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* WGEM…
Illinois is one step closer to requiring workers with intellection and developmental disabilities be paid the full minimum wage.
The state Senate Executive Committee passed the Dignity in Pay Act Wednesday by a 9-3 margin with bipartisan support. It now heads to the Senate floor.
“Old-fashioned stereotypes about the limit and worth of disabled lives must change,” said Ryan Croke from the Pritzker administration. […]
The bill would end Illinois’s 14(c) certificate program, which allows some employers to pay people with disabilities less than the minimum wage. Though administered by the federal government, Illinois lawmakers can outlaw the program from being used in the state.
…Adding… HB793 passed the Senate 43-11. It will be sent to the governor.
* Tribune…
With legislation pending in the Illinois General Assembly to govern coal ash, and proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules under consideration to regulate both coal ash and Ethelyn Oxide (EtO), a local sense of urgency is growing with changes coming in Washington, D.C.
For nearly three years, state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, pushed legislation to require NRG to remove rather than fill the two coal ash ponds at its decommissioned Waukegan electrical power plant. […]
When the 103rd General Assembly convened in early 2023, Mayfield posed her bill again and said she remains five votes short. Some of her Democratic colleagues fear it could cause coal-fired power plants in their districts to close, putting people out of work.
Mayfield said she hopes to get it done in January’s lame duck session which convenes a few days before the 104th General Assembly takes office.
To ensure patients suffering from chronic pain receive recommended treatment, State Senator Laura Fine passed legislation to authorize physicians to prescribe controlled substances according to updated federal guidelines.
“To combat the opioid epidemic, in 2016 states instituted policies that severely restricted the prescribing of certain opioids,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “As a result, chronic pain patients with a legitimate need for these medications were at risk of self-medicating and putting their mental and physical health in jeopardy.”
House Bill 5373 reflects new guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the prescribing of opioids for chronic pain. The legislation would allow physicians to make necessary prescriptions for controlled substances, including opioids, without strict limitations based on dosage amounts except as provided under federal law.
Additionally, Fine’s bill would protect patient confidentiality by preventing the release of opioid prescription and treatment information without a legal order verified by the Illinois Department of Human Services or an administrative subpoena from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. […]
House Bill 5373 passed the Senate on Wednesday.
* Rep. Cyril Nichols introduced HB5917 this morning…
Amends the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Article of the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that, on or before July 1 of each calendar year, each pharmacy benefit manager registered in this State must submit a report to the Director of Insurance detailing specified information concerning pricing discounts, rebates, or other financial incentives received by the pharmacy benefit manager during the previous calendar year; the terms and conditions of any contract between the pharmacy benefit manager and any party related to providing pharmacy benefit manager services to a health plan; and any activity, policy, practice, contract, or arrangement of the pharmacy benefit manager that may directly or indirectly present a conflict of interest. Provides that the Director may, at the Director’s discretion, require additional quarterly reports. Sets forth provisions concerning confidentiality and rulemaking. Effective January 1, 2026.
* 25News Now…
Wednesday in Springfield, Republican State Reps. Charlie Meier, David Friess, and Bill Hauter raised concerns over drug exposure in Illinois prisons.
They said many inmates receive mail, ask for bug fumigation in their cells, and then smoke the mail laced with insecticide as cigarettes. The lawmakers said this is causing other inmates and workers to get sick from the smoke. […]
The representatives are supporting Bill 5893, which will require the Illinois Department of Corrections to implement a policy of electronically scanning and processing all incoming mail for inmates.[…]
Meier said a pilot program for electronic mail is scheduled to start in seven months, but he said prisons cannot wait that long.
* Sen. Mike Simmons…
State Senator Mike Simmons is sponsoring legislation to strengthen workforce recruitment and retention for educators and childcare providers in Illinois.
“We need a plan for Illinois families and childcare providers to be able to find the best employees possible,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “By getting feedback from all parties, we can create a comprehensive plan that sets children, families and providers up for success.”
Under the legislation, the existing State Comprehensive Day Care Plan survey of day care facilities would include feedback from groups and individuals with relevant expertise and lived experiences with the goal of promoting workforce recruitment and retention for educators and childcare providers.
“We need to hear from the folks directly affected by workforce challenges, and with this legislation, we can bring more people to the table while we continue to address this ongoing problem,” Simmons said. “With the help of communities across the state who are struggling with childcare solutions, we can find better ways Illinois can assist in addressing the employment shortcomings.”
House Bill 814 passed the Senate on Wednesday.
posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Nov 21, 24 @ 9:21 am
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Next Post: Dignity In Pay (HB 793): It Is Time To Ensure Fair Pay For Illinoisans With Disabilities
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Re the Coal Ash article-
“The new research found that there could be as much as 11 million tons of rare earth elements in accessible coal ash in the United States, which is nearly 8 times the amount that the U.S. currently has in domestic reserves, according to the researchers.
The study is the first study to tally up national coal ash resources. The researchers estimate that $8.4 billion worth of rare earth elements could be extracted from the accessible supply of coal ash.”
https://phys.org/news/2024-11-enormous-cache-rare-earth-elements.html
Comment by Anon221 Thursday, Nov 21, 24 @ 9:42 am
Re Dignity in Pay act. This is a fine idea as long as the person with a disability is able to work independently. When a person can’t work independently the business often has to supplement assistance from a co-worker. This reduces the productivity of the co-worker and is an additional cost for an employer. That is not a feasible long-term arrangement.
Comment by Center Drift Thursday, Nov 21, 24 @ 10:05 am
For any objections to the dignity in pay act, I would love to see the people objecting on the grounds of productivity being a determining factor in pay, to justify why non-disabled employees almost everywhere do not get paid commensurate with their productivity on the other side. They are required to be paid the same way as the disabled workers do in these places, the lowest amount legally possible.
This law is simply changing the lowest amount legally possible, which is independent from the metric of productivity for every other employee too.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Nov 21, 24 @ 10:26 am
@ Center Drift
I am not sure whether you are suggesting because some workers are less productive than other workers, some workers should be paid less (a sort of “piece rate” thesis), or that people with disabilities are not entitled to accommodations so as to receive minimum wage compensation so as to lift them out of poverty.
If the former, that is not how employment works for American workers. Employers pay wages attached to jobs, not productivity. The “marginal product” model is about the employer productivity, not the employee’s productivity. Piece rates are generally illegal without explicit agreement between the employee (or their union) and the employer.
Treating the differentially-abled as if their have less need for sustenance and shelter (minimum wage) because they may or may not be as productive as other workers is discrimination against a protected status group that truly needs protection.
Comment by H-W Thursday, Nov 21, 24 @ 11:30 am
=This reduces the productivity of the co-worker and is an additional cost for an employer=
I have worked with multiple companies that offered basic hand-piece type work to adults from groups with 14(c) certificates. The groups have told me that if this bill passes they will not be able to continue offering employment services due to the expanded costs. This bill will discriminate against those most in need of a small paycheck and purposeful work.
Comment by Donnie Elgin Thursday, Nov 21, 24 @ 11:46 am
“This bill will discriminate against those most in need of a small paycheck and purposeful work.”
The status quo exploits those most in need of a paycheck and purposeful work.
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Thursday, Nov 21, 24 @ 1:01 pm
Mr. MJ,
I try and employ disabled people. This does not help IMO.
Comment by Dave Ristau Thursday, Nov 21, 24 @ 1:13 pm
My Representative (Tracy) voted against it.
No surprise there.
Comment by btowntruth from forgottonia Thursday, Nov 21, 24 @ 1:43 pm
@ Donnie Elgin
Assuming your statement is correct (and I do believe you have been told these things), then an alternative you ignoring is the possibility of external funding sources to help raise the wages of the disabled to the minimum wage.
Comment by H-W Thursday, Nov 21, 24 @ 2:19 pm