An Illinois appeals court on Monday upheld workers compensation benefits for an ice cream plant employee who broke his foot while walking in sandals to a break room to charge his phone.
Shawn Anderson had clocked in at Ice Cream Specialties Inc. on Oct. 3, 2022, but had not changed into his work boots when he headed toward the break room. He stepped on a raised brick, slipped on soap and fractured his left foot, according to Ice Cream Specialties, Inc. v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, filed in the Illinois Appellate Court, 5th District, Workers’ Compensation Commission Division.
The employer argued that Mr. Anderson knowingly violated its footwear rules for his own convenience, taking him outside the scope of employment. A supervisor testified that sandals were prohibited and that he would have disciplined employees he saw wearing them.
The commission credited Mr. Anderson’s testimony that he understood the prohibition to apply while working, rather than walking to the break room. It also accepted his account that he and other workers had worn sandals along the route in view of managers without discipline.
The appeals court upheld those findings. The wet, soapy route was the only available path to the break room, where the employer allowed phone charging, and exposed employees to a risk associated with their work.
The court did not decide whether charging a phone qualified under the personal comfort doctrine. It found the employer’s acceptance of the activity sufficient to support the commission’s conclusion that the injury occurred in the course of employment.
The court affirmed 18 weeks of temporary total disability benefits, permanent partial disability benefits for a 25% loss of use of the left foot and medical expenses. The decision was issued as a nonprecedential order.
This article was first published by Business Insurance.
