On April 21, 2020, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) and Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) filed case 2020 CH 000098 in the Circuit Court of Sangamon County. It consisted of a Verified Complaint and Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and Preliminary Injunction against the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) and the Chairman
Read the full article…

  Effective April 1, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) imposed new obligations on private sector employers with less than 500 employees and covered governmental employers to provide employees with paid leave related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Broadly speaking, the new obligations include emergency paid sick leave and expanded paid Family and Medical
Read the full article…

  On April 13, 2020, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission created an emergency amendment to Rule 9030.70, expanding the Commission’s Rules of Evidence to include a rebuttable presumption for first responders and front-line workers exposed to COVID-19. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act (IAPA) allows the use of emergency rulemaking in situations involving a “threat to
Read the full article…

  Effective April 13, 2020, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission amended Rule 9030.70, expanding the Commission’s Rules of Evidence to include a rebuttable presumption for first responders and front-line workers exposed to COVID-19.  Once the Rule is filed with the Secretary of State, it will remain in place for 150 days. The first part of
Read the full article…

  The family of a Walmart, Inc. employee in Illinois, who died due to complications from COVID-19, has filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court accusing the retail giant of failing to adequately screen and protect workers. The suit suggests (among other allegations) that a Chicago-area Walmart store was not properly cleaned and that
Read the full article…