Board of Ed. of City of Chicago v. Industrial Commission, 44967

• Decision Date: 30 November 1972
• Docket Number: No. 44967,44967
• Citation: 290 N.E.2d 247,53 Ill.2d 167
• Parties: The BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the CITY OF CHICAGO, Appellee, v. The INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION et al. Appeal of Joyce BREWER.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 247

290 N.E.2d 247

53 Ill.2d 167

The BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the CITY OF CHICAGO, Appellee, v. The INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION et al. Appeal of Joyce BREWER.

No. 44967.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Nov. 30, 1972.

Lewis P. Gaines, Chicago, for appellants.

James W. Coffey, Chicago (James E. Riley, Chicago, of counsel), for appellee.

UNDERWOOD, Chief Justice:

An arbitrator for the Industrial Commission awarded workmen's compensation benefits to the claimant, Joyce Brewer, for injuries she sustained in a fall at the Nobel School in Chicago. The award was affirmed by the Industrial Commission but was reversed on review by the circuit court of Cook County. The claimant appeals from the order of reversal.

In September of 1968 the claimant started her second year at DePaul University in a course leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education. At the suggestion of her academic counselor at DePaul, she made application to do volunteer work in the public schools in the 'Volunteers in the Chicago Public Schools' program sponsored by the appellant, Board of Education of Chicago. The purpose of the program was to encourage citizens in various walks of life to donate their time and abilities to the public schools so that teachers might have more time to spend with their students. Volunteers received no pay and were not otherwise compensated in any manner.

In her application, which was entitled 'Volunteers in the Chicago Public Schools--An Opportunity to Serve in the Chicago Public School of Your Choice', the claimant chose the Nobel School and selected a number of types of activities which she preferred to do, all of which included assisting teachers and staff in various ways. During the course of an interview with the director of the volunteer program she discussed her reasons for wanting to be a teacher's aide, explained what talents she had to give to the program, indicated what days and hours she would be willing to work and expressed her desire to become a teacher upon completion of her schooling at DePaul in December of 1970. She also indicated that she would be willing to give 100 hours of her time to the program in the hope that at the end of that period she would be found acceptable to the Board of Education for future employment as a teacher.

Her application was approved, and shortly thereafter she commenced her volunteer work after her classes were over at DePaul, working from 1:00 to 3:15 P.M. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Nobel School. Upon arriving at the school each day, she reported to the principal, who told her where she was to go and what she was to do that day. On days that she could not come in, she phoned the office to let them know she would not be there. She testified that during the period of approximately four months during which she participated in the program, her activities at the school varied widely. They included assisting teachers in the classroom, teaching English to foreign students, acting as a substitute teacher at times when the teachers were not present, supervising playground activities, correcting homework papers, taking attendance, and escorting students to the principal's office for disciplinary reasons. She kept a notebook record of the dates, number of hours and activities which she performed each day.

On January 23, 1969, the claimant was substituting for a teacher in a third-floor classroom when she was requested by the principal to report to the kindergarten room located on the first floor. While enroute down a flight of stairs, she slipped on a piece of paper and fell down the stairway, fracturing her left ankle. Complications set in necessitating surgery and hospitalization on four different occasions. The extent of her injury is not disputed.

After her injury, the claimant did no further volunteer work at the Nobel School. However, she did return to the school to obtain the signature of the assistant principal on a form entitled 'School of Education--DePaul University--100 Hours Requirement' which read as follows: 'This is to certify that Joyce B. Brewer has participated in the activities indicated below for a period of one-hundred hours (100 hours) at Nobel Elementary School under our supervision . . . Miss Brewer worked with a group of foreign students as a tutor and remedial assistant on a regular basis. In addition she supervised our recess periods in the playground. During her Christmas vacation she worked with eight primary grade students as a remedial tutor for reading readiness. She also acted as a substitute teacher for us. She also assisted in kindergarten play activities and supervision whenever her aid was necessary. All of her activities were performed under my supervision and approval, and she was responsible to me in the performance of all of her tasks as a public school volunteer.' This document was filed among her records at DePaul.

The sole issue in dispute is whether the claimant was an employee of the Board of Education within the meaning of the Workmen's Compensation Act. In section 138.1(b)(1) of the Act, the term 'employee' is defined to include persons 'in the service of' a school district 'under appointment or contract of hire, express or implied, oral or...