State News : Illinois

By: Kisa P. Sthankiya

In Safeway Scaffolding/Safeway Services, LLC v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, 2025 IL App (5th) 250298WC-U, the claimant sought benefits pursuant to §19(b) of the Workers’ Compensation Act, 820 ILCS 305/1, et seq., for injuries sustained to his low back. The claimant was employed as an insulator and sustained an undisputed low back injury on October 26, 2018. He underwent an L4 through S1 lumbar spine fusion surgery on February 11, 2019, and was authorized to return to work on May 17, 2019, with a 20-pound lifting restriction and to avoid repetitive bending, stooping, or twisting.

On June 6, 2019, a light duty assignment was made commencing on June 10, 2019. The claimant testified that he did not appear on June 10, 2019, due to a flood that caused bridge and ferry closures causing a 4-hour drive to work, and he had a 30-minute sitting restriction. He also testified that the job was a sham offer based on his situational experience. The respondent’s witness testified that the light duty job assignment was within the claimant’s restrictions and consisted of necessary tasks and was not a sham. He also testified that the position required making and trimming bandings. The job did not require any lifting.

Dr. Coyle amended the restrictions on July 2, 2019, to include 30 pounds lifting and intermittent sitting, standing, and walking every 30 minutes.

On July 7, 2019, the claimant contacted the employer and left a voicemail that he would return to work in a light-duty capacity. The employer did not respond to this call.

The claimant continued to treat thereafter until October 14, 2019, when he was released to maximum medical improvement by Dr. Coyle. He recommended the claimant seek physiatrist treatment if necessary.

Thereafter, the claimant was examined by Dr. Wayne at respondent’s request. He opined that the claimant could have returned to work light duty on May 17, 2019, and full duty as of October 14, 2019.

On January 10, 2020, the respondent sent an email offering to bring the claimant back to work full duty consistent with Dr. Wayne’s opinions. There was no restriction on driving, and they believed the claimant could pull over if he had issues driving to work.

The claimant testified that he wanted to proceed with additional treatment as recommended by Dr. Coyle. He understood he had been offered a job to return to work full duty. However, he did not believe he would be able to perform the job of an insulator and requested vocational rehabilitation services.

The arbitrator determined that the claimant had sustained a compensable accident and that his condition was causally related but that no further treatment was necessary. Medical benefits were awarded through the date of maximum medical improvement (MMI) of October 14, 2019. The arbitrator believed the petitioner could return to work full duty based on both Dr. Coyle and Dr. Wayne’s inability to find any explanation for the claimant’s alleged low-back pain when sitting. He also found significant Dr. Wayne’s findings of symptom magnification and Dr. Coyle’s opinions that the claimant did very well after surgery, could walk seven miles a day, and was in excellent health and physical condition. Prospective medical treatment was denied. Additionally, the arbitrator denied the claimant temporary total disability (TTD) after his refusal to return to work in a light-duty assignment after July 8, 2019. The arbitrator also denied vocational rehabilitation benefits.

The Commission affirmed and adopted the arbitrator's decision with certain modifications. On review, the circuit court of Madison County found that the Commission’s award of TTD benefits and its denial of maintenance benefits and vocational rehabilitation were against the manifest weight of the evidence. The court concluded that the claimant had not declined the light-duty job offered by the respondent.

On appeal, the respondent raised two principal issues. First, the Commission’s finding that the claimant’s refusal for light-duty work restrictions was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. Secondly, the Commission’s decision to deny maintenance and vocational rehabilitation services should be upheld.

The central issue before the court was whether the Commission’s denial of TTD benefits after July 8, 2019, was against the manifest weight of the evidence. Relying on Gallentine v. Industrial Commission, 201 Ill.App.3d 880, 559 N.E.2d 526, 147 Ill.Dec. 353 (2d Dist. 1990), and Presson v. Industrial Commission, 200 Ill.App.3d 876, 558 N.E.2d 127, 146 Ill.Dec. 164 (5th Dist. 1990), the court emphasized that the dispositive inquiry is whether the claimant’s unemployment results from medical incapacity or from a voluntary refusal of available work. Safeway, supra, 2025 IL App (5th) 250298WC-U at ¶27. They noted that the record supported the Commission’s conclusion that the claimant never intended to return to work for the respondent, notwithstanding repeated offers of light-duty and, later, full-duty employment. The claimant’s failure to report to work on June 10, 2019, his characterization of the position as a “sham,” and his lack of response to subsequent job offers collectively undermined his claim for continued TTD. They noted that the record supported that the job offer was not a sham given the respondent’s testimony. They noted that despite the offer that light duty work continued to be available, the claimant never presented for a light duty assignment.

Significantly, the court rejected the claimant’s argument that the absence of MMI was dispositive. While MMI often marks the natural endpoint of TTD, the court reiterated that it is not a prerequisite to the termination of TTD benefits. An employee who is medically capable of working within restrictions and who declines an offer for light duty work is not temporarily totally disabled within the meaning of the Workers’ Compensation Act, even if additional treatment is contemplated. 2025 IL App (5th) 250298WC-U at ¶54, citing Interstate Scaffolding, Inc. v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, 236 Ill.2d 132, 923 N.E.2d 266, 276, 337 Ill.Dec. 707 (2010) (TTD benefits may be “suspended or terminated if the employee refuses work falling within the physical restrictions prescribed by his doctor”).

The court also gave substantial deference to the Commission’s credibility determinations. The Commission reasonably discounted the claimant’s explanations for failing to report to work, particularly where certain restrictions were imposed only after the job offer was made and where medical evidence contradicted the claimant’s assertions regarding his inability to drive or sit. The Commission’s rejection of the “sham job” characterization was likewise supported by detailed testimony regarding the job’s duties and its consistency with the claimant’s restrictions.

Viewed collectively, the decision reinforces the evidentiary burden on claimants to demonstrate not only ongoing medical need but a genuine inability to work. It also confirms that well-documented, bona fide light-duty offers that have been declined can serve as a defense to a claim for TTD benefits.

The second issue concerned whether Commission’s original decision denying maintenance and vocational rehabilitation benefits was against the manifest weight of the evidence. The claimant argued that vocational rehabilitation was necessary because he could not return to his pre-injury job as an insulator and that the respondent failed to accommodate his restrictions. The court rejected this argument, holding that the Commission’s decision was not against the manifest weight of the evidence.

The court began by reiterating that vocational rehabilitation and maintenance are not automatic entitlements under §8(a) of the Workers’ Compensation Act. The claimant may only receive maintenance benefits while engaged in a prescribed vocation rehabilitation program. Rather, they are awarded where a work-related injury results in diminished earning capacity and where rehabilitation is reasonably likely to restore or increase that capacity. 2025 IL App (5th) 250298WC-U at ¶65, citing National Tea Co. v. Industrial Commission, 97 Ill.2d 424, 54 N.E.2d 672, 676, 73 Ill.Dec. 575 (1983). Importantly, maintenance benefits are incidental to participation in an approved vocational rehabilitation program and are payable only while the employee is actively engaged in such a program. Safeway, supra, 2025 IL App (5th) 250298WC-U at ¶65, citing Euclid Beverage v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, 2019 IL App (2d) 180090WC, ¶29, 124 N.E.3d 1027, 429 Ill.Dec. 517.

Here, the Commission found that vocational rehabilitation was neither necessary nor appropriate because the claimant was capable of returning to work within his restrictions and had been offered suitable employment by the respondent. The record demonstrated that the claimant’s skills and physical abilities were sufficient to obtain employment without additional training, particularly given medical opinions supporting a return to full duty. Moreover, the claimant’s failure to accept light-duty work supported the conclusion that he lacked the requisite intent to return to work — a factor that independently weighs against an award of vocational rehabilitation.

The court also distinguished this case from situations in which an employer refuses to provide suitable work after an employee expresses a willingness to return. Unlike cases such as Otto Baum Company, Inc. v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, 2011 IL App (4th) 100959WC, 960 N.E.2d 583, 355 Ill.Dec. 701, the evidence in this case showed that the respondent consistently maintained the availability of work within the claimant’s restrictions and communicated that availability through counsel as documented in an email. Safeway, supra, 2025 IL App (5th) 250298WC-U at ¶65. The claimant’s failure to respond to or pursue those offers precluded a finding that vocational rehabilitation was necessary.

The Commission’s original decision was reinstated and the matter remanded with directions.