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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, High injury and death rates related to the | ||||||
| 3 | Industrial Revolution spurred dissatisfaction
among employees | ||||||
| 4 | and employers; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, The first modern workers' compensation law | ||||||
| 6 | originated in Germany in 1884, whereby a
compulsory system of | ||||||
| 7 | accident insurance was created for high-risk occupations, and | ||||||
| 8 | Wisconsin was the first state to enact a comprehensive workers' | ||||||
| 9 | compensation law, with
every state following by 1948; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, In 1909, the Cherry Mining Diaster killed 259 men | ||||||
| 11 | and boys, inciting public outrage toward the working conditions | ||||||
| 12 | and compensation for workers harmed on the job, and in response | ||||||
| 13 | to this tragedy, the Illinois General Assembly enacted the | ||||||
| 14 | Illinois' Workers'
Compensation Act in 1911; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, This Act represented a "grand bargain" between | ||||||
| 16 | labor and employers, establishing a "no-fault"
system to | ||||||
| 17 | provide for swift and fair compensation for injuries occurring | ||||||
| 18 | in the workplace in
exchange for workers' forfeiture of rights | ||||||
| 19 | to common law actions against their employers; this "no-fault" | ||||||
| 20 | system shields employers from being subjected to litigation | ||||||
| 21 | brought by injured
employees and protects employers from costs | ||||||
| 22 | for pain and suffering, punitive damages, and other
remedies | ||||||
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| 1 | that are available under common law; and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Workers' compensation insurance is a lifeline for | ||||||
| 3 | injured employees who, despite their injuries, must
continue to | ||||||
| 4 | provide for themselves and their families; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Over 99% of Illinois' employers carry insurance to | ||||||
| 6 | cover the
costs associated with workers' compensation claims; | ||||||
| 7 | and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, The Illinois' Workers' Compensation Act was | ||||||
| 9 | amended in 2011, forcing injured workers to
surrender | ||||||
| 10 | significant benefits, with the intent to reduce premium costs | ||||||
| 11 | that Illinois' employers pay for
their workers' compensation | ||||||
| 12 | insurance, and as a result, employers have netted $315 million | ||||||
| 13 | in savings as a result of the 2011 legislation; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission | ||||||
| 15 | noted in its 2013 Fiscal Year annual report
that the 2011 | ||||||
| 16 | legislation "produced demonstrable improvements to the | ||||||
| 17 | workers' compensation
environment in Illinois"; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, According to a study published by the Oregon | ||||||
| 19 | Department of Consumer and Business
Services, Illinois has | ||||||
| 20 | experienced a 24% reduction in workers' compensation rates | ||||||
| 21 | between
2013 and 2014, representing the steepest drop in the | ||||||
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| 1 | nation; the National Council on Compensation Insurance, the | ||||||
| 2 | insurance industry rate-making
agency upon which Illinois | ||||||
| 3 | relies for rate recommendations, has recommended premium rate | ||||||
| 4 | reductions
of nearly 20% since 2011; a 20% premium rate | ||||||
| 5 | reduction, if fully implemented by insurers, would result in
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| 6 | premium savings to Illinois employers of nearly $1 billion; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Illinois has a robust workers' compensation | ||||||
| 8 | insurance industry, with 330 companies offering
insurance to | ||||||
| 9 | employers, representing the second-most profitable line of | ||||||
| 10 | insurance that is marketed; workers' compensation insurers do | ||||||
| 11 | not disclose their rate-making formulas; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Annual workers' compensation claims in Illinois | ||||||
| 13 | have dropped from 62,000 in 2003 to 42,500
in 2013, | ||||||
| 14 | representing a 31% decrease in a 10-year period; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Illinois wages substantially outpace those of | ||||||
| 16 | other Midwestern states; workers' compensation indemnity | ||||||
| 17 | benefits directly correlate to wages earned and are
responsible | ||||||
| 18 | for 50% of workers' compensation costs; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, High wages are desirable for the State and are one | ||||||
| 20 | of the strongest measurable indicators of
economic vitality; | ||||||
| 21 | and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Further reductions in benefits for injured | ||||||
| 2 | employees would create additional harm to those
employees and | ||||||
| 3 | their families, placing them in deeper financial peril and | ||||||
| 4 | possible ruin; such financial peril results in a cost-shift to | ||||||
| 5 | government-funded safety nets and entitlement
programs; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Illinois has made great strides in its effort to | ||||||
| 7 | reduce costs within the workers' compensation
system; | ||||||
| 8 | therefore, be it
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| 9 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 10 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 11 | value the workforce of Illinois and recognize that labor is the | ||||||
| 12 | engine which drives the State's economy; and be it further
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| 13 | RESOLVED, That injured employees, who have provided their | ||||||
| 14 | labor and made sacrifices for the
betterment of the State and | ||||||
| 15 | its economy, should not be threatened or confronted with | ||||||
| 16 | additional
benefit reductions through further changes to the | ||||||
| 17 | Illinois Workers' Compensation Act.
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