Aug 2, 2010

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Illinois Adds Jail Time, DOL Authority to Wage Law

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has signed changes to the state’s Wage Payment and Collections Act that make repeat wage theft a felony, which makes employers eligible for jail time.

Under the beefed-up IWPCA, employers that violate the wage laws will have to pay employees back with interest1, and a $250 fine. If they’re caught more than once in a two-year period, they will be charged with a felony, and could face up to three years in jail.

While I’m not holding my breath waiting for the first imprisonment under the new law, there is another provision that could make for some real change: beginning next year, the Illinois Department of Labor will have the authority to adjudicate wage claims under $3,000,2  instead of issuing demands to employers that inevitably get ignored and then passing the case onto the Attorney General to prosecute.

Besides the growing pains that will inevitably come with this new authority, I am interested in what affect this will have on wage-and-hour lawsuits, which have been steamrolling through Illinois courts for years. My understanding is that the courts have allowed people to file private lawsuits for Wage Act violations without going through the DOL because the department couldn’t enforce its findings. Now that the DOL has adjudication powers, it will be interesting to see if lawsuits get thrown out for failure to exhaust administrative remedies first.

The DOL enforcement is supposed to be paid for through interest collected by the state for certain violations.

HT – WBEZ

1. 2% per month violated [↩]
2. Most wage claims are under $3,000. [↩]