All 50 states are moving towards some level of reopening businesses following closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Employers naturally have a number of questions and concerns relating to how to safely bring their employees and customers back into the workplace in compliance with existing guidance.  Employers should develop written return-to-work plans that comply
Read the full article…

  Last month, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) withdrew its April 16th emergency rule creating a rebuttable presumption in favor of compensability for First Responders or Front-Line Workers who contract COVID-19.  The withdrawal of the rule came after the Sangamon County Circuit Court granted the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) and Illinois Retail Merchants Association
Read the full article…

  Workers’ compensation COVID-19 exposure claims involving Medicare beneficiaries may need to be reported to the Benefits Coordination and Recovery Center under Section 111 mandatory reporting. Given the various types of illnesses that may stem from a COVID-19 infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued official diagnosis coding guidance on February 20,
Read the full article…

  Following the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, all branches of government and administrative bodies have grappled with how to address the health and economic threats posed by the virus, while staying within the bounds of their rule-making authority and powers.  A recent example is the attempt by the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission (IWCC) to
Read the full article…

  Yesterday morning the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) voted unanimously to repeal the April 16th emergency rule, which declared a First Responder’s or Front-Line Worker’s exposure to COVID-19 the virus would be rebuttably presumed to have arisen out of and in the course of employment, and that the resulting injury and lost time would
Read the full article…