In previous posts, we discussed how politicians in the state of Illinois have recently implemented large-scale reform of their workers' compensation laws in order to streamline the work comp process, eliminate instances of potential corruption and cut costs for employers.

In fact, state officials are estimating that the work comp overhaul will save Illinois employers roughly $500 million a year in work comp premiums and reduce overall work comp costs by almost 9 percent.

This would undoubtedly constitute a significant achievement for a state that had the third highest workers' compensation premiums in the nation just last year.

One of the reforms implemented by Illinois lawmakers in an attempt to enhance the credibility and transparency of the state's work comp system was that all newly appointed arbitrators - meaning those state officials who issue rulings on claims filed under the state work comp act - would have to be attorneys.

Earlier this week, Governor Pat Quinn officially implemented this reform by appointing 29 arbitrators, 24 of whom are attorneys. As for the other five, they were sitting non-attorney arbitrators who were deemed worthy of reappointment by the governor due to their extensive experience and stellar performance. (The reforms to the work comp laws permit the governor to do this.)

Interestingly, several of the arbitrators who were not reappointed by the governor had previously been implicated in a scandal concerning large amount of workers' compensation benefits ($10 million) being awarded to guards and other personnel at the Menard Correctional Center located in southwestern Illinois. (Prison officials had claimed that the majority of these work comp claims stemmed from repetitive injuries caused by the guards having to lock and unlock prison cells manually.)

In addition, several other arbitrators who were not reappointed reportedly received rather substantial work comp payments for their own injuries over the years.

It is worth noting that the new Illinois workers' compensation laws calls for both random case assignments among arbitrators and the rotation of statewide hearing sites every three months in order to maintain the integrity of the process.

Stay tuned for further updates in the area of workers' compensation law from our San Diego firm ...

If you have questions or would like to learn more about workers' compensation benefits, contact an experienced legal professional.

This post was for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.

Related Resources:

Insurance Journal "Illinois governor appoints 29 workers' comp arbitrators" Oct. 17, 2011