)

(820 ILCS 305/14) (from Ch. 48, par. 138.14)

Sec. 14. The Commission shall appoint a secretary and , an assistant secretary, and arbitrators and shall employ such assistants and clerical help as may be necessary. Arbitrators shall be appointed pursuant to this Section, notwithstanding any provision of the Personnel Code.

Each arbitrator appointed after June 28, 2011 shall be required to demonstrate in writing his or her knowledge of and expertise in the law of and judicial processes of the Workers' Compensation Act and the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act.

A formal training program for newly-hired arbitrators shall be implemented. The training program shall include the following:

(a) substantive and procedural aspects of the arbitrator position;

(b) current issues in workers' compensation law and practice;

(c) medical lectures by specialists in areas such as orthopedics, ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation counseling;

(d) orientation to each operational unit of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission;

(e) observation of experienced arbitrators conducting hearings of cases, combined with the opportunity to discuss evidence presented and rulings made;

(f) the use of hypothetical cases requiring the trainee to issue judgments as a means to evaluating knowledge and writing ability;

(g) writing skills;

(h) professional and ethical standards pursuant to Section 1.1 of this Act;

(i) detection of workers' compensation fraud and reporting obligations of Commission employees and appointees;

(j) standards of evidence-based medical treatment and best practices for measuring and improving quality and health care outcomes in the workers' compensation system, including but not limited to the use of the American Medical Association's "Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment" and the practice of utilization review; and

(k) substantive and procedural aspects of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (black lung) cases.

A formal and ongoing professional development program including, but not limited to, the above-noted areas shall be implemented to keep arbitrators informed of recent developments and issues and to assist them in maintaining and enhancing their professional competence. Each arbitrator shall complete 20 hours of training in the above-noted areas during every 2 years such arbitrator shall remain in office.

Each arbitrator shall devote full time to his or her duties and shall serve when assigned as an acting Commissioner when a Commissioner is unavailable in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of this Act. Any arbitrator who is an attorney-at-law shall not engage in the practice of law, nor shall any arbitrator hold any other office or position of profit under the United States or this State or any municipal corporation or political subdivision of this State. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act to the contrary, an arbitrator who serves as an acting Commissioner in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of this Act shall continue to serve in the capacity of Commissioner until a decision is reached in every case heard by that arbitrator while serving as an acting Commissioner.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the term of all arbitrators serving on June 28, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-18), including any arbitrators on administrative leave, shall terminate at the close of business on July 1, 2011, but the incumbents shall continue to exercise all of their duties until they are reappointed or their successors are appointed.

On and after June 28, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-18), arbitrators shall be appointed to 3-year terms as follows:

(1) All appointments shall be made by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(2) For their initial appointments, 12 arbitrators shall be appointed to terms expiring July 1, 2012; 12 arbitrators shall be appointed to terms expiring July 1, 2013; and all additional arbitrators shall be appointed to terms expiring July 1, 2014. Thereafter, all arbitrators shall be appointed to 3-year terms.

Upon the expiration of a term, the Chairman shall evaluate the performance of the arbitrator and may recommend to the Governor that he or she be reappointed to a second or subsequent term by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Each arbitrator appointed on or after June 28, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-18) and who has not previously served as an arbitrator for the Commission shall be required to be authorized to practice law in this State by the Supreme Court, and to maintain this authorization throughout his or her term of employment.

The performance of all arbitrators shall be reviewed by the Chairman every other year, or more at the discretion of the Chairman on an annual basis. The Chairman shall allow input from the Commissioners in all such reviews.

The Commission shall assign no fewer than 3 arbitrators to each hearing site. The Commission shall establish a procedure to ensure that the arbitrators assigned to each hearing site are assigned cases on a random basis. The Chairman shall have the discretion to assign arbitrators by county. No arbitrator shall hear cases in any county, other than Cook County, for more than 2 years in each 3-year term.

The Secretary and each arbitrator shall receive a per annum salary of 5% $4,000 less than the per annum salary of members of The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission as provided in Section 13 of this Act, payable in equal monthly installments.

On and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, the Secretary and each arbitrator shall receive a per annum salary of 5% less than the per annum salary of members of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission as provided in Section 13 of this Act, payable in equal monthly installments.

The members of the Commission, Arbitrators and other employees whose duties require them to travel, shall have reimbursed to them their actual traveling expenses and disbursements made or incurred by them in the discharge of their official duties while away from their place of residence in the performance of their duties.

The Commission shall provide itself with a seal for the authentication of its orders, awards and proceedings upon which shall be inscribed the name of the Commission and the words "Illinois--Seal".

The Secretary or Assistant Secretary, under the direction of the Commission, shall have charge and custody of the seal of the Commission and also have charge and custody of all records, files, orders, proceedings, decisions, awards and other documents on file with the Commission. He shall furnish certified copies, under the seal of the Commission, of any such records, files, orders, proceedings, decisions, awards and other documents on file with the Commission as may be required. Certified copies so furnished by the Secretary or Assistant Secretary shall be received in evidence before the Commission or any Arbitrator thereof, and in all courts, provided that the original of such certified copy is otherwise competent and admissible in evidence. The Secretary or Assistant Secretary shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed from time to time by the Commission.

(Source: P.A. 98-40, eff. 6-28-13; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.