Am I An Employee?
If the answer to this question is “yes,” then your employer is responsible for your workers’ compensation benefits if you’re injured at work. But if you are an independent contractor, then you’re on your own.
So it’s not so surprising that many times employers will try to incorrectly label their workers as independent contractors to avoid workers’ compensation responsibility. But your employer can call you whatever he wants to, and that won’t make it so. If you’re really an employee in practice, a different label put on your employment status won’t change that.
What makes you an employee so that your employer’s insurance will cover your workers’ compensation claims? Look at the facts of your employment—how you do what you do and how it relates to the company, not what you’re called.
The most important fact in Illinois cases, is whether your employer controls your workday and how you get your work done. Are you told when and where to work, and what process you have to use to accomplish your work duties? Other facts are looked at also. Do you use your employer’s equipment and materials? How are you paid? Are taxes withheld from your paycheck?
On the other hand, if you’re an independent contractor, the end result that is accomplished is more significant to your employer than how or when you got it done. You control your own schedule and you control how you’re getting your work done. Your employer is interested in the results of your work and not necessarily the process. Also, you likely will be paid hourly for your work.
Since the reality of which kind of worker you are is so fact specific, employers may try to slap a label on you and skew the facts to fit the label. The same job can often be done as an independent contractor and as an employee, so the facts of your specific situation have to be looked at.
For example, if your job is making deliveries for a company in Orland Park (as a recent caller does), you could be an employee if the company tells you what hours to work; schedules your route for you, provides the vehicle; and pays you a salary. But if you are given a list of who to deliver to each day, and you can control how you get those deliveries done, and you’re using your own car and being paid by the hour or by the delivery, you could be an independent contractor.
Regardless of what your employer calls you, if you are functioning as an employee then your status doesn’t change, and your right to your employers’ workers’ compensation insurance doesn’t change either. And don’t take their word for it if they tell you that you are not an employee. Speak with a qualified Illinois workers’ compensation attorney. It’s free and will give you peace of mind.
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.
