7-7-25; WC Settlement Fair at the IWCC July 16th & 17th; New Math on IL Wage Loss Differential Claims and more

NOTICE TO ILLINOIS EMPLOYERS, INSURANCE CARRIERS, THIRD PARTY CLAIMS ADMINISTRATORS, AND THEIR COUNSELS

Synopsis: Please be advised that the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC), in collaboration with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association (WCLA), will co-host a Settlement Fair on July 16 and 17, 2025, at the IWCC Hearing Rooms located in the Richard J. Daley Center, Chicago.

Those EMPLOYERS, INSURANCE CARRIERS, and THIRD PARTY CLAIMS ADMINISTRATORS who wish to participate are encouraged to contact IWCC Chief of Staff Annette Roti (annette.roti@illinois.gov ) to schedule a time, a date, and a Hearing Room for their settlement meetings. Attorneys on both sides of the IL WC matrix may likewise schedule a settlement time with Ms. Roti.

The IL WC Settlement Fair will take place each day from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the IWCC Hearing Rooms at the Daley Center.

We hope members of the Bar will take advantage of this opportunity to help move multiple IL WC cases forward efficiently.

The Defense Firm of Keefe, Campbell, Biery & Associates remains focused on reasonably and rapidly closing IL WC claims that our clients are nice enough to direct to us for handling. If you want help closing tough IL WC claims, send a reply.

Synopsis: What Changes/Increases to the Chicago and IL Minimum Wage mean to IL WC claims.

Editor’s comment: Please note these changes are now the law in Chicago and our State. They aren’t suggestions or guidelines.

• Chicago Minimum Wage – Effective starting on July 1, 2025

The City of Chicago adjusts its minimum wage every July 1, based on the Consumer Price Index or a 2.5% cap, per city ordinance.

Starting July 1, 2025, the new minimum wage rates in Chicago will be:

• $16.60/hour for employers with 4 or more employees

• $12.62/hour for tipped employees

This means a worker who can work sedentary/light or medium work will make no less than $664.00 a week for non-tipped workers.

In contrast, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour or $290 a week.

Wage loss differential values for such workers would be dramatically higher. Happy to explain—sent an email.

Please also note the new law provides that starting in the 2025 tax year, reported tips up to $25,000 per person annually are exempt from federal income tax.

The exemption phases out above $150,000 income ($300,000 for couples).

The new law only applies to tips reported on W-2 forms.

Payroll and state/local taxes still apply. This rule is in effect through 2028, unless renewed.

Be sure your teams and clients are prepared for these changes and compliant with the updated rates.

• Illinois Statewide Minimum Wage

As a reminder, the statewide minimum wage increased to $15.00/hour on January 1, 2025. This minimum wage rate applies across Illinois, outside of municipalities like Chicago that set their own higher thresholds.

Please note the minimum wage increase dramatically changes the math on IL WC wage loss differential claims.

You need to look at your reserves to insure they are accurate.

A worker who has the City of Chicago “within a reasonably stable labor market” around their home can make at least $664 each week at sedentary/light and other jobs for folks with asserted restrictions.

I would suggest that applies to any worker that lives within 50 miles of Chicago because lots of folks travel that far to get to work. You may have to litigate/fight to make that happen.

If you seek the case law on that concept, send a reply.

As we indicate above, the current minimum wage in Chicago calculates to $664 a week.

This new math started on July 1, 2025. The amount a worker with restrictions is “able to earn” will continue to increase in and around the City of Chicago every year they are in the workforce.

If you aren’t sure how this works, please reply to me to discuss.

6-18-2025; KCB&A Celebrates Another Great Year!!!: Oregon WC Premium Study Released; IL WC Settlement Fair and more

Synopsis: Keefe, Campbell, Biery & Associates celebrates another great year and more than two decades in WC/GL and Employment Law Defense!

Editor’s comment: Happy Anniversary to our KCB&A Defense Team!!! We couldn’t have done it without great clients and support. It has been more than two decades of teaching and fighting and settling within authority and all the great things a solid defense firm does. We combine our demanding skills at rapidly settling accepted claims with fighting the bad ones along with teaching and presenting and answering all the simple and complex questions you have for us.

We listen carefully to changing notions of what “successful claims practice” can and should be. We work with just about every IL, IN, WI, MI and IA insurance carrier and their claims adjusters/managers want and we listen and learn. Starting back just after Y2K, we get better and better at handling your needs.

If we can ever be of assistance, contact John Campbell at jcampbell@keefe-law.com or Shawn Biery at sbiery@keefe-law.com and get the inside scoop!! You can also reply to this email….

Synopsis: The Oregon WC Insurance Premium Ratings Are Out and Illinois is Not Great in the Standings But Not That Bad!!

Editor’s comment: Every other year, the State of Oregon issues their stat-rat values for what State has high WC costs and how all States relate to each other. The reason this may be important is the fact there are no true “guidelines” on what is a justifiable number to compare the statistical cost of WC in each of the 50 states

The most expensive state is now Hawai’I, followed by ‘Joisey’ (or New Jersey), New York and California. Veterans will confirm the high costs are due to systems that are employee focused.

Illinois is mildly realistic at number 13. From my perspective as your editor, I feel this standing may continue to get worse and worse but there is no way to accurately predict that. Most folks feel the Illinois WC system with mandatory spiraling TTD/PPD rates is going to catch up and pass other States. We are sure the IL minimum wage will soon be at $20 an hour and won’t stop there. We also feel the IL WC system is strong on settling claims high but sooner. We do feel our IL Arbitrators/Commissioners are diligent and fair.

The Oregon WC Premium Rating Study is here: Department of Consumer and Business Services : General workers' compensation system/premium rate ranking : Worker protection reports : State of Oregon

We appreciate your thoughts and comments. Please post them on our award-winning blog.

Synopsis: NOTICE TO IL EMPLOYERS, WC INSURANCE CARRIERS, THIRD PARTY CLAIMS ADMINISTRATORS, AND COUNSEL ON BOTH SIDES

Editor’s comment: Please be advised the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC), in collaboration with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association (WCLA), will co-host a Settlement Fair on July 16 and 17, 2025, at the IWCC Hearing Rooms located in the Richard J. Daley Center, Chicago.

Those EMPLOYERS, INSURANCE CARRIERS, and THIRD PARTY CLAIMS ADMINISTRATORS who wish to participate are encouraged to contact IWCC Chief of Staff Annette Roti (annette.roti@illinois.gov ) to schedule a time, a date, and a Hearing Room for their settlement meetings. Your Counsel may likewise schedule a time with Ms. Roti.

The Settlement Fair will take place each day from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the IWCC Hearing Rooms at the Daley Center.

Our KCB&A defense firm joins with the IWCC members and our colleagues on the other side in the hope component parties will take advantage of this opportunity to help move multiple cases forward to reasonably closure efficiently.

The goal is “reasonable closure” and we hope if the parties can’t get there between each other, then they can reach out to our Arbitrators for guidance.

We appreciate your thoughts and comments. Please post them on our award-winning blog.

4-23-2025; Another Illinois Pro-Employee Rule--Does the IL WC Industry Need to Get More General Releases?; Fall-Down Claim Dismissal Reversed and more

Synopsis: Test Question for Our Readers. There is Another Illinois Pro-Employee Rule to Consider When Settling IL WC Claims.

Editor’s comment: Assume you have a WC claimant who is a challenging worker. The worker files a difficult-to-accept IL WC claim and are very unhappy with your company. During the pendency of the WC claim, they quit work for your company. You are working hard to close the WC case but you are also wondering—as the worker left your company, do you have to settle or seek a release from possible employment law charges/complaints? You wouldn’t have a release/resignation because the worker doesn’t work for you at the time of settlement.

Turns out, Illinoisans seeking to file a charge of workplace discrimination, harassment, or retaliation now have lots more time to file with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) after the date of the incident, in most cases. Effective January 1, 2025, a new Illinois law expanded the statute of limitations on workplace discrimination, harassment or retaliation cases from 300 days to 2 years.

“Here in Illinois, we’re committed to ensuring that everyone has a chance to seek justice when facing discrimination, harassment, or retaliation,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “By extending the deadline to file a charge, we’re empowering individuals with more time to take action and make their voices heard.”

“This legislative change is about giving survivors the time and support they need to come forward,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “We recognize that healing is not linear, and extending the statute of limitations reflects our commitment to empowering those seeking accountability and ensuring their voices are heard.”

Public Act 103-0973 extends the deadline for filing a charge of discrimination in the contexts of employment, financial credit, and public services and accommodations, including educational institutions. For housing cases, the time remains unchanged, one year to file a charge with IDHR or 2 years to file a complaint in circuit court.

The extended statute of limitations will ensure that people who have experienced discrimination and have run into barriers to prompt filing can still seek an investigation of the incident. Barriers to prompt filing include not realizing the incident was a civil rights violation, needing time to recover from a traumatic incident, or needing time to engage in settlement negotiations prior to formally filing a charge.

“Illinois has one of the strongest sets of civil rights protections of any state” said IDHR Director Jim Bennett. “By extending the deadline to file from 300 days to 2 years, Illinois joins 11 other states that have provided a greater opportunity to seek the protections and redress afforded by the Human Rights Act.”

Please remember the employee may no longer be in your workforce to bring such claims! You may not want a release/”resignation” in such cases but you may still want to offer and pay for a concomitant release as part of IL WC claim settlements.

The lesson to be learned from this is get a signed release whenever and wherever possible to close even a former employee’s common law and administrative rights to bring more litigation against you, despite settling the WC claim.

If you want to consider and look at our suggested release to be used in such settings, send a reply.

For questions regarding this article or the Illinois Human Rights Act or IDHR’s rule and regulations, contact Bradley Smith at bsmith@keefe-law.com.

We appreciate your thoughts and comments. Please post them on our award-winning blog at www.keefe-law.com

Synopsis: Fall-Down on Fruit Smoothie Will Probably Go to Trial. This is a Challenging Decision That May Cause Havoc for Companies That Have “Passive” Surveillance Videos.

Editor’s Comment: Please take a look at the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s opinion in  CRUZ v. COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION (2025) | FindLaw, a recent decision with meaningful implications for defending  your premises liability claims. Thoughts and Comments by Bradley Smith, JD. and your editor.

In Cruz v. Costco, Plaintiff slipped on a slick substance felt to be dropped from a fruit smoothie near a checkout lane and claimed significant personal injuries. The U.S. District Court initially granted summary judgment in favor of Costco, finding there was no evidence that store personnel had actual or constructive notice of the alleged hazard.

However, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the ruling, holding that summary judgment was improper. Please note this is an intermediate federal court and the next level is the U.S. Supreme Court that is very busy these days and may not accept a further appeal. The Court of Appeals concluded a jury could reasonably infer constructive notice based on surveillance footage showing an employee walking through the area shortly before the incident.

Although there was no direct evidence of how long the slippery substance was on the floor, the Court emphasized that circumstantial evidence—such as employee proximity and training gaps—created factual questions that should be resolved at trial.

In our view, this is a very liberal outcome because, in my view, few U.S. retailers actively and regularly look at surveillance video. I call it “passive” surveillance—in most settings, they take a look at the video after there is a question raised. I am not aware of any retailer that actively checks video to see if there is anything that might cause an issue or injury.

At present, this outcome almost certainly guarantees “universal” constructive notice for companies with surveillance video of the workplace.

Defense Takeaways:

• This ruling confirms “passive” surveillance footage can be a double-edged sword—while often helpful, it may also be interpreted to create a duty to observe and react quickly to developing hazards.

• Employee training and inspection protocols will continue to be scrutinized closely. Inconsistent testimony or unclear policies may prevent early dismissal.

• The decision reflects a strict standard for summary judgment in slip-and-fall cases where any arguable issue of fact remains, particularly involving actual or constructive notice.

We recommend reviewing your current internal documentation practices, inspection logs, and training procedures to ensure consistency and legal defensibility in the event of similar claims. We are happy to help.

If you’d like to discuss how this case might apply to your operations or defense strategy, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can send a reply or email Bradley Smith at bsmith@keefe-law.com.