Illegal aliens are entitled to Illinois Workers Compensation Benefits

The Illinois appellate court recently held in the case of Economy Packing v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission 387 Ill. App. 3d 283 that an illegal alien worker is entitled to receive Illinois Workers Compensation Benefits if he is injured on the job.  In that case the court knew that the illegal alien used false documents to obtain the job,and  by doing so did in fact violate the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act makes it a crime for an employer to knowingly hire an undocumented alien.  The act requires employers to verify that a newly hired person is authorized to work in the United States. It also requires the employer to fire the alien if the employer finds out the employee is illegal or becomes undocumented.

The court in the Economy case awarded substantial benefits to an illegal alien who falsified documents to get a job.

In Illinois if you are injured at work you should be entitled to benefits under the Illiniois Workers Compensation Act.

Illinois Jurisdiction for a Work Injury Occuring Outside Illinois

What happend if you are injured at work while outside of Illinois, Does the Illinois Workers Compensation Act apply to you ?

Illinois has jurisdiction over any work injury claim if 1) the contract for hire was made in Illinois 2) if the accident occurred in Illinois or 3) if the injured worker’s employment was principally located in Illinois.

How do you determine if the contract for hire occurred in Illinois? The contract for hire is made were the last act necessary for the formation of the contract occurred.  An example is when an Illinois resident is offered a job over the telephone to work in another state.  If All the paperwork to work at the out of state job is done via fax at the workers house in Illinois then the Illinois Workers Compensation act would apply. If they same worker was required to travel to the out of state employer and fill out employment forms and take and pass a drug test then the last act necessary for the contract of employment occurred out of sate and the worker would not enjoy the  Protection of the Illinois Workers Compensation Act.