Legislation addresses federal unemployment aid, employee safety, benefits

SPRINGFIELD — To protect essential workers and incentivize employers to provide the best protective measures possible in the workplace during the pandemic, State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) led the effort to pass a comprehensive labor and workers’ compensation plan out of the Illinois Senate Thursday.

“This is an agreement between business and labor that ensures better protections for employees and clear, consistent guidelines to ensure employers know how to operate safely,” Holmes said. “I’m grateful for the spirit of cooperation that allowed us to work quickly and decisively to pass this plan.”

House Bill 2455, sponsored by Holmes, ensures Illinois continues to qualify for federal relief packages by extending unemployment benefits, waiving the one-week unemployment insurance waiting period, and expanding eligibility for unemployment to non-instructional education employees, such as lunch workers and teachers’ aides. Employers would also not be charged for unemployment benefits paid to those out of work due to COVID-19 for benefits issued between March 15, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020.

In the interest of providing incentives for employers to do all they can to ensure a safe workplace for employees as businesses operate in pandemic conditions, the legislation creates a “rebuttable presumption” that a first-responder or essential worker who contracts COVID-19 did so in the course of their employment. An employer would have certain means of rebutting the worker’s claim.

“Workers’ compensation doesn’t normally cover illnesses, because they usually can’t be directly tied to a workplace, but we are not in normal times,” Holmes said. “Jobs that are not typically considered hazardous have suddenly become dangerous for workers due to COVID-19. This workplace injury framework protects employees, but it also gives employers the ability to prove they did all they could to prevent COVID-19 infections in their workplace by giving those employers a strong incentive to take the best precautions that experts advise.”

Employers may rebut the presumption that an employee contracted COVID-19 in the workplace through the following means:

• Demonstrating that for at least 14 days prior to the date the employee claims injury (their COVID-19 infection) the workplace was following up-to-date public health guidelines appropriate to their type of business issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health or the Centers for Disease Control.
• Demonstrating that the employee in question was working from home for a period at least 14 days prior to the injury claim.
• Demonstrating that the employee was exposed to the virus by an alternative source outside the workplace.

Other provisions in the legislation include a similar rebuttable presumption for Chicago first responders, who are not covered under the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act. It also mandates that the Illinois Work Review Panel, created last year, expediently fill its vacant positions and meet within 45 days of the law taking effect.

House Bill 2455 passed the Senate 50-4. It now is in the House for concurrence.

CHAMPAIGN – As the state is on track to move to Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois plan May 29, all state parks will be able to reopen, State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) announced Thursday.

At a May 20 press briefing, the governor reported all state parks that have not already reopened will be allowed to do so when the state moves to the next phase, and all concession stands at those parks will be permitted to reopen, with safety measures in place.

SPRINGFIELD – To help guide local governments through the COVID-19 recovery process, State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) has sponsored a package of legislation to give municipalities the means to address pandemic-related challenges.

“Especially now, local governments are keeping our communities afloat by managing our regional health departments and providing financial, housing and meal assistance to struggling Illinoisans,” said Murphy. “I hope this legislation can help them continue to provide much-needed services as we look to recover from this pandemic.”

SPRINGFIELD – To help families shop more safely during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, SNAP recipients in Illinois will be able to use their benefits to purchase groceries online beginning June 2, State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview) announced Thursday.

“Being able to order groceries online is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, but this new function will allow SNAP recipients to shop safely and conveniently for years to come,” said Fine. “I’m glad to see our benefits programs responding not only to current events, but to the changing times.”

CHAMPAIGN – State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) is encouraged to learn the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has updated its guidance on allowing dental providers to resume routine oral and dental care beginning this week.

“IDPH’s decision to allow dentists to resume routine oral and dental care gives me great optimism and shows the progress we’ve made,” Bennett said. “Dental offices are good at infection control and always have been. I’m confident they will be able to comply with IDPH’s guidelines to ensure patients and staff are safe.”

SPRINGFIELD – Giving more opportunity for business owners to operate safely while also opening places for residents to be active outside, State Senator Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) is pleased with the expansion of openings under phase 3 of the Restore Illinois plan.

“While I wish the Southern Region of Illinois could’ve moved to phase 3 of the state’s reopen plan sooner, I am happy residents have been granted a few aspects we’ve asked of the governor’s administration,” Crowe said. “Following the advice of health experts is key to reopening safely, and it’s encouraging to know Illinois is on the right track.”

The governor announced the following updates to phase 3, while retaining the local government’s right to establish other restrictions:

DEERFIELD — As members of the General Assembly have arrived back to Springfield, State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) is urging her colleagues to take up her bill, a package that would expand the state’s vote-by-mail program for the November election among other changes related to elections.

“People should not have to worry about their health and safety when exercising their right to vote,” Morrison said. “If people don’t feel safe going to restaurants, they won’t feel safe standing in line to cast their vote.”

Illinoisans would have more options to forego traditional polling places and cast their ballots from the safety of their homes during the November 2020 election under a measure sponsored by Morrison. She would like to see everyone who has voted in the last two years receive a ballot, which would then be returned to the county elections office and counted on Election Day.

CHAMPAIGN – State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) is pleased with Gov. JB Pritzker’s decision to withdraw his emergency rule Wednesday, which would have penalized businesses for reopening early.

The rule, which the governor introduced Friday, would allow fines up to $2,500 for businesses caught violating the executive order. Bennett raised his concerns with the emergency rule in a formal letter to the chairs of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) Tuesday.

“Business owners are eager to get back to work under our economic circumstances,” Bennett said. “If the rule had been ennacted, the consequences would have been severe. Even proposing this rule created unnecessary fear for business owners just trying to get by.”

Bennett also emphasized in his letter the need to consult with local officials and the General Assembly before filing these rules. 

JCAR announced in its Wednesday meeting that it would not take action since the emergency rule is already being repealed by the governor.

“With the General Assembly back in session this week, it’s appropriate to continue dealing with this issue through the regular legislative process where my colleagues and I can provide input,” Bennett said.