The highest court in Illinois has ruled Cook County was wrong to refuse to continue disability benefits to a terminated employee with a nervous system disease, saying termination does not trigger a halt to such benefits.
The May 19 decision was delivered by Justice David Overstreet, with concurrence from Chief Justice Anne Burke and Justices Mary Jane Theis, Rita Garman, Robert Carter, Michael Burke and P. Scott Neville Jr. The ruling favored John O'Connell in his dispute with Cook County.
O'Connell started working for the county in 1999, and two years later, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, according to court papers. He continued working with accommodations, but his health declined. In 2017, O'Connell started receiving a county "ordinary" disability benefit in the amount of 50 percent of his salary, with the county telling him the benefit would expire in August 2021. The Illinois Pension Code identifies an ordinary disability, as opposed to a "duty" disability, as a disability not incurred during the course of work.
In May 2019, the county asked O'Connell to provide medical documentation by June 29, 2019 indicating his return-to-work date. If by June 29 O'Connell failed to furnish the documentation or was not medically cleared to return to his job, the county told him he would be terminated. Court papers did not say whether documentation was provided, or if he was cleared to return. At any rate, the county let him go July 1, 2019.
O'Connell sued Cook County and the Board of Trustees of the County Employees’ and Officers’ Annuity and Benefit Fund in Cook County Circuit Court. O'Connell claimed the Illinois Pension Code and the Illinois state constitution guaranteed his right to continue collecting the disability benefit, even though he was no longer employed by the county.
Cook County Judge Neil Cohen tossed the suit, finding no evidence the county had to keep paying a disability benefit to a former employee. O'Connell went to Illinois First District Appellate Court, which overturned Cohen, saying the Pension Code set forth "triggering events" that end the benefit for a person, but job termination was not one of them.
The county took the case to the Illinois Supreme Court, but again lost.
"Nothing in (the) Pension Code provides that once the Board grants the ordinary disability benefit to the employee, it must cease payments based on the employer’s termination of his employment. Once allowed, the ordinary disability benefit continues, until the disability ceases, the disabled employee reaches termination age, or the employee’s years-of-service credit has expired," Justice Overstreet concluded.
The years-of-service credit is one quarter of the total service prior to the disability, but in no event more than five years, Overstreet explained.
In Overstreet's view, it was plain that "O’Connell became entitled to the ordinary disability benefit in 2017, when he initially applied, as an employee who became disabled after becoming a contributor to the fund."
Overstreet repeated the appellate court's conclusion that termination is not a "triggering event."
Overstreet noted O'Connell was discharged before his benefit period expired and before he qualified for an early annuity or credit purchase option. Further, O'Connell lost about two years of county contributions to the benefit fund, which would have added to his retirement annuity, Overstreet said.
The case was remanded to circuit court for further action.
O'Connell was represented before the Illinois Supreme Court by attorney Mary Eileen Cunniff Wells of the firm of Miller Shakman Levine & Feldman, of Chicago.
The county was represented by Rebecca Gest, of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Cook County.