Bill Text: IL HB1257 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Workers' Compensation Act concerning injuries sustained by employees during travel. Provides that accidental injuries sustained while traveling to or from work do not arise out of and in the course of employment, except under specified circumstances. Provides that the injury may arise out of and in the course of employment if, at the time of the injury, the employee was performing acts the employer instructed the employee to perform, acts that the employee had a common law or statutory duty to perform while performing duties for his or her employer, or acts that the employee might be reasonably expected to perform incident to his or her assigned duties. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-28 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB1257 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB1257-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1257 Introduced , by Rep. Dan Ugaste SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
820 ILCS 305/1 from Ch. 48, par. 138.1
Amends the Workers' Compensation Act concerning injuries sustained by employees during travel. Provides that accidental injuries sustained while traveling to or from work do not arise out of and in the course of employment, except under specified circumstances. Provides that the injury may arise out of and in the course of employment if, at the time of the injury, the employee was performing acts the employer instructed the employee to perform, acts that the employee had a common law or statutory duty to perform while performing duties for his or her employer, or acts that the employee might be reasonably expected to perform incident to his or her assigned duties. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning employment.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Workers' Compensation Act is amended by
changing Section 1 as follows:
(820 ILCS 305/1) (from Ch. 48, par. 138.1)
Sec. 1. This Act may be cited as the Workers' Compensation
Act.
(a) The term "employer" as used in this Act means:
1. The State and each county, city, town, township,
incorporated village, school district, body politic, or
municipal corporation therein.
2. Every person, firm, public or private corporation,
including hospitals, public service, eleemosynary, religious
or charitable corporations or associations who has any person
in service or under any contract for hire, express or implied,
oral or written, and who is engaged in any of the enterprises
or businesses enumerated in Section 3 of this Act, or who at or
prior to the time of the accident to the employee for which
compensation under this Act may be claimed, has in the manner
provided in this Act elected to become subject to the
provisions of this Act, and who has not, prior to such
accident, effected a withdrawal of such election in the manner

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provided in this Act.
3. Any one engaging in any business or enterprise referred
to in subsections 1 and 2 of Section 3 of this Act who
undertakes to do any work enumerated therein, is liable to pay
compensation to his own immediate employees in accordance with
the provisions of this Act, and in addition thereto if he
directly or indirectly engages any contractor whether
principal or sub-contractor to do any such work, he is liable
to pay compensation to the employees of any such contractor or
sub-contractor unless such contractor or sub-contractor has
insured, in any company or association authorized under the
laws of this State to insure the liability to pay compensation
under this Act, or guaranteed his liability to pay such
compensation. With respect to any time limitation on the
filing of claims provided by this Act, the timely filing of a
claim against a contractor or subcontractor, as the case may
be, shall be deemed to be a timely filing with respect to all
persons upon whom liability is imposed by this paragraph.
In the event any such person pays compensation under this
subsection he may recover the amount thereof from the
contractor or sub-contractor, if any, and in the event the
contractor pays compensation under this subsection he may
recover the amount thereof from the sub-contractor, if any.
This subsection does not apply in any case where the
accident occurs elsewhere than on, in or about the immediate
premises on which the principal has contracted that the work

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be done.
4. Where an employer operating under and subject to the
provisions of this Act loans an employee to another such
employer and such loaned employee sustains a compensable
accidental injury in the employment of such borrowing employer
and where such borrowing employer does not provide or pay the
benefits or payments due such injured employee, such loaning
employer is liable to provide or pay all benefits or payments
due such employee under this Act and as to such employee the
liability of such loaning and borrowing employers is joint and
several, provided that such loaning employer is in the absence
of agreement to the contrary entitled to receive from such
borrowing employer full reimbursement for all sums paid or
incurred pursuant to this paragraph together with reasonable
attorneys' fees and expenses in any hearings before the
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission or in any action to
secure such reimbursement. Where any benefit is provided or
paid by such loaning employer the employee has the duty of
rendering reasonable cooperation in any hearings, trials or
proceedings in the case, including such proceedings for
reimbursement.
Where an employee files an Application for Adjustment of
Claim with the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission
alleging that his claim is covered by the provisions of the
preceding paragraph, and joining both the alleged loaning and
borrowing employers, they and each of them, upon written

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demand by the employee and within 7 days after receipt of such
demand, shall have the duty of filing with the Illinois
Workers' Compensation Commission a written admission or denial
of the allegation that the claim is covered by the provisions
of the preceding paragraph and in default of such filing or if
any such denial be ultimately determined not to have been bona
fide then the provisions of Paragraph K of Section 19 of this
Act shall apply.
An employer whose business or enterprise or a substantial
part thereof consists of hiring, procuring or furnishing
employees to or for other employers operating under and
subject to the provisions of this Act for the performance of
the work of such other employers and who pays such employees
their salary or wages notwithstanding that they are doing the
work of such other employers shall be deemed a loaning
employer within the meaning and provisions of this Section.
(b) The term "employee" as used in this Act means:
1. Every person in the service of the State, including
members of the General Assembly, members of the Commerce
Commission, members of the Illinois Workers' Compensation
Commission, and all persons in the service of the University
of Illinois, county, including deputy sheriffs and assistant
state's attorneys, city, town, township, incorporated village
or school district, body politic, or municipal corporation
therein, whether by election, under appointment or contract of
hire, express or implied, oral or written, including all

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members of the Illinois National Guard while on active duty in
the service of the State, and all probation personnel of the
Juvenile Court appointed pursuant to Article VI of the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987, and including any official of the
State, any county, city, town, township, incorporated village,
school district, body politic or municipal corporation therein
except any duly appointed member of a police department in any
city whose population exceeds 500,000 according to the last
Federal or State census, and except any member of a fire
insurance patrol maintained by a board of underwriters in this
State. A duly appointed member of a fire department in any
city, the population of which exceeds 500,000 according to the
last federal or State census, is an employee under this Act
only with respect to claims brought under paragraph (c) of
Section 8.
One employed by a contractor who has contracted with the
State, or a county, city, town, township, incorporated
village, school district, body politic or municipal
corporation therein, through its representatives, is not
considered as an employee of the State, county, city, town,
township, incorporated village, school district, body politic
or municipal corporation which made the contract.
2. Every person in the service of another under any
contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written,
including persons whose employment is outside of the State of
Illinois where the contract of hire is made within the State of

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Illinois, persons whose employment results in fatal or
non-fatal injuries within the State of Illinois where the
contract of hire is made outside of the State of Illinois, and
persons whose employment is principally localized within the
State of Illinois, regardless of the place of the accident or
the place where the contract of hire was made, and including
noncitizens, and minors who, for the purpose of this Act are
considered the same and have the same power to contract,
receive payments and give quittances therefor, as adult
employees.
3. Every sole proprietor and every partner of a business
may elect to be covered by this Act.
An employee or his dependents under this Act who shall
have a cause of action by reason of any injury, disablement or
death arising out of and in the course of his employment may
elect to pursue his remedy in the State where injured or
disabled, or in the State where the contract of hire is made,
or in the State where the employment is principally localized.
However, any employer may elect to provide and pay
compensation to any employee other than those engaged in the
usual course of the trade, business, profession or occupation
of the employer by complying with Sections 2 and 4 of this Act.
Employees are not included within the provisions of this Act
when excluded by the laws of the United States relating to
liability of employers to their employees for personal
injuries where such laws are held to be exclusive.

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The term "employee" does not include persons performing
services as real estate broker, broker-salesman, or salesman
when such persons are paid by commission only.
(c) "Commission" means the Industrial Commission created
by Section 5 of "The Civil Administrative Code of Illinois",
approved March 7, 1917, as amended, or the Illinois Workers'
Compensation Commission created by Section 13 of this Act.
(d) To obtain compensation under this Act, an employee
bears the burden of showing, by a preponderance of the
evidence, that he or she has sustained accidental injuries
arising out of and in the course of the employment.
Except as provided in subsection (e), accidental injuries
sustained while traveling to or from work do not arise out of
and in the course of employment.
(e) An accidental injury arises out of and in the course of
employment if it is sustained by an employee who is required by
the employer to travel away from the employer's premises in
order to perform his or her job and the conduct in which the
employee was engaged at the time of the accidental injury was:
(1) acts the employer instructed the employee to perform; (2)
acts that the employee had a common law or statutory duty to
perform while performing duties for his or her employer; or
(3) acts that the employee might be reasonably expected to
perform incident to his or her assigned duties.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, an accidental injury
sustained by an employee while traveling away from the

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employer's premises does not arise out of and in the course of
employment if: (1) the accidental injury is sustained during
the employee's commute to and from his or her domicile,
residence, or place where the employee currently lives and his
or her primary or current place of employment; (2) the
accidental injury is sustained during a personal deviation or
personal errand; or (3) the accidental injury, or the medical
condition or impairment for which compensation is sought,
resulted from a personal risk.
In determining whether an employee is required to travel
away from the employer's premises in order to perform his or
her job, the following factors, shall be considered:
(1) whether the employee's course or method of travel
was determined by the demands and exigencies of the job;
(2) whether the employer reimbursed the employee for
travel expenses or time spent traveling; and
(3) whether the employer directed the employee's
travel or required the employee to take a certain route to
perform his or her duties.
(Source: P.A. 102-1030, eff. 5-27-22.)