Public Employee Disability Act
- If an Illinois public employee is injured while at work, and the nature of the injury prevents him from performing his duties, his employer must continue to pay his wages at the normal rate. The act further states that the injured state employee must not lose any sick leave credits, nor can the employer make deductions from any overtime benefits built up by the employee. The employer may not deduct from any vacation time due to the employee. The employee must not lose any credits held in a public service pension fund for one year following the date when the injury occurred.
- If a public employee is injured while on duty and receives continuing compensation payments according to the terms of the act, the employee must not accept any other form of employment, even if that employment involves unpaid work. If the injured public employee does take up other work, the continuing compensation pay must stop from the date the new employment begins. The employee also forfeits the right to any payments from any employer's workers' compensation scheme, or from any employee insurance policy held by the employer.
- Employees who work part-time are entitled to the same benefits as those who work full-time. The benefits that a part-time employee can receive are calculated as a percentage of the full-time working hours for the same job. For example, if a full-time employee in a particular job works 40 hours per week, and a part-time employee works 20 hours, the part-time employee is eligible to receive 50 percent of the benefits that a full-time employee would receive under the provisions contained in the act.
- Some injuries to public employees may allow the employee to bring legal action against a person or corporation responsible for the injury. In those cases, if the public employee qualifies for compensation payments in accordance with the Public Employee Disability Act, the state may also join in the legal action. The state can claim reimbursement for all compensation paid to the employee out of any settlement that the employee receives as a result of the legal action.