House OKs bill that would dump workers' comp; but will system be scrapped altogether?

The Illinois House on Friday passed a bill that would dump the state's workers' compensation system, forcing disputes between injured workers and employers into the court system.

The bill's sponsor, however, said negotiations were continuing on a proposal to reform the existing workers' comp system, rather than scrap it altogether.

The House passed the bill 65-48. The bill would still need to be approved by the Senate and signed by the governor.

The bill would require employees to sue for damages if they believe a workplace injury has caused pain and suffering or loss of income. That would mean proving an injury is job-related. Under the current system, an employee need only show that it is possible for an injury to have resulted from the job.

Workers' compensation is an agreement that employees won't sue employers over job injuries. In return, employers pay into an insurance fund that distributes financial awards if an arbitrator rules in the employee's favor.

The bill's chief sponsor, Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, said negotiations to overhaul the system were ongoing, but he wasn't confident that an agreement could be reached among the parties involved, which include labor unions, business groups, doctors and trial lawyers.

"I think this is a legitimate way to deal with this issue right now," Bradley told colleagues. He added, though, that he's open to supporting an overhaul proposal if the parties can come to an agreement.

"We have two viable options now," Bradley said.

The Senate is working on an agreed-upon bill, but time is running out because the General Assembly's current session is scheduled to end Tuesday. Any legislation passed after that would require a supermajority vote, meaning the Democrats who control the legislature would have to get help from Republicans.

Some legislators say the bill to abolish the system is a tactic to force agreement on the Senate bill. That bill would reduce fees businesses pay to doctors for workers' compensation claims by 30 percent for $500 million in savings, establish medical networks for workers' compensation claims and set guidelines for determining injury severity.

The workers' compensation system handles about 55,000 cases a year. Currently, there are more than 22,000 pending cases that involve state government employees alone.

In response to questions about whether courts could handle the increased caseload, Bradley said he thinks transferring the workers' compensation system's budget to the courts would give the courts sufficient funding to hire more judges.

Rep. Dwight Kay, R-Glen Carbon, argued that abolishing the system is "business unfriendly" but good for lawyers.

"This is not reform, this is an interesting concept that no other state has even considered taking on," Kay said.

Federal prosecutors are investigating the workers' compensation program in the wake of a series of Belleville News-Democrat reports that hundreds of employees at a single prison received awards, as did eight of the state's 32 arbitrators who decide workers' comp disputes.

The newspaper reported that in just three years beginning Jan. 1, 2008, almost $10 million was paid for injuries to employees at Menard Correctional Center. Most of the tax-free settlements, including one paid to the warden for $75,678, were for repetitive trauma, or injury to the wrist or elbow that guards claimed was caused by manually locking and unlocking cells.

Business groups argue that the system needs to be overhauled because it's one of the costliest in the country. Their chief allegation is that workers can win payments without having to provide clear proof that an injury is job-related. They also argue that prices for medical care are set too high and the system is slanted to resolve disputes in favor of workers.

Scrapping the system would probably not sit well with any of the parties involved. One of the benefits of the system is that it's faster and less expensive than having to go to court.

Switching to the courts could slow down money for injured workers and also cost business more in large lawsuit awards.

Some legislators say the bill will push business, labor and medical groups to agree on a workers' compensation overhaul. But Bradley says he's serious about abolishing the system.

The bill is Senate Bill 1933.

How metro-east representatives voted:

Rep. Dan Beiser, D-Alton: Yes

Rep. John Cavaletto, R-Salem: No

Rep. Tom Holbrook, D-Belleville: Yes

Rep. Eddie Lee Jackson, D-East St. Louis: Yes

Rep. Dwight Kay, R-Glen Carbon: No

Rep. Dan Reitz, D-Steeleville: Yes

Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Greenville: No