Workers' Compensation

Workers’ compensation is a state-mandated insurance program that provides benefits to employees who suffer job-related injuries and illnesses. Each state has its own laws and programs for workers’ compensation. The federal government also has a separate workers’ comp program, mostly for federal employees.  Workers’ compensation basically provides wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee’s right to sue their employer for the tort of negligence. The trade-off between assured, limited coverage and lack of recourse outside the worker compensation system is known as “the compensation bargain”.The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) is the government agency that handles workers’ compensation claims between employees and employers in Illinois. The IWCC acts as an impartial administrative court that answers these claims.