Misclassification of Work in Workers' Comp
Hurt On the Job, But Your Employer Says It Isn’t Their Problem?
If you get hurt in the course of your job and you’re an employee, your employer owes you Workers’ Compensation benefits to help you recover and financially survive.
If you’re not an employee but an independent contractor, they’re off the hook.
It sounds simple, but some employers try to skirt their responsibility by illegally misclassifying you as an independent contractor when you’re actually an employee.
Why do employers do this? Usually, it’s to save themselves money, because non-employees don’t require:
- Workers’ Comp coverage
- Unemployment benefits
- Social Security and tax withholding
- Compliance with minimum wage and overtime regulations
If this is happening to you, don’t let them get away with it. You deserve those benefits so you can move on with your life.
The lawyers at Schiro & Themer will fight back for you. We help people in Springfield-Decatur, Champaign-Urbana, Danville and across Central Illinois.
So How Can You Tell if You’re an Employee?
The question of whether you’re an employee or independent contractor is more complex than you might think. It requires an analysis of many legal factors.
Simply because you may have signed a document that says you’re an independent contractor, it does not rule you out for Workers’ Comp benefits.
These are just some of the many factors involved:
- The degree of control exercised over your work
- Whether tools are provided to you
- How you are paid
If you’ve been injured on the job but told you can’t get benefits because you’re an independent contractor, don’t just take their word for it.
Let the lawyers at Schiro & Themer look at your case and see if you still should be getting Workers’ Comp benefits.
It costs you nothing just to talk to us about your situation.
What if My Employer Doesn’t Have Workers’ Comp Insurance?
If your employer knowingly and willfully fails to obtain Workers’ Comp insurance, they can be fined up to $500 per day, with the minimum fine being $10,000.
If your employer doesn’t pay, individual corporate officers can also be held liable for the fines owed.
In addition, officers who negligently fail to obtain insurance can be convicted of a misdemeanor. If it’s found they knowingly failed to obtain insurance, they can be convicted of a Class 4 felony.
As you can see, the consequences are serious for employers who try to avoid their responsibilities to employees.
If My Employer Misclassifies Me as an Independent Contractor, What Do I Do?
If your employer is wrongly treating you as an independent contractor — or they failed to pay into the Workers’ Comp system as they should have — the lawyers at Schiro & Themer have the experience to attack the problem.
The Workers’ Comp system in Illinois is complicated. All the rules and laws involved are complicated.
But you shouldn’t have to put up with an employer doing something improper.
To get the maximum benefits you’re owned, work with lawyers who deal with this system every day.