One of my core principles as an Illinois attorney is to remember that people don’t know what they don’t know. So I don’t assume they know things that I deal with every day and I certainly do not think less of anyone that makes a bad legal decision or is not aware how things work.

A lot of this approach stems from the very first Illinois workers’ compensation case I was involved with. I became licensed as a lawyer in 1997, but my first exposure to Illinois work comp law was actually as an 18-year-old in 1990.

I had graduated high school and was working as a waiter at Bennigan’s. I think there is only one location still in Illinois, in Elgin, but back then they used to be all over. I primarily worked at the Northbrook location. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is comparable to an Applebees or TGI Fridays.

aIt was a good job for an 18-year-old and most of my co-workers were within a year or two of me so it was pretty social. One day I was walking into the kitchen from the dining area. There was a slope we walked down that was partially carpeted to try and help prevent falls and absorb spills.

One day I was walking back to the kitchen to pick up some food. The carpet bunched up and I slipped, landing hard on my back. I reported it right away to my manager. The next day my back was really hurting so I called off work. I was taken to the ER and the doctor there gave me some pain meds and took me off of work for a week.

I let my manager know what the doctor said and he seemed to be cool about it. He told me to come in the following week if I was feeling better. It was fortunately a very minor injury and I was back to work a week later. I only missed four shifts, although it was eight calendar days I was off.

I kept working with Bennigan’s even taking shifts over the holidays and coming back the next summer. I was 18 so I wasn’t thinking about the medical bill. I assume my parent’s insurance paid for it. It definitely was not paid for by the insurance company for Bennigan’s. And I did not get any payment for my time missed from work. Under Illinois law I was entitled to five days of payment. And nobody ever gave me a settlement. It probably would have been worth around $500 which was a lot of money to me at that point.

Although my impression of my manager at the time was that he was a good guy, I have come to realize that he was not looking out for me, but instead himself. He never told me a thing about work comp. He never filed a claim at all in fact. That is because he was under pressure to keep costs low. I know that now, but also from other things that he did.

We were pressured back then to allow them to charge us a certain amount per shift as a meal break. Basically they offered us discounted food. They would charge you this even if you didn’t eat. I did not want to participate because I did not normally eat there, but my manager said it would be helpful to him if I did. Basically this was a way for them to save on payroll taxes because it reduced our paychecks. Usually when I got a paycheck it was for less than $10 as a result.

He wasn’t a bad guy, but just looking out for himself, not a teenager who wouldn’t be there in a couple of months. It’s wrong, but I get it as it’s probably human nature. But there are some lessons I eventually learned:

  1. You can not expect your employer to look out for you. You have to be your own advocate and educate yourself.
  2. Even when an employer seems nice, that does not mean that they care about you or want to help you if it is against what is best for the company.
  3. While Illinois law requires an employer to post about your work comp rights and tell you who the insurance company is when you get hurt, that does not always happen.
  4. Most workers, like I was, just want to get healthy and back to work.

This experience, as small as it was, has really helped me as I’ve progressed in my legal career. I see similar patterns with people I talk to every day. It is especially true with temp workers or people who like me back then are working a job, not a career. The more disposable you are, the more likely it is that your employer will not look out for you.