Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) Except as otherwise provided in the
Workers' Compensation Act, the Canons of Judicial Conduct as adopted by
the Supreme Court of Illinois govern the hearing and non-hearing conduct of
members of the Commission and Arbitrators. The Commission may set additional
rules and standards, not less stringent than those rules and standards
established by the Code of Judicial Conduct, for the conduct of
Arbitrators. [
820 ILCS
305/1.1 ]
b) An Arbitrator or Commissioner shall
disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding, including the consideration of a
settlement contract, in which the Arbitrator's or Commissioner's impartiality
might reasonably be questioned, including but not limited to instances in
which:
1) he or she has a personal bias or
prejudice concerning a party or a party's lawyer, or personal knowledge of
disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceedings;
2) he or she served as an attorney in the
matter in controversy, or an attorney with whom the Arbitrator or Commissioner
previously practiced law served during that association as an attorney
concerning the matter;
3) he or she
is a material witness concerning the matter;
4) he or she was, within the preceding three
years, associated in the private practice of law with any law firm or attorney
currently representing any party in the controversy (provided that referral of
cases when no monetary interest was retained shall not be deemed an association
for the purposes of this subsection (b)(4)) or, for a period of seven years
following the last date on which the Commissioner or Arbitrator represented any
party to the controversy while the Commissioner or Arbitrator was an attorney
engaged in the private practice of law;
5) he or she was, within the preceding three
years, employed by any party to the proceeding or any insurance carrier,
service or adjustment company, medical or rehabilitation provider, labor
organization, or investigative service involved in the matter;
6) he or she or his or her spouse, or a
person within the third degree of relationship (pursuant to the civil law
system) to either of them, or the spouse of that person:
A) is a party to the proceeding or an
officer, director or trustee of a party;
B) is acting as an attorney in the
proceeding;
C) is known by the
Arbitrator or Commissioner to have a more than de minimis interest that could
be substantially affected by the proceeding;
D) is to the Arbitrator's or Commissioner's
knowledge likely to be a material witness in the proceeding;
7) he or she negotiated for
employment with a party, a party's attorney or insurance carrier or service or
adjustment company, in a matter in which the Arbitrator or Commissioner is
presiding or participating in an adjudicative capacity;
8) the Arbitrator or Commissioner knows that
he or she, individually or as a fiduciary, or the Arbitrator's spouse, parent
or child wherever residing, or any other member of the Arbitrator's or
Commissioner's family residing in the Arbitrator's or Commissioner's household,
has an economic interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to
the proceeding, or has any other more that de minimis interest that could be
substantially affected by the proceeding.
c) An Arbitrator or Commissioner shall keep
informed about the Arbitrator's or Commissioner's personal and fiduciary
economic interests and make a reasonable effort to keep informed about the
personal economic interests of the Arbitrator's or Commissioner's spouse and
minor children residing in the Arbitrator's or Commissioner's
household.
d) Remittal of
Disqualification
An Arbitrator or Commissioner disqualified under subsection (b)
may disclose on the record the basis of the disqualification and may ask the
parties and their lawyers to consider, out of the presence of the Arbitrator or
Commissioner, whether to waive disqualification. If, following disclosure of
any basis for disqualification other than personal bias or prejudice concerning
a party, the parties and attorneys, without participation by the Arbitrator or
Commissioner, all agree in writing that the Arbitrator or Commissioner should
not be disqualified, and the Arbitrator or Commissioner is then willing to
participate, the Arbitrator or Commissioner may participate in the proceeding.
The agreement signed by all parties and all attorneys shall be made a part of
the record of the proceeding.
e) Reassignment
1) Cases on Arbitration
A) When an Arbitrator withdraws from a case
and the venue of the case arises in Cook County, it shall be the duty of the
Arbitrator to notify the Commission, whose function it shall be to reassign the
case to a new Arbitrator chosen randomly from all the Arbitrators in Cook
County.
B) When an Arbitrator
withdraws from a case and the venue of the case arises outside Cook County, it
shall be the duty of the Arbitrator to notify the Commission, whose function it
shall be to reassign the case to a new Arbitrator in the arbitration
zone.
2) Cases on Review
When a Commissioner withdraws from a case, it shall be the duty
of the Commissioner to notify the Commission, whose function it shall be to
transfer the case to a Commissioner, representative of the same statutorily
designated class, sitting on a panel other than that on which the withdrawing
Commissioner sits.
f) Petitions for Substitution
1) Cases on Arbitration
A) Every application for a substitution of
Arbitrator shall be made by a petition setting forth the specific cause for
substitution. The petition shall be verified by the affidavit of the
applicant.
B) Upon filing of a
petition for substitution of Arbitrator, a hearing to determine whether cause
exists shall be conducted as soon as possible by an Arbitrator other than the
Arbitrator named in the petition, randomly assigned by the Commission. The
Arbitrator named in the petition need not testify but may submit an affidavit
if the Arbitrator wishes. If the petition is granted, the case shall be
reassigned as set forth in subsection (e)(1) of this Section. If the petition
is denied, the case shall be assigned back to the Arbitrator named in the
petition.
2) Cases on
Review
A) Every application for a
substitution of Commissioner shall be made by a petition setting forth the
specific cause for substitution. The petition shall be verified by the
affidavit of the applicant.
B) Upon
filing of a petition for substitution of Commissioner, a hearing to determine
whether cause exists shall be conducted as soon as possible by a Commissioner
of the same designation as the Commissioner named in the petition, randomly
assigned by the Commission. The Commissioner named in the petition, need not
testify but may submit an affidavit if the Commissioner wishes. If the petition
is granted, the case shall be reassigned as set forth in subsection (e)(2). If
the petition is denied, the case shall be assigned back to the original panel
including the Commissioner named in the petition.
3) A petition for substitution may be made to
the Commission if reasonable notice of the application has been given to the
adverse party or his or her attorney.