Source: Capitol Fax.com – Your Illinois News Radar » Inside the secretive “working groups”
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No surprise that Work Comp changes are a topic of intense interest with the Governor and the legislature. Injured workers in Illinois will most likely have some of their rights removed and reduced by the end of the summer. Keep your eyes on this.
Illinois’ Democratic House speaker says he’s scheduling a vote on Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposal to allow employees to opt out of unions.Speaker Michael J. Madigan announced Thursday the vote is scheduled for May 14, even though the governor hasn’t filed a bill with the Legislature.Rauner has spent recent months pitching city councils, county commissioners and business groups on the idea of local “empowerment zones.” The zones would allow voters to make union membership voluntary,
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There is no actual legislation yet filed regarding changes to the Illinois Work Comp law. However, the Speaker of the Illinois House may be doing this as a symbolic action. The real negotiations will come closer to the end of the session when the entire budget is voted upon. Keep your eyes on how injured workers’ rights may be affected.
Source: Capitol Fax.com – Your Illinois News Radar » House Dems ignored real reform needs
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This highlights the problem with hearings on the Illinois Workers’ Compensation system. Workers’ Compensation laws will be at the center of the budget debate and there will be changes that reduce injured workers’ rights because it will be used a bargaining chip to bring votes on board for a potential tax increase.
In Illinois, in almost all cases you have to undergo a job search to prove you are entitled to a wage differential settlement.
A wage differential means that your work injury results in permanent restrictions that will prevent you from performing your old job.
If you made $21 per hour in your old job and have to take a new job that pays $14 per hour, then you are entitled to 66% of the $7 per hour wage difference.
The only way to prove the value of the wage differential is to find a job that fits your restrictions.
You can find the job on your own or with the assistance of a vocational consultant. Some insurance companies will agree to pay for a person to help you put a resume together and provide you with interview tips and job search ideas. You must ask the insurance company to help you with the job search. If the insurance company agrees to do this it will pay you while you search for the job. You can also force the insurance company to provide you with job search assistance.
Sometimes a insurance company will complain if the job you find is too low paying. It will argue that you have the ability to find a higher paying job based on your restrictions and abilities.
The important thing is to make sure that the Work Comp insurance company provides you with help and pays you while you search for the job.
A wage difference case may add great value to your Workers’ Compensation settlement because it takes into account your earning loss over many years.
Questions about your work injury. Feel free to contact Illinois Work Comp Attorney Dirk May at309-827-4371.
'I Lost A Hand And This Is Workman's Comp. … I Didn't Lose A Hook!' : NPR.
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Difficult to believe at times that this would happen a the United States in the 21st Century. Make sure that you have an experienced Workers’ Compensation Attorney to protect you.