I admire greatly not for profit companies and the work they do. One of my closest friends from college has worked for a not for profit Chicago hospital for almost 20 years and the work his company does is amazing.
The key word in the last paragraph is company. A not for profit is still a business. A recent caller to my office was told by his employer that because their company was a non profit organization, they didn’t have to pay workers’ compensation benefits.
This is simply false. If you are an employee in Illinois, no matter the type of business (except some farm workers and Chicago cops and firemen) you are covered under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act from the moment you start working. It doesn’t matter either if you are full or part time or if you are a manager.
And unless you are one of the owners of the business, you can’t waive your rights to receive benefits.
Unlike some business owners, I don’t think that the boss of my caller was bad intentioned, just misinformed. I believe she worked previously in a different state where this was the law.
But in Illinois, an employee is an employee. If you are told that you fall in to some magical exception that bars your rights, then you are probably being lied to or talking with someone who is misinformed.
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