Spiros Law, P.C. Blog

On March 11 HB6013 was introduced into the Illinois House of Representatives. If made into law, the bill would allow employers in counties with high unemployment rates to pay a reduced amount in workers’ compensation taxes. The bill was authored by state Rep. Bill Mitchell. Last Friday, March 14, Mitchell stated that the measure is… Read More

On Saturday, February 23 a Charleston woman sustained fatal injuries in a two-vehicle accident. Deanna Parke, 58, was driving along Illinois 130 south of Charleston when she was struck by a semitrailer truck. The semitrailer was driven by Bradley Neff, 23. Parke was initially transported to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center before being transferred to Carle Foundation… Read More

The Illinois’ Department of Labor (IDOL) launched an investigation into the January 27 death of an Illinois Tollway maintenance worker. In addition to the death, IDOL is investigating the exact cause of a State troopers injuries. The State trooper was injured on the same day as the toll worker’s death while helping people exit an… Read More

On Thursday, January 14 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that Justin Reed, an Illinois railroad technician may be able to proceed with a Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA) retaliation lawsuit. Reed said that he was coerced by a work supervisor to sign a document stating that the company wasn’t responsible… Read More

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined the U.S. Postal Service facility in Champaign, Illinois $144,000 for eight safety violations. The USPS was cited for failing a complaint inspection in June that showed failure to provide energy control procedures and fall protection at the site. According to OSHA’s Peoria… Read More

Seventy-six-year-old Rhode Island resident Marta Rangel pleaded nolo contendre to one count of obtaining money under false pretenses on Wednesday, December 18 before Providence Superior Court Special Magistrate Patrick Burke for fraudulently collecting $10,000 in workers’ compensation insurance benefits while she was employed between February 2010 and June 2011. According to Attorney General Peter Kilmartin… Read More

The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has presented proposed rules to better workplace safety and health through a more transparent tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses. The public sector is given until Feb. 6, 2014 (90 days) to comment and make suggestions regarding the proposed rule, of which details will be announced in… Read More

Obese employees were found to make more workers’ compensation claims, in addition to their claims being more expensive,than their non-obese counterparts, global insurance brokerage firm Lockton Companies Inc. stated after a review of independent studies. Lockton referred to the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s 2010 study, which “showed workers’ compensation claims that included the obesity… Read More

On Tuesday October 29, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce released a report criticizing the state’s bias towards laborers when they file workers compensation claims. The report also measured how this bias affects the economic stability of Illinois. In a report titled “The Impact of Judicial Activism in Illinois: Worker’s Compensation Rulings from the Employer’s Perspective,”… Read More

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce accused the judiciary system for favoring labor groups over business owners by rewriting legal documents to accommodate laborers disproportionately. The Chamber of Commerce argued that this accommodation is the reason that Illinois has the fourth-highest workers’ compensation premium in the United States. Michael Carrigan, the president of Illinois AFL-CIO (American… Read More