Illinois: Truck Driver Was Independent Contractor, Not Employee

In a decision that could have an impact on any Uber/Lyft litigation within the state of Illinois, an appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission’s finding that a truck driver was an independent contractor rather than an employee, and that the Commission did not err by denying the claimant workers’ compensation benefits where evidence showed that the employer did not tell the claimant what route to take when making deliveries, the claimant decided his own schedule for transporting the delivery, and where the claimant was able to pick and choose when he wanted to drive and did not have to accept every load that was offered to him. The court also observed that the claimant owned his own truck and was responsible for all operational expenses. Claimant paid for insurance on the truck and the parties’ agreement stated that the claimant was an independent contractor.

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., the Feature National Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter, is the co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

LexisNexis Online Subscribers: Citations below link to Lexis Advance. Bracketed citations link to lexis.com.

See Esquinca v. Illinois Workers’ Comp. Comm’n, 2016 IL App (1st) 150706WC, 2016 Ill. App. LEXIS 60 (Feb. 11, 2016) [2016 IL App (1st) 150706WC, 2016 Ill. App. LEXIS 60 (Feb. 11, 2016)]

See generally Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 61.03 [61.03]

Source: Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the nation’s leading authority on workers’ compensation law.

For more information about LexisNexis products and solutions connect with us through our corporate site