Arbitrators Being Forced to Take Days Off
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 | 0
By Eugene F. Keefe
Synopsis: Ouch, Illinois' hard-working arbitrators and other IWCC staff are being told to take furloughs; some as early as this week.
Editor's comment: Well, push may be coming to shove at the Illinois state level where budgets appear to be in total chaos. In early August, the news wires across Illinois indicated some offices were asking their staff to start to take at least five of 12 furlough days during this calendar year. The governor is struggling with a budget gap of $4.3 billion for fiscal 2009 and at least $7.3 billion for fiscal 2010. The governor said "Illinois is staggering to pay an $11.5 billion deficit and has a mountain of unpaid bills."
Illinois' economy is falling. Unemployment is rising, and our people are hurting. To be direct and honest: our state is facing the greatest crisis of modern times." In his fiscal 2010 budget, Gov. Pat Quinn sought increases in the personal income tax, hikes in the corporate and cigarette taxes. He didn't get most of it and the Democrats in control of the legislature went back to their time-honored mainstay when budgets go sideways and there is no money to pay the piper — they mortgaged the future by borrowing billions to pay current bills. Some day, we hope U.S. and Illinois voters understand the piper has to be paid. When governments act like credit-card junkies, we as taxpayers then have to pay twice; once to pay back the borrowed money and again to pay the monies needed to pay the cost of borrowing. As the dual cost of government "borrow-spending" doesn't immediately hit your wallet, the docile electorate usually doesn't react with outrage, as we should.
This week we found important news that isn't on the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission's rapid-fire website just yet. Illinois arbitrators weren't asked but have been told to take 12 unpaid days off during the rest of the fiscal year and at least five of those furlough days are to be taken this year. There are a couple of interesting issues caused by this decision. One, as we have told you on numerous occasions, the taxpayers don't pay their salaries, you do 100% of their salaries are paid by Illinois business; the monies do not come from the Illinois general revenue fund. No one knows if the governor has the power under our law to grab the savings and put the money into a different drawer.
Second, arbitrators are salaried — they aren't paid on an hourly basis. As such, the furloughs are not so much "unpaid days" as they are clearly a pay cut. We want everyone to understand we feel Illinois arbitrators are already treated less than happily by this litigation system. They are in the eye of the workers' compensation hurricane that is the Illinois benefit adjudication system for injured workers and their employers. They are not provided court clerks or county bailiffs, as circuit court judges are. Arbitrators have to:
- Show up on time all across the state;
- Dress and behave professionally;
- Attend legislatively mandated training;
- Listen to loads of whining and abuse by attorneys on both sides;
- Deal with difficult and sometimes dangerous claimants;
- Handle complaints, comments and inquiries from businesspeople, politicians and insurance adjusters;
- Conduct hearings and rule publicly in a setting where they are constantly scrutinized.
Illinois arbitrators are regularly challenged by complex factual and legal issues and the best of them perform solid research and writing when they draft their required and detailed rulings. The Illinois arbitration staff receives about two-thirds of the compensation of a circuit court judge with less than half the respect. As commission observers, we consider it egregious to see them being asked to take a hefty pay cut.
The other problem is there is certain to be a challenge to the furloughs in the state or federal courts. This is going to be expensive and prolonged litigation that isn't going to be a happy outcome for anyone. It is our hope this issue is quietly and amicably resolved in the best interests of a state that is struggling with this difficult economy.
All of this is going to place even more pressure on the defense industry to drive claims to closure. We are confident the top arbitrators are still going to do the solid job they do of getting tough cases tried and simple cases closed via approved settlements or dismissals. They just aren't going to have as many days in the month to do it. We will continue to feel the best litigated claims are the claims that close rapidly and hope the sporadic arbitration schedule isn't going to change that approach too much.
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Eugene F. Keefe is a partner in the Chicago law firm of Keefe, Campbell & Associates. This item from the firm's blog, www.keefe-law.com/blog, was reprinted by permission.
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