As reported by our friends at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, early this morning the General Assembly approved HB 4276 the extension of the COVID rebuttable presumption provision under the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act through June 30, 2021. The measure also amends the Public Employee Disability Act providing that upon the occurrence of circumstances, directly or indirectly attributable to COVID-19, occurring on…
Earlier today, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and Illinois Retail Merchants Association filed a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction in Circuit Court in Sangamon County against the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission and Chairman M. Brennan seeking that the Court enjoin the Commission from invoking the Amendments in favor of or against any…
The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission conducted an emergency public hearing by telephone yesterday afternoon to discuss further amendments to the Rules Governing Practice, specifically Commission Rule 9030.70, which they had amended on an emergency basis 2 days prior. The result of the revised emergency rule is that any covered Illinois employer, private, public for-profit or…
On April 13, 2020, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission adopted new Rules in Sections 9030.70(1) and (2) of the Rules of Practice before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission to address workers infected with Covid-19. These rules created a rebuttable presumption that employees who contracted the COVID-19 illness did so in the course and scope of…
In a 9-0-1 vote, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission adopted new Rules in Sections 9030.70(1) and (2) of the Rules of Practice before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission to address workers infected with Covid-19.See the Emergency Rule Amendments here.Download A little background first. Under the Illinois Workers Compensation Act and the Illinois Occupational Diseases Act, the…
The IL IWCC just issued the following update: Beginning Monday March 23, 2020, the Commission will move forward with the below Emergency Motion Call for EMERGENCY motions, ONLY. An “Emergency Arbitrator” will be available at the locations and on the dates and times set in the below schedule (this will be updated on a weekly…
In what is likely to be the first of several actions, President Trump signed into law HR 6201 “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. The first thing to note is that this bill only applies to employers with fewer than 500 employees. The bill impacts a number of employer related programs:…
News from Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity: LANSING, MICH. The Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity today provided guidance to Michigan employers on how to avoid potential layoffs related to COVID-19. “We know that many families and businesses are and will experience economic pain as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said LEO…
The United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois has issued Amended General Order 20-0012 IN RE: CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 Public Emergency Signed by Chief Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer on March 16, 2020 providing important guidance on Court operations. All open cases are impacted by this Amended General Order. It should be noted that this Order…
The Ohio Industrial Commission announced yesterday that all workers’ compensation hearings will be continued on Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Until further notice, beginning Wednesday, March 18, the Commission will begin conducting hearings by telephone for the following issues: permanent total disability, temporary total disability or the termination of temporary total disability,…
A message from the Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation: In the interest of your health and safety, and that of employees at the Division of Workers’ Compensation, please note: Routine matters can be handled by email and tele-conference: See the local office docketing email chart on the DWC website and below to submit requests for…
A message from the Iowa Worker’s Compensation Commission: The Iowa Worker’s Compensation Commissioner, in an effort to help mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, issued an Order on March 13, 2020 providing that all hearing scheduled through June 16, 2020 will no longer proceed as in-person hearings. Instead all regular proceeding hearings shall be…
A message from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity: In accordance with Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendations designed to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), effective March 16, 2020 at 5:00 pm, the Workers’ Disability Compensation Agency and the Workers’ Compensation Board of…
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has issued the following Order regarding the scheduling of pending matters due to the COVID-19 situation. Similarly, the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County issued a General Administrative Order last week. Obviously, disruptions to normal work schedules can be expected to continue over the coming…
From the Illinois Worker’s Compensation Commission: In light of the unprecedented severity of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, in the interests of health and safety, at the Monday March 16, 2020, meeting of the Workers’ Compensation Commission, Chairman Michael J. Brennan will be calling for a vote to suspend all normal in-person arbitration and Commission review…
The following information has been posted to the Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board Website: Pretrial conferences are cancelled through April 3rd, 2020. Joint pretrial order forms may be submitted electronically (where applicable) if the parties so desire, using the District email. Hearings will continue so long as directives from the Governor do not change or the…
The spread of COVID-19 has obviously raised significant issues for employers throughout the world. Employers face uncertainty around what they can and should do to promote the health and well-being of their workforce while navigating federal, state, and local regulations and while considering rapidly changing government warnings and restrictions. Although the current circumstances will likely…
These are obviously challenging times for employers across the country. Although there is much about this emerging pandemic that will call for navigating uncharted waters, the analysis of potential workers’ compensation exposure need not be one of those issues. In Illinois, for example, The “Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act” (820 ILCS 310/) is one statute…
Inman & Fitzgibbons secured a “no liability” Arbitration Decision following a recent trial involving an employee who fell to the floor when a chair she went to sit on rolled out from under her. The employee was sitting onto the chair at a work station as she was picking up a telephone to take a…
In a recent Illinois case handled by I&F, the arbitrator held that Petitioner lacked credibility and denied all benefits. Petitioner, a maintenance worker, had filed an original Application alleging a specific trauma shoulder injury from suddenly reaching and pulling in July 2014. The event was not reported for a week, and the initial medical treatment (a hospitalization…
Attorney Allison Mecher will answer your questions about how and when to use Impairment Ratings in Illinois WC cases in a March 5, 2020 online seminar with the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Register here.
In this case, Petitioner was injured in an accepted, but unfiled, accident in 2016 when he slipped on ice and fell while walking on the roof of Respondent’s building. Petitioner underwent appropriate medical treatment and was released to return to full duty work. The last medical or indemnity benefit paid on this case was February…
On Tuesday Feb 18, 2020, Partner Colin Mills and attorney Michael Bantz from I&F’s Champaign office will be working with the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce to host a seminar addressing the impact of the new changes regarding cannabis legalization and effects on employers and the workplace. The seminar, entitled Recreational Marijuana’s Impact on Workplace and Employers, will run…
In 2019, the Third District Appellate Court issued a Rule 23 Decision in Gaytan v. The Illinois Workers’ Comp. Comm’n, 2019 IL App (3d) 180141WC-U, in which they found a petitioner’s second accident, suffered en route to treatment for the original accident, not to be compensable. The petitioner originally suffered an accepted accident that caused left…
