Illinois Administrative Code › Title 56 - LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT › Part 350 - HEALTH AND SAFETY › Subpart B - INJURY/ILLNESS RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS › Section 350.270 - Determination of Work-Relatedness

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a)
				Basic Requirement
An injury or illness is work-related if an event or exposure
				  in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition
				  or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness. Work-relatedness
				  is presumed for injuries and illnesses resulting from events or exposures
				  occurring in the work environment, unless an exception in subsection (b)(2)
				  specifically applies.
b)
				Implementation
1) Work Environment
The work environment is defined as the establishment and
				  other locations where one or more employees are working or are present as a
				  condition of their employment. The work environment includes not only physical
				  locations, but also the equipment or materials used by the employee during the
				  course of work.
2)
				Exceptions
An injury or illness occurring in the work environment that
				  falls under one or more of the following exceptions is not work-related and,
				  therefore, is not recordable:
A) At
				the time of the injury or illness, the employee was present in the work
				environment as a member of the general public rather than as an
				employee.
B) The injury or illness
				involves signs or symptoms that surface at work but result solely from a
				non-work-related event or exposure that occurs outside the work
				environment.
C) The injury or
				illness results solely from voluntary participation in a wellness program or in
				a medical, fitness or recreational activity such as blood donation, physical
				examination, flu shot, exercise class, racquetball or baseball.
D) The injury or illness is solely the result
				of an employee eating, drinking or preparing food or drink for personal
				consumption (whether bought on the employer's premises or brought in). EXAMPLE:
				if the employee is injured by choking on a sandwich while in the employer's
				establishment, the case would not be considered work-related. However, if the
				employee is made ill by ingesting food contaminated by workplace contaminants
				(such as lead), or gets food poisoning from food supplied by the employer, the
				case would be considered work-related.
E) The injury or illness is solely the result
				of an employee doing personal tasks (unrelated to the employment) at the
				establishment outside of the employee's assigned working hours.
F) The injury or illness is solely the result
				of personal grooming, self-medication for a non-work-related condition, or
				intentionally self-inflicted.
G)
				The injury or illness is caused by a motor vehicle accident and occurs on a
				company parking lot or company access road while the employee is commuting to
				or from work.
H) The illness is the
				common cold or flu. Contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, brucellosis,
				hepatitis A, illness resulting from variants of SARS-CoV (including COVID-19),
				or plague are considered work-related if the employee is infected at
				work.
I) The illness is a mental
				illness. Mental illness will not be considered work-related unless the employee
				voluntarily provides the employer with an opinion from a physician or other
				licensed health care professional with appropriate training and experience
				(psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, etc.) stating that
				the employee has a mental illness that is work-related.
3) Determining whether the Precipitating
				Event Occurred in the Work Environment
If it is not obvious whether the precipitating event or
				  exposure occurred in the work environment, the employer must evaluate the
				  employee's work duties and environment to decide whether one or more events or
				  exposures in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting
				  condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.
4) Aggravating Pre-Existing
				Conditions
A pre-existing injury or illness has been significantly
				  aggravated, for purposes of injury and illness recordkeeping, when an event or
				  exposure in the work environment results in any of the following:
A) Death, provided that the pre-existing
				injury or illness would likely not have resulted in death but for the
				occupational event or exposure.
B)
				Loss of consciousness, provided that the pre-existing injury or illness would
				likely not have resulted in loss of consciousness but for the occupational
				event or exposure.
C) One or more
				days away from work, or days of restricted work, or days of job transfer that
				otherwise would not have occurred but for the occupational event or
				exposure.
D) Medical treatment in a
				case in which no medical treatment was needed for the injury or illness before
				the workplace event or exposure, or a change in medical treatment was
				necessitated by the workplace event or exposure.
5) Pre-existing Conditions
An injury or illness is a pre-existing condition if it
				  resulted solely from a non-work-related event or exposure that occurred outside
				  the work environment.
6)
				Travel Status
Injuries and illnesses that occur while an employee is on
				  travel status are work-related if, at the time of the injury or illness, the
				  employee was engaged in work activities in the interest of the employer.
				  Examples of these activities include travel to and from customer contacts,
				  conducting job tasks, and entertaining or being entertained to transact,
				  discuss or promote business (work-related entertainment includes only
				  entertainment activities being engaged in at the direction of the employer).
				  Injuries or illnesses that occur when the employee is on travel status do not
				  have to be recorded if they meet one of the following exceptions:
A) When a traveling employee checks into a
				hotel or motel, or other temporary residence, the employee establishes a home
				away from home. The employee's activities after the employee checks into the
				temporary residence must be evaluated by the employer for work-relatedness in
				the same manner as the employer evaluates the activities of a non-traveling
				employee. When the employee checks into the temporary residence, the employee
				is considered to have left the work environment. When the employee begins work
				each day, the employee re-enters the work environment. If the employee has
				established a home away from home and is reporting to a fixed worksite each
				day, injuries or illnesses are not work-related if they occur while the
				employee is commuting between the temporary residence and the job
				location.
B) Injuries or illnesses
				are not considered work-related if they occur while the employee is on a
				personal detour from a reasonably direct route of travel (e.g., has taken a
				side trip for personal reasons).
7) Work at Home
Injuries and illnesses that occur while an employee is
				  working at home, including work in a home office, will be considered
				  work-related if the injury or illness occurs while the employee is performing
				  work for pay or compensation in the home, and the injury or illness is directly
				  related to the performance of work rather than to the general home environment
				  or setting. EXAMPLE: If an employee drops a box of work documents and injures
				  their foot, the case is considered work-related. If an employee is injured
				  because the employee trips on the family dog while rushing to answer a work
				  phone call, the case is not considered work-related. If an employee working at
				  home is electrocuted because of faulty home wiring, the injury is not
				  considered work-related.