Illinois Workers Research Articles

An analysis of the utilization review process in the Illinois workers’ compensation system

An analysis of the utilization review process in the Illinois workers’ compensation system

Scheduling Stability: The Landscape of Work Schedules and Potential Gains From Fairer Workweeks in Illinois and Chicago

Fair Workweek legislation has sprung up organically around the country in response to the prevalence and consequences of work schedules that may be unstable, unpredictable or unreliable. Labor standards need to be updated to deal with the widespread use of last minute, on-call or inadequate work hours, and their adverse consequences for workers. A new survey of 1,717 workers throughout the state of Illinois workers was conducted between October, 2017 – March, 2018, including full-time, part-time and non-standard (e.g., contractor, temp) workers. It oversamples Chicago residents, low and middle income households and hourly paid workers. It uses both online and in-person survey collection methods. Over 40 percent of hourly paid workers have at least occasional on-call work, often with very short advance notice, and almost half have little to no input into their daily work schedules. Over a third of all workers have less than one week’s advance notice of their schedule and almost half have a preference to work more hours for more income. Irregular shift working and hours - underemployment are both higher among part time workers. From the findings, a list of public policy recommendations are offered to address the erratic work schedules and their documented work-life time conflict consequences found here for working people.

Mine Safety and Health Administration's Part 50 program does not fully capture chronic disease and injury in the Illinois mining industry.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) requires reporting of injuries and illnesses to their Part 50 program. A 2011 study indicated that the Part 50 program did not capture many cases of injury in Kentucky, causing concern about underreporting in other states. MSHA Part 50 reports from Illinois for 2001-2013 were linked to Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (IWCC) data. IWCC cases not found in the Part 50 data were considered unreported. Overall, the Part 50 Program did not capture 66% of IWCC cases from 2001 to 2013. Chronic injuries or illnesses were more likely to be unreported to MSHA. The majority of occupational injuries and illnesses found in the IWCC from this time period, were not captured by Part 50. Inaccurate reporting of injuries and illnesses to the Part 50 program hinders MSHA's ability to enforce safety and health standards in the mining industry.

Workers' compensation filings of temporary workers compared to direct hire workers in Illinois, 2007-2012.

The physical and psychological risks of temporary employment are well documented but there are still many questions regarding the consequences of injuries among these workers. This analysis examines Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission filings from 2007 through 2012 to compare total cost of the decision, days of work missed, and percent disability of employees of temporary agencies with direct hire claims. Total award median was $5,813.66 for direct hire employees and $2,625.00 for temporary workers. Of those employees claiming time off from work, median total time off was 1.3 weeks for direct hire employees compared to 1.2 weeks for temporary workers. Median total percent disability was 16.0% for direct hire and 10.0% for temporary employees. There are differences between temporary workers and direct hire employees in terms of total workers' compensation awards, total time off, and percent disability. Additional studies are needed to validate these findings. Am. J. Ind. Med. 60:11-19, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Employer Liability for Supervisors' Intentional Torts: The Uncertain Scope of the 'Alter Ego' Exception

When Illinois employees are the victims of intentional torts by supervisors, can they bring common law tort suits against their employers for these injuries, or are they limited to bringing a claim under the workers' compensation system? This question, which arises with unfortunate reguIarity, lacks a clear answer because both state and federal courts in Illinois are divided over the scope of the alter ego exception to the exclusivity of workers' compensation as the remedy for intentionally inflicted workplace injuries.The Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (IWCA) contains exclusivity provisions that mandate that workers' compensation is the sole remedy available to employees for workplace injuries. There are exceptions to the exclusivity rule, including the principle that the rule does not apply if the injury is not accidental.

Injury and Illness Data for Illinois Mining Industry Employees, 1990 to 2012.

This study identifies and evaluates injury types associated with distribution of cause of injuries and compensation among Illinois miners. Cases were selected from the Illinois Workers' Compensation database from 1990 to 2012 to determine injury distributions and compensation among miners and non-miners. Logistic models were used to analyze total monetary compensation, temporary total disability (TTD), and permanent partial disability as primary outcomes. The major predictors of total monetary compensation in both miners and non-miners were TTD, permanent partial disability, average weekly wage, and age at the time of filing. Systemic injuries were an additional driver of final monetary compensation among miners. Miners were compensated $618 less (total monetary compensation; confidence interval 95%: -971, -266; P < 0.001), had 2.1 more weeks away from work (TTD; confidence interval 95%: 1.58, 2.63; P < 0.001), and had higher numbers of systemic injuries than non-miners. Systemic injuries are important drivers for TWC in miners in terms of median compensation and TTD.

The Economic Effects of Adopting a Right-to-Work Law

While considerable efforts have been made by legislators, business associations, and political organizations to pass right-to-work (RTW) laws in states across the country, the empirical evidence on the effect of adopting an RTW law on labor market outcomes and state budgets is both varied and mixed. This article provides a forecast on the effect of RTW laws on important labor market outcomes—including earnings, employment, unionization, and inequality. It also investigates RTW’s impacts on two particularly affected industries (manufacturing and construction) and three demographic groups (African-American, Latino/a, and female workers). The findings are subsequently applied to the state of Illinois to project the potential law’s impact on Illinois workers and on the state’s tax revenues. By and large, as a policy prescription, RTW would generate harmful effects to Illinois’ economy, lower its capacity to provide essential public services and degrade the quality and condition of the state’s labor force.

The Three D’s of Insurance: Delay, Deny and Do not Pay Analysis of Collection Rates for Illinois Workers’ Compensation Patients

The Three D’s of Insurance: Delay, Deny and Do not Pay Analysis of Collection Rates for Illinois Workers’ Compensation Patients

0075 Leveraging Multiple Data Sources to Assist OSHA in Enforcement: Examining Illinois Workers’ Compensation Data on Amputations

ObjectivesThe US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) relies on survey data to target high risk employers for safety inspections and enforcement. However, OSHA has limited resources and randomly targeting...

Effect of physician-dispensed medication on workers' compensation claim outcomes in the state of Illinois.

To evaluate differences between physician-dispensed and non-physician-dispensed medication with regard to lost time, prescription volume, and pharmaceutical, medical, indemnity costs in the Illinois workers' compensation system. We studied a sample of 6824 workers' compensation indemnity claims that were opened and closed between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2012, by Accident Fund Holdings in the State of Illinois. The number of prescriptions per claim and pharmaceutical, medical, and indemnity costs, as well as time out from work, were significantly higher in claims where a pharmaceutical was dispensed by the physician within 90 days of injury than in claims where physician dispensing did not occur. These differences persisted controlling for age, sex, attorney involvement, and injury complexity. Physician dispensing is associated with higher costs and more lost time than pharmacy-dispensed medications in workers' compensation claims.

Sixth Edition and Illinois

Abstract The state of Illinois has undergone major workers’ compensation reform with the passage of House Bill 1698, and from September 1, 2011, one of the factors used to determine a permanent partial disability (PPD) rating is an impairment evaluation according to the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Sixth Edition. Previously, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission used a body of case law that set forth general parameters to guide PPD assessment, and the Commission would not allow testimony for any doctor's opinion regarding the percent of disability. Adding the use of the AMA Guides should increase the reliability of these awards. Impairment rating is only one factor that will be considered in determining the level of PPD, and other factors include the injured employee's occupation; age at the time of injury; the employee's future earning capacity; and evidence of disability corroborated by the treating physician's medical records. No single factor should be the sole determinant of disability, and the fact finder must use judgment and must document the rationale for the decision. Basing the impairment rating on the AMA Guides as a starting point should result in both a more valid and more reliable process to determine PPD.

Assessing Economic Damages in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation: The State of Illinois

Forensic economics experts (FE) working with attorneys engaged in litigation, whether consulting, preparing a report, or testifying at deposition or trial, generally are expected to have some knowledge (1) of the state’s statutory and case law regarding allowable damages and methods; and (2) that certain topics (e.g., taxes, collateral sources) should not be mentioned or considered at certain times since a mistrial could result. This situation creates a tension: forensic economics experts are economics experts and are not attorneys, but nonetheless must have a reasonable understanding of the relevant state law. In this vein, the Journal of Forensic Economics (JFE) continues to publish a series of articles on the ways such damages are calculated in different state jurisdictions, one state at a time.2 The state of South Dakota is included in this issue and this paper adds Illinois to the list. Following the format of previous articles in this JFE series, Section II provides a listing of the controlling statutes, general case law, and court rules. Section III discusses the concept of earning capacity which appears throughout PI and WD case law in Illinois. Section IV discusses discounting to present value. Fringe benefits are discussed in Section V, while Section

Occupational Injury Surveillance of Traumatic Injuries in Illinois, Using the Illinois Trauma Registry: 1995–2003

Trauma registries continue to be underutilized for surveillance, despite providing data on the most severe injuries with a level of detail not available in national data sets or workers' compensation files. We evaluate trends and patterns of traumatic occupational injuries from the Illinois Trauma Registry (ITR). Between 1995 and 2003, 44.4 of every 100,000 Illinois workers (age-adjusted) suffered work-related, nonfatal traumatic injuries. The majority of workers suffering traumatic injuries were white males younger than 55 years old. Falls were the most common cause of injury, and fracture of the extremities was the most common type of injury experienced by Illinois workers. Approximately 8% of all workers required either partial or total ambulatory assistance at time of discharge. The ITR provides detailed and complete data regarding the most severe occupational injuries. In contrast to reports from national surveillance data sets, we do not observe a significant decline in occupational injuries between 1995 and 2003. Trauma registries should be used more frequently for surveillance programs, because they provide detailed and reliable data regarding the most severe occupational injuries not available in other data sets.

Education, control at work, and job satisfaction

The well educated are more likely than the poorly educated to engage in work that provides control over one's own work, control over people, and control over money, yet the total effect of education on job satisfaction is null. Using a representative sample of 557 Illinois workers interviewed by telephone in 1982, we find that education increases expected satisfaction indirectly by providing control at work, but decreases it (net of control at work), probably by raising workers' expectations. Control over one's own work, including job autonomy and nonroutine work, is positively associated with job satisfaction for all workers, but the effect is much stronger for the well educated. Control over money is positively associated with job satisfaction for the well educated, but negatively associated for the poorly educated. Control over others does not increase any group's expected satisfaction.