103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3529

 

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Kam Buckner

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 305/6  from Ch. 48, par. 138.6

    Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Provides that post-traumatic stress disorder is to be rebuttably presumed to arise out of and to be causally connected to the hazards of employment of a person employed as a firefighter, emergency medical technician (EMT), emergency medical technician-intermediate (EMT-I), advanced emergency medical technician (A-EMT), or paramedic.


LRB103 29984 SPS 56403 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3529LRB103 29984 SPS 56403 b

1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Workers' Compensation Act is amended by
5changing Section 6 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 305/6)  (from Ch. 48, par. 138.6)
7    Sec. 6. (a) Every employer within the provisions of this
8Act, shall, under the rules and regulations prescribed by the
9Commission, post printed notices in their respective places of
10employment in such number and at such places as may be
11determined by the Commission, containing such information
12relative to this Act as in the judgment of the Commission may
13be necessary to aid employees to safeguard their rights under
14this Act in event of injury.
15    In addition thereto, the employer shall post in a
16conspicuous place on the place of the employment a printed or
17typewritten notice stating whether he is insured or whether he
18has qualified and is operating as a self-insured employer. In
19the event the employer is insured, the notice shall state the
20name and address of his insurance carrier, the number of the
21insurance policy, its effective date and the date of
22termination. In the event of the termination of the policy for
23any reason prior to the termination date stated, the posted

 

 

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1notice shall promptly be corrected accordingly. In the event
2the employer is operating as a self-insured employer the
3notice shall state the name and address of the company, if any,
4servicing the compensation payments of the employer, and the
5name and address of the person in charge of making
6compensation payments.
7    (b) Every employer subject to this Act shall maintain
8accurate records of work-related deaths, injuries and illness
9other than minor injuries requiring only first aid treatment
10and which do not involve medical treatment, loss of
11consciousness, restriction of work or motion, or transfer to
12another job and file with the Commission, in writing, a report
13of all accidental deaths, injuries and illnesses arising out
14of and in the course of the employment resulting in the loss of
15more than 3 scheduled work days. In the case of death such
16report shall be made no later than 2 working days following the
17accidental death. In all other cases such report shall be made
18between the 15th and 25th of each month unless required to be
19made sooner by rule of the Commission. In case the injury
20results in permanent disability, a further report shall be
21made as soon as it is determined that such permanent
22disability has resulted or will result from the injury. All
23reports shall state the date of the injury, including the time
24of day or night, the nature of the employer's business, the
25name, address, age, sex, conjugal condition of the injured
26person, the specific occupation of the injured person, the

 

 

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1direct cause of the injury and the nature of the accident, the
2character of the injury, the length of disability, and in case
3of death the length of disability before death, the wages of
4the injured person, whether compensation has been paid to the
5injured person, or to his or her legal representative or his
6heirs or next of kin, the amount of compensation paid, the
7amount paid for physicians', surgeons' and hospital bills, and
8by whom paid, and the amount paid for funeral or burial
9expenses if known. The reports shall be made on forms and in
10the manner as prescribed by the Commission and shall contain
11such further information as the Commission shall deem
12necessary and require. The making of these reports releases
13the employer from making such reports to any other officer of
14the State and shall satisfy the reporting provisions as
15contained in the Safety Inspection and Education Act, the
16Health and Safety Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health
17Act. The reports filed with the Commission pursuant to this
18Section shall be made available by the Commission to the
19Director of Labor or his representatives and to all other
20departments of the State of Illinois which shall require such
21information for the proper discharge of their official duties.
22Failure to file with the Commission any of the reports
23required in this Section is a petty offense.
24    Except as provided in this paragraph, all reports filed
25hereunder shall be confidential and any person having access
26to such records filed with the Illinois Workers' Compensation

 

 

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1Commission as herein required, who shall release any
2information therein contained including the names or otherwise
3identify any persons sustaining injuries or disabilities, or
4give access to such information to any unauthorized person,
5shall be subject to discipline or discharge, and in addition
6shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. The Commission shall
7compile and distribute to interested persons aggregate
8statistics, taken from the reports filed hereunder. The
9aggregate statistics shall not give the names or otherwise
10identify persons sustaining injuries or disabilities or the
11employer of any injured person or person with a disability.
12    (c) Notice of the accident shall be given to the employer
13as soon as practicable, but not later than 45 days after the
14accident. Provided:
15        (1) In case of the legal disability of the employee or
16    any dependent of a deceased employee who may be entitled
17    to compensation under the provisions of this Act, the
18    limitations of time by this Act provided do not begin to
19    run against such person under legal disability until a
20    guardian has been appointed.
21        (2) In cases of injuries sustained by exposure to
22    radiological materials or equipment, notice shall be given
23    to the employer within 90 days subsequent to the time that
24    the employee knows or suspects that he has received an
25    excessive dose of radiation.
26    No defect or inaccuracy of such notice shall be a bar to

 

 

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1the maintenance of proceedings on arbitration or otherwise by
2the employee unless the employer proves that he is unduly
3prejudiced in such proceedings by such defect or inaccuracy.
4    Notice of the accident shall give the approximate date and
5place of the accident, if known, and may be given orally or in
6writing.
7    (d) Every employer shall notify each injured employee who
8has been granted compensation under the provisions of Section
98 of this Act of his rights to rehabilitation services and
10advise him of the locations of available public rehabilitation
11centers and any other such services of which the employer has
12knowledge.
13    In any case, other than one where the injury was caused by
14exposure to radiological materials or equipment or asbestos
15unless the application for compensation is filed with the
16Commission within 3 years after the date of the accident,
17where no compensation has been paid, or within 2 years after
18the date of the last payment of compensation, where any has
19been paid, whichever shall be later, the right to file such
20application shall be barred.
21    In any case of injury caused by exposure to radiological
22materials or equipment or asbestos, unless application for
23compensation is filed with the Commission within 25 years
24after the last day that the employee was employed in an
25environment of hazardous radiological activity or asbestos,
26the right to file such application shall be barred.

 

 

HB3529- 6 -LRB103 29984 SPS 56403 b

1    If in any case except one where the injury was caused by
2exposure to radiological materials or equipment or asbestos,
3the accidental injury results in death application for
4compensation for death may be filed with the Commission within
53 years after the date of death where no compensation has been
6paid or within 2 years after the date of the last payment of
7compensation where any has been paid, whichever shall be
8later, but not thereafter.
9    If an accidental injury caused by exposure to radiological
10material or equipment or asbestos results in death within 25
11years after the last day that the employee was so exposed
12application for compensation for death may be filed with the
13Commission within 3 years after the date of death, where no
14compensation has been paid, or within 2 years after the date of
15the last payment of compensation where any has been paid,
16whichever shall be later, but not thereafter.
17    (e) Any contract or agreement made by any employer or his
18agent or attorney with any employee or any other beneficiary
19of any claim under the provisions of this Act within 7 days
20after the injury shall be presumed to be fraudulent.
21    (f) Any condition or impairment of health of an employee
22employed as a firefighter, emergency medical technician (EMT),
23emergency medical technician-intermediate (EMT-I), advanced
24emergency medical technician (A-EMT), or paramedic which
25results directly or indirectly from any bloodborne pathogen,
26contagious staph infection, including Methicillin-resistant

 

 

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1Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), lung or respiratory disease or
2condition, heart or vascular disease or condition,
3hypertension, tuberculosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, or
4cancer resulting in any disability (temporary, permanent,
5total, or partial) to the employee shall be rebuttably
6presumed to arise out of and in the course of the employee's
7firefighting, EMT, or paramedic employment and, further, shall
8be rebuttably presumed to be causally connected to the hazards
9or exposures of the employment. This presumption shall also
10apply to any hernia or hearing loss suffered by an employee
11employed as a firefighter, EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, or paramedic.
12However, this presumption shall not apply to any employee who
13has been employed as a firefighter, EMT, or paramedic for less
14than 5 years at the time he or she files an Application for
15Adjustment of Claim concerning this condition or impairment
16with the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. The
17rebuttable presumption established under this subsection,
18however, does not apply to an emergency medical technician
19(EMT), emergency medical technician-intermediate (EMT-I),
20advanced emergency medical technician (A-EMT), or paramedic
21employed by a private employer if the employee spends the
22preponderance of his or her work time for that employer
23engaged in medical transfers between medical care facilities
24or non-emergency medical transfers to or from medical care
25facilities. The changes made to this subsection by Public Act
2698-291 shall be narrowly construed. The Finding and Decision

 

 

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1of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission under only
2the rebuttable presumption provision of this subsection shall
3not be admissible or be deemed res judicata in any disability
4claim under the Illinois Pension Code arising out of the same
5medical condition; however, this sentence makes no change to
6the law set forth in Krohe v. City of Bloomington, 204 Ill.2d
7392.
8(Source: P.A. 102-493, eff. 8-20-21.)