High Court: Employer Can Deduct Taxes From Salary Continuation Benefits

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that public employers may withhold federal taxes from salary continuation benefits paid to first responders injured in the line of duty. The court rejected the argument that the Public Employee Disability Act provision specifying that first responders be paid "on the same basis" as they were before the injury means they must receive 100% of their gross pay, with only limited deductions. Instead, the court said the act requires employers to pay first responders as though they are still working normal hours. "The phrase 'on the same basis...