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“Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
In the January 2021 legislative session the General Assembly approved HB 4276, which Governor Pritzker signed into law as PA 101-563. This extended the rebuttable COVID-19 presumption under the Illinois Occupational Diseases Act until June 30, 2021. Although efforts were taken to extend that deadline during the Spring legislative session, those proved unsuccessful. Please take note that the “sunset” on the COVID presumption in Illinois happens tomorrow. While this change does not bar COVID-19 exposure claims after that date, it will no longer be presumed that an industrial exposure occurred for those individuals who test positive and meet certain criteria.
When evaluating whether COVID-19 exposure claims fall within the period the COVID exposure presumption applied, the focus should be on the date o f the alleged “exposure” as defined by the Occupational Diseases Act. One must be mindful that the legal definition of “exposure” may not mean solely the moment of contracture, which often can be imprecise and difficult to identify. Please feel free to contact me directly or follow up with your attorney for more information about the sunset provision and other considerations for occupational exposure claims in Illinois.
Stay safe and be well.
The NBKL blog is provided for informational purposes; we are not giving legal advice or creating an attorney/client relationship by providing this information. Before relying on any legal information of a general nature, you may consider consulting legal counsel as to your particular facts and applications of the law.