Work Comp Reform Rejected In Senate Judiciary
From the Madison County Record
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday afternoon voted down Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposal to reform the state’s workers’ compensation system in a 8-4 party line vote.
The committee heard from administration officials and others who said reform was necessary to make the state more competitive.
Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), committee chair, challenged proponents’ position that they didn’t want to dismantle the work comp system. He said that it matters how states treat their workers.
When “free labor” was in place, he said, “southern states were a lot more competitive.”
He said that more time is needed to realize benefits of reforms made to the work comp system in 2011.
Raoul also took issue with the proposal’s causation standard which would mandate that at least 50 percent of a worker’s injury must be related to work done for an employer in order to receive compensation.
He said it would be unfair, if for example, his bad knees from playing basketball rendered an injury uncompensable if a piece of equipment fell on those knees while working at a factory.
Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) said the problem in Illinois is that jobs are leaving and the state is not competitive.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Madison County Record
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday afternoon voted down Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposal to reform the state’s workers’ compensation system in a 8-4 party line vote.
The committee heard from administration officials and others who said reform was necessary to make the state more competitive.
Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), committee chair, challenged proponents’ position that they didn’t want to dismantle the work comp system. He said that it matters how states treat their workers.
When “free labor” was in place, he said, “southern states were a lot more competitive.”
He said that more time is needed to realize benefits of reforms made to the work comp system in 2011.
Raoul also took issue with the proposal’s causation standard which would mandate that at least 50 percent of a worker’s injury must be related to work done for an employer in order to receive compensation.
He said it would be unfair, if for example, his bad knees from playing basketball rendered an injury uncompensable if a piece of equipment fell on those knees while working at a factory.
Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) said the problem in Illinois is that jobs are leaving and the state is not competitive.
Read more in our daily News Update...