Illinois workers’ compensation law is very, very clear. Everyone is covered the moment they start working. A day one worker has the same Illinois work comp rights as a 30 year veteran.
That doesn’t stop employers from telling workers that if they are on probation, they might not have rights. That’s a crock. The most recent example that came to us involved a rather chicken-shit boss. He was afraid to out and out say you don’t have a case, so he hemmed and hawed and said, “I’m going to have to look into it to see if you are eligible since you haven’t hit the 90 days yet. I don’t think you are. In the meantime sit tight and we’ll see what we can do if anything.”
Now I know this person knows that they are full of it because they work at a big plant that employs a lot of temporary and seasonal workers. They also have a lot of turnover and a lot of workers’ compensation claims filed against them. He knows the law and has the ability to be straight forward with his workers. He was probably told by his boss to reduce work accidents. In his mind, if you don’t get to pursue a claim then you weren’t really hurt.
Let me be as clear as I can be, being on probation doesn’t take away your rights under Illinois workers’ compensation law! If it did, they’d just make everyone a probationary worker and in reality that’s how almost every non union job works anyway.
It also doesn’t matter if you get hurt in the first 90 days. Or if you are seasonal. Or part time. Or temporary. Or anything else.
What does matter is how you got hurt and what your injury is. Those are the things that determine if bringing a work comp case makes sense.
It’s truly gross and shameful how many employers will lie to their workers or twist the truth. There is absolutely no reason to try and disenfranchise a worker who has been legitimately hurt while the company benefits.
Whatever happens, don’t trust what they say and don’t stress over what they say. The good news is that we can always file a claim with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. Once that happens, the nonsense will stop and the law will get applied. That means you’ll get the care you need. You won’t pay a penny for it. If you can’t work, you’ll get compensated for your time off, no matter how long it lasts. And eventually you’ll get a settlement for how the injury has affected you.
