La Administración de Salud y Seguridad Ocupacional (“OSHA”) y el Departamento de Trabajo federal ampliaron recientemente las protecciones para los trabajadores indocumentados que denuncian malas condiciones de trabajo, lesiones en el lugar de trabajo, e infracciones reglamentarias. La Legislatura de Illinois también está considerando la “Ley de Trabajo sin Miedo,” que brinda más protecciones a los trabajadores indocumentados que presentan quejas laborales.

¿Qué derechos tienen los trabajadores cuando se lesionan en el trabajo?

• Todo trabajador ...

On June 5, 2020, Governor Pritzker signed into law the COVID-19 Presumption Bill which stated that for purposes of the Illinois Workers Compensation Act or Occupational Disease Act, for front-line Workers and first responders who were exposed to and contracted COVID-19, there will be a rebuttable presumption that the exposure and contraction of the virus arose out of and was in the course of their employment, and that the disease was causally related to their employment – meaning it will be presumed that it was contracted at work, and no further proof will be necessary. This ...

Workplace injuries are commonplace in our country, regardless of industry or occupation. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there were over 2.8 million workplace injuries reported in the United States in 2019. Included in that number are over 5,000 fatal injuries and over 850,000 nonfatal injuries that caused a worker to miss at least one day of work. The most common types of workplace injuries are overexertion, falls/slips/trips, contact with objects or machinery, workplace violence, and transportation accidents.

Workplace injuries can happen for a number of reasons ...

The Third Dist. IL Appellate court decision, Armstead v. National Freight, Inc. (2020 IL App (3d) 170777), may have significant ramifications for Workers’ Compensation (WC)practitioners (and Pro Se claimants) because the court held that Plaintiff’s personal injury (3rd party) claim was barred by collateral estoppel based on the description of the injuries in the Pennsylvania WC settlement contract.

Here, the Plaintiff agreed that his injury was a “right knee strain” and did not list all other claimed injuries that he may claim in the Personal Injury case. To my ...

I write to let you know about a positive development for many workers who have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and have contracted the virus. For many of those COVID-19 first responders and front-line workers, there is the real possibility that they could have been exposed to the virus in the course of their work, and now the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission has acknowledged that risk and will allow those workers to more easily obtain benefits under the IL Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act). It’s important to note that during this pandemic, the ...

There have been promising developments in recent months for anyone involved in a workers’ compensation (WC) case in Illinois. WC attorneys are pleased to see so many needed and overdue resources added to speed the resolution of more WC cases in the state. The appointment of new arbitrators and an enhanced document-handling process will deliver greater efficiency and more prompt conclusions for parties.  

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) arbitrators conduct judicial hearings, render awards and decisions, and approve settlement contracts in accordance with ...

A construction worker is injured on the job. His back pain prevents him from returning to work. Because his employer provides excellent health insurance, the worker is quickly seen by a physician. So far, so good. But when the doctor continues to prescribe a narcotic painkiller, or opioid, the worker may actually be delayed in returning to his job. The insurer is likely to balk at the rising costs incurred by this worker and others like him who do not return to work for months, if ever.

According to a June 3 story in the New York Times, “Workplace insurers spend an estimated $1.4 billion ...

We agree with child safety advocates who have called for a stronger federal law to make agricultural jobs for youths safer. But sadly, strengthened laws are too late to protect the two Whiteside County 14-year-old girls who suffered a wrongful death in a Whiteside County, Illinois, cornfield last week when they were electrocuted while detasseling corn.

The Child Labor Coalition, based in Washington, D.C., announced in June 2011 that it supported a bill introduced in the House to amend the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment (CARE Act). Currently, the law permits young teens ...

We at Romanucci & Blandin know from our many years of handling cases involving construction site accidents that management often fails to take adequate steps to prevent injuries. A new study suggests that employers should consider the hazards involved in switching to daylight saving time. Its drawbacks for workers may not have received enough attention.

According to a study by Christopher M. Barnes and David T. Wagner at Michigan State University, an increase in job-related injuries on Mondays immediately following the switch to Daylight Saving Time can affect sleep patterns and ...

The Illinois Legislature is considering a Workers’ Compensation reform bill that, if passed, would severely limit injured workers’ rights to fair compensation. Our Chicago injury firm has written to all State Senators and Representatives, urging them to make any changes through the “agreed bill process,” a historically successful approach that has allowed business and labor to sit down together and negotiate, with detailed analysis and review of all proposals.

Workers’ Compensation is far too complex to make quick, sweeping changes in just a few weeks. Even the ...

Ronald Kuiper, who was being treated at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Sioux City and had less than 30 percent breathing capacity, was felled by flavoring commonly found on microwave popcorn. Kuiper died of the so-called ’popcorn lung disease.’

The key to Kuiper’s demise is a chemical known as diacetyl. While it is generally felt that the chemical poses little threat to consumers, the fumes from diacetyl used in flavoring manufacturing are said to be harmful to factory workers exposed to large quantities in the workplace.