Articles Discussing Illinois Wage & Hour Laws.

The state’s Equal Pay Registration Certificate requirements of the Equal Pay Act will take effect March 24, 2022, according to the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL). A number of employers have received IDOL notices that they were selected for the first registration deadline: May 25, 2022.

Illinois requires businesses with

An amendment to the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 requires that, beginning March 23, 2024, employers with more than 100 employees in Illinois must certify compliance with the Equal Pay Act by obtaining an Equal Pay registration certificate from the state Department of Labor.

Under the amendment signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker

An amendment to the Illinois Equal Pay Act expands the Act’s scope and prohibits employers in Illinois from requesting information about a job applicant’s prior compensation.

The Lifting Up Illinois Working Families Act amends the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) to raise the state minimum wage in stages until it reaches $15.00 per hour. While the amendments’ increases to the minimum wage have received significant coverage, some of the most important changes to the IMWL should not be overlooked by employers. The Act also raises the damages available to employees for violations of the IMWL and allows the state labor department to conduct random audits.

As anticipated, today Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the “Lifting Up Illinois Working Families Act,” under which the state’s minimum wage will increase to $15.00 per hour over the next six years. Under the law, the hourly minimum wage will increase to $9.25 on January 1, 2020; to $10.00 on July 1, 2020; to $11.00 on January 1, 2021; and an additional $1.00 per hour each January 1st thereafter, until reaching $15.00 on January 1, 2025.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Lifting Up Illinois Working Families Act into law on February 19, 2019. The Act gradually increases the minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next six years. Illinois is now the fifth state (after California, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts) to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. While the Act is receiving a lot of press for the minimum wage increase, it makes other changes to Illinois law about which Illinois employers must also be aware.

The Illinois state legislature passed House Bill (HB) 2462 which would prevent employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s salary history and lower the burden on employees claiming equal pay violations. The Bill now awaits Governor Bruce Rauner’s signature.

The Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) generally provides that non-exempt employees must be paid one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. However, on July 10, 2015, Governor Rauner signed legislation amending the IMWL as it pertains to public employees who are members of a bargaining unit recognized by the Illinois Labor Relations Board.

Following a developing nationwide trend, on September 3, 2014, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel signed an executive order that will require City of Chicago contractors and concessionaries (those operating retail businesses on City property) to pay a minimum wage of $13 per hour to all employees. The September 3 executive order is anticipated to affect approximately 1,000 employees who perform work for the City in areas such as landscaping, maintenance, security, concessions, and custodial work.

Payroll debit cards, or paycards, work similarly to credit cards or bank debit cards. Every payday, the employer loads the card with the net wages the employee is due to receive. The employee then has a choice to go to a bank and withdraw the entire sum, or to use the card as one would use a credit card or debit card at retail locations or automated teller machines. Depending on the manner in which a paycard is used, and the bank that issues the paycard, fees may attach to certain uses of a paycard. Because paycards offer a convenient method of payment to “unbanked” employees and avoid the administrative costs of issuing paper checks, payroll debit cards are increasingly used by many employers.