ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
APPOINTMENT by Mayor Ardis to the Position of HEARING OFFICER for Adjudicating PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEE BENEFITS ACT (PSEBA) Claims Pursuant to Section 2-350 of the Code of the City of Peoria, with a Request to Concur:
Mr. Robert C. Gates, Esq.
Body
BACKGROUND:
Public Safety Employee Benefits Act (PSEBA), 820 ILCS 320/1, et seq., requires any employer that employs a full-time law enforcement officer or a firefighter to pay, in the event he/she suffers a catastrophic injury or death in the line of duty, the health insurance premiums for the employee for his/her lifetime, the employee's spouse until remarried, and the employee's children until adulthood (up to 25 years of age). On June 25, 2013, the City Council passed Ordinance No. 16,984 that amended Section 2-350 of the City Code the PSEBA benefits procedure that set forth a formalized hearing process to determine whether PSEBA benefits should be awarded for catastrophic injury or death in the line of duty. In addition, the amendment set for a PSEBA benefits hearing to be heard by a hearing officer who must be a licensed attorney with knowledge and experience in employment and labor as well as general civil procedure, rules of evidence, and administrative practice. This new process on the PSEBA hearing mirrors the Hoffman Estates' ordinance which has been upheld by a court as being procedurally compliant with PSEBA. The Illinois Rules of Evidence apply to the hearings and a neutral hearing officer conducts the hearing and renders the decisions; thus courts will more likely uphold the hearing officer's decisions.
Prior to this amendment, Section 2-350 of the City Code gave the discretion to the human resources director to determine the eligibility of PSEBA claims and the denied applicant would appeal the HR director's determination of ineligibility to a panel consisting of the City Manager, the Police/Fire Chief and a City-hired physician. Then the denied applicant could ...
Click here for full text