Back in May, there was an article in the Chicago Tribune about a former Highland Park employee who understandably had PTSD after being present for the awful Fourth of July shooting back in 2022.
Now this post doesn’t apply to them as they were smart enough to hire a workers’ compensation lawyer. And as the article states, they negotiated a severance/settlement agreement due to alleged issues in them dealing with his post shooting mental health issues. It looks like that case and the work comp case resolved together which is common.
But what we see a lot happening with other workers is they have a job injury in Illinois and also get fired for sketchy reasons, often having nothing to do with the work comp case. So they get offered a severance and take it because they need the money or they want out.
A typical severance agreement says something to the effect of, “By signing you, the employee, give up your right to pursue any legal action against us, the company, for any reason. In exchange you are getting this severance compensation.”
Some of these agreements even state that you agree you don’t have a workers’ compensation case against them or give up your rights to pursue a work comp claim if you have one. They are of course written heavily in favor of the employer because their lawyers write them up.
That said, under Illinois law, the only way to settle a work comp claim or give up your rights to continue to pursue one is through a settlement agreement at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.
In other words, just because your severance document says you can’t pursue work comp doesn’t make it true. They can’t enforce a document that violates the law. And the law is very clear that the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission is the only place where you can resolve your work comp case.
That doesn’t mean that the severance agreement can’t be used against you. By stating you agree you don’t have any active work injuries, you might create a defense against any claim. But if anyone tells you the severance bars you from filing work comp benefits or continuing to pursue them, they are either lying or don’t know what they are talking about.
This is reason #7,258 why it’s important for you to have at least a consultation with a lawyer to learn what your rights are and make educated decisions before it’s too late. If you’d like a free one with us, call any time, 312-346-5578. We help with cases everywhere in Illinois.
