What Kinds of Employees Are Eligible for Workers’ Compensation?

Notably, Illinois law requires nearly every employer with one or more employees to carry workers’ compensation insurance. However, as an Illinois-based employee, you should still not assume that you are automatically covered in the event of an accident or injury. This is because you may be an exception to this rule. Without further delay, please read on to discover the kinds of employees that may be eligible for these benefits, and how an attorney seasoned in Illinois workers’ compensation industry coverage, at The Law Firm of Kevin A. Moore, can help you decipher whether you fall under this umbrella. 

What kinds of employees are generally eligible for workers’ compensation benefits?

First of all, Illinois law generally requires employers to provide workers’ compensation coverage from the moment they onboard an employee. That is, an employee need not work a certain number of hours before qualifying. On that note, part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers are oftentimes eligible, but benefit limitations may apply. With that, it helps if these workers were hired directly by the employer, as the involvement of independent contracts and external staffing agencies may overly complicate this. 

Furthermore, you may rest assured that you still have a chance to receive workers’ compensation benefits even if you are undocumented. This is because Illinois law prioritizes an eligible employment relationship over an employee’s immigrant status. Of course, you may naturally fear retaliation or deportation for filing a claim, but an attorney can ease your concerns and ensure your protection at this time. 

Lastly, even as a remote worker with an Illinois-based employer, you may qualify for this benefits program. This is so long as your accident or injury transpired out of and in the course of your employment. This may be more difficult to prove without eyewitness testimonies from fellow employees on the job site. But still, your attorney may help you collect enough evidence you need to submit a strong compensation case. 

What types of workers are generally excluded from workers’ compensation programs?

Unfortunately, not all work arrangements and job classifications are treated the same under the state of Illinois’ workers’ compensation rule. As insinuated above, independent contractors are generally excluded from workers’ compensation programs in Illinois. However, you may be the victim of an employer intentionally misclassifying you. If you believe this to be true, you may bring this issue to court or to an agency, and your work relationship may be closely interpreted.

Then, as an agricultural worker, you may not be automatically included in a workers’ compensation plan. This is because Illinois law may look at the volume of labor an employer uses. So, if your employer uses fewer than 400 days of labor per quarter in the previous year, they are typically off the hook for providing coverage. Essentially, this may translate into retaining four to five full-time employees per quarter. 

All of this to say, you could try to go through this workers’ compensation application process alone, but you do not have to. To minimize the risk of any errors, no matter how minimal or critical, you can lean on an attorney competent in Illinois workers’ compensation industry coverage from The Law Firm of Kevin A. Moore. We would love to work with you.