Illinois Employer Fined Ten Grand For Lack of WC

Ah, the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission has penalized another Illinois employer for refusing to obtain Workers Compensation insurance. According to news reports, John Linek has pled guilty to a class four felony and been fined $10,000 for failing to obtain Workers Comp insurance for his business, SMS Logistics of Chicago.

It's one of the lesser-known responsibilities of the ILWCC, to investigate employers who appear to lack the required Workers Comp coverage. As the news article indicates, this employer was apparently given opportunities to obtain coverage and failed to do so, resulting in the eventual felony and fine. As a general rule, ILWCC tries to just get the non-conforming employer to obtain valid coverage. I don't know why this particular employer failed to obtain coverage, but as a general rule ILWCC is willing to give an employer the opportunity to correct the problem before seeking criminal sanctions.

It reminds me of a story I was told a few years ago, regarding the enforcement efforts of ILWCC. According to my sources, one investigator for ILWCC started checking the Workers Comp status of some popular bars around Springfield (our state capital) and discovered a number of them lacked the required coverage. But when enforcement proceedings were begun, some Illinois legislators tried to intervene on behalf of their favorite watering holes. Ultimately, I am told ILWCC stuck to their guns, and the legislators' favorite after-hours spots had to obtain Workers Comp coverage. Which is pleasantly surprising, given how my home state of Illinois sometimes works in regards to political influence.