Legislation has been filed to change existing workers' compensation law to provide that an employee's injury is compensable only when a work accident is the "prevailing factor" in causing the injury and any disability resulting from the accident. Illinos Rep. David Reis, R-St. Marie, filed the legislation which he had done in previous legislative sessions, but without sucsess.
According Reis, workers' compensation insurance rates are too high. He believes that changing the requirement for compensability of an injury would have an affect on the cost of workers' compensation rates.
Jason Keller, the legislative director for the AFL-CIO believes that the legislation will not proceed in this session. "This did not go through an agreed-bill process," Keller told said. "I suspect it will not go anywhere." The agreed bill process involves both business and labor interests to sit down and agree on issues that affect workers' compensation.
Under HB 58, an "injury" would be defined as "an injury that has arisen out of and in the course of employment. An an injury by accident is compensable only if the accident was the prevailing factor in causing both the resulting medical condition and disabilty."
The definition of "prevailing factor" is "the primary factor, in relation to any other factor, causing both the resulting medical condition and disability," according to HB 58.
The bill provides that an injury resulting "directly or indirectly from idiopathic (ie., obscure or unknown) causes is not compensable."
Reis said high workers' compensation costs are causing businesses to leave Illinois. Illinois premiums are 2 to 3 times higher than for similar businesses in neighboring states.
Jay Dee Shattuck, head of the Illinois Chamber Employment Law Council, says that Illinois employers would continue to challenge the current workers' compensation system including high rates.
According to Shattuck, the most problematic area of the system is in determining the compensability of a claim.
