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What was up with that football stuff yesterday?

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Meanwhile, some details buried in the far-reaching proposal emerged as surprises, an example of legislators’ willingness to throw in anything but the kitchen sink if it means there’s a possibility the budget impasse that’s hampered universities and social service providers could come to an end.

One such “throw in,” as it was called by Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, is an idea backed by the Chicago Bears aimed at cutting the amount of pay they have to dole out for injured players. Current law means they often have to cover injuries until a player is 67; they want that lowered to 35, contending most healthy players don’t play much longer than that.

Opponents, including players’ attorneys, argued that change would create a two-tier system. Supporters said the idea was to limit high-dollar payouts for players with expensive contracts, but conceded some work may still need to be done on the issue.

* From a group called the Illinois Sports Workers Compensation Task Force…

Professional athletes employed by sports teams in Illinois are among the highest paid employees in the state, but they are entitled to the same workers’ compensation rights as every other employee. Professional athletes file a sizable number of Illinois workers’ compensation claims. These claims inequitably compensate professional athletes and impose significant costs on the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. Additionally, professional athletes abuse the workers’ compensation system by forum shopping. Several other states’ workers’ compensation laws exclude or reduce the workers’ compensation rights of professional athletes and prohibit professional athletes from forum shopping. Illinois should consider similar amendments to its workers’ compensation laws for professional athletes.

A Google search turned up nothing for the group, but I can’t help but wonder if its address might be 1410 Museum Campus Drive.

* The group distributed its full analysis (click here) to some legislators, but it has no real numbers or specific examples with names attached to them. They do cite this case…

Professional athletes employed by sports teams based outside of Illinois, forum shop by filing claims in Illinois in order to take advantage of Illinois’ favorable workers’ compensation laws. For example, several years ago, a professional football player employed by the Cleveland Browns filed an Illinois workers’ compensation claim based on a specific injury he suffered while playing in a football game in Illinois. This player chose to file a claim in Illinois instead of Ohio because he determined that he will receive a greater award under Illinois law. These types of claims show the inequities of Illinois’ workers’ compensation system, and waste the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission’s resources. Unless Illinois amends its workers’ compensation laws, Illinois may challenge California as the trendy state in which professional athletes file their workers’ compensation claims, regardless of the home state of the professional athletes’ employers.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 2:56 pm

Comments

The wage differential is meant to provide a benefit to an injured worker from the date of injury to their end of their normal work life (67 years or 5 years after retirement). The differential is the difference between their wages before and after the injury.

I understand the player attorneys but the IL law is generous. Let’s say an NFL player earns $1 million annually and is injured at age 30. They have a new job making $100,000. The player would earn a wage differential of $900,000 every year until they are 67. This proposal would only pay it to the average age of a player (ie 35 years).

Comment by 4 percent Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 3:08 pm
–Current law means they often have to cover injuries until a player is 67; they want that lowered to 35, contending most healthy players don’t play much longer than that.–

I’m guessing it’s a pre-emptive strike against care associated to future CTE claims. CTE-associated dementia is likely to occur way past 35.

Right now, CTE can only be confirmed after an autopsy, but the science is advancing and it’s only a matter of time until it can be diagnosed on live subjects. Then the claims will come.

I bet this is an NFL-directed effort taking place in all states with a franchise. I doubt that the McCaskey family came up with this on their own.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 3:13 pm
This does zero to help the Turn Around agenda or the State budget.. it hurts minor league athletes who make $1100 month, and soccer players making $50k.. it does help the billionaire McAskey family and their billion dollar pro franchise that gets a public handout to play in their stadium. And by the way.. they are mostly self insured..

Comment by Wow Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 3:16 pm
===its address might be 1410 Museum Campus Drive===

More like 1920 Football Drive, Lake Forest, IL.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 3:16 pm
4percent.. not even close to how the differential works. There is an “average weekly salary” that everyone works of of.

Comment by Wow Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 3:32 pm
Maybe the Ohio benefit is too low. Why should we assume the lower benefit is the correct amount?

Comment by Truthteller Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 3:33 pm
–Maybe the Ohio benefit is too low. Why should we assume the lower benefit is the correct amount?–

Meh, I’m guessing the secret proponents threw that in an outlier to honk off legislators and drive them to action.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 3:35 pm
There is a maximum benefit. For the situation 4 percent is describing, the maximum weekly award is $755 a week, opposed to the approximately $17,000 you are describing. Bottom of the attached link.

http://www.iwcc.il.gov/benefits.htm

Comment by My button is broke... Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 3:41 pm
==Let’s say an NFL player earns $1 million annually and is injured at age 30.==

The most he would get in a comp claim is about $1000 per week, instead of his pre-injury paycheck of $19,230.77 a week.

The maximum amount wage differential benefit is the “statewide average weekly wage” on the date of the accident, effective 2/01/2006.

Comment by Matt Belcher Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 4:06 pm
So, it has come down to arguing who gets hurt more or less, the billionaire owners or the millionaire players. What is something like this even doing in the “Grand Bargain” on which literally the health of the State of Illinois depends. The fact that this ludicrous proposal was not immediately taken out of the bill as soon as it was pointed out and that anybody wasted even two minutes discussing it, when there is so much at stake, is just ridiculous.

Comment by The Real Just Me Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 4:35 pm
Back when I did Worker’s Comp exclusively, my firm represented the Blackhawks. It is odd that with their money (sometime guaranteed) and the teams’ extensive access to health care, they should go through the workers’ comp system, too. But I’m not sure there’s a sensible way to exclude them.

Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 9:32 pm
As Bo Jackson says, anybody dumb enough to plsy football now-a-days ought to get head slapped. What next, compensation to cigarette smokers?

Comment by Blue dog dem Wednesday, Jan 25, 17 @ 9:39 pm
Illinois’ workers’ comp costs are driving me out of Illinois. In fact, because of these costs, I will only bring my football team here once a year. Sometimes I won’t bring my team to Chicago for 10 years!

I invested hundreds of millions to acquire this team, hundreds of millions more in salaries and spent damn good money on lobbyists to get the city to spend hundreds of millions to build me a new stadium.

Now you’re telling me that when one of my employees has a knee explode or his brain addled that I have to pay for it? Outrageous!

You know what this means? I’m going to have to pass this on to the consumer. If this law change doesn’t pass I’m going to have to increase ticket prices accordingly… $0.000001

Comment by Impoverished Team Owner Thursday, Jan 26, 17 @ 9:18 am