Only employees are entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits from their employers under Illinois law if they are injured from their employment. Independent contractors are responsible for their own insurance. But how can you determine whether or not you are an independent contractor? Even if your boss classifies you as one, it does not necessarily make it so. The specific facts of your relationship are more important.
Many factors will be looked at to determine your proper status, but the major focus is on the right to control the performance of your job duties. If you are an employee, your workday is subject to the control and supervision of your employer. When you work, where you work, what you do at work are all decided by your employer. It is not only the end result of your work that matters, but the process you use to get to that end result.
On the other hand, if you are an independent contractor, your boss will be mostly interested in the results of your work, but not necessarily the manner and means used to accomplish that result. You are likely using your own equipment or tools, making your own schedule, and deciding for yourself the details for how you are carrying out your day-to-day responsibilities.
In one case, even a taxi driver who rented the taxi from the cab company, kept all his own fares, and purchased his own gas was determined to be an employee. What governed the decision was that he was told the minimum number of passengers he was to pick up each day, and which geographic area he should stay in so that he was reachable by dispatch radio. Here the company was in control over the methods, and therefore the driver was an employee.
So just because you are told you are an independent contractor, and therefore not entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits, you don’t need to except that as the final answer. Examining the details of your employment will help you see if you can get what you may be entitled to.
We are workers’ compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys. Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.