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| Public Act 101-0509 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning employment.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act is | ||||
amended by changing Section 11 and by adding Section 4.1 as | ||||
follows: | ||||
(820 ILCS 115/4.1 new) | ||||
Sec. 4.1. Gratuities. | ||||
(a) Gratuities to employees are the property of the
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employees, and employers shall not keep gratuities. Failure to
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pay gratuities owed to an employee more than 13 days after the
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end of the pay period in which such gratuities were earned
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constitutes a violation of this Act. | ||||
(b) This Section does not prohibit an employer from
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withholding from gratuities paid by credit card a proportionate
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amount of any credit card processing fees that the employer
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must pay in connection with the transaction, provided that the
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amount withheld does not exceed the proportion of the amount of
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the tip to the amount of the overall bill, regardless of
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whether the overall bill was paid using a credit card. This
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Section does not prohibit tip pooling as permitted by law. This
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Section does not affect an employer's entitlement to an
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allowance for gratuities to the extent permitted under
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subsection (c) of Section 4 of the Minimum Wage Law.
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(820 ILCS 115/11) (from Ch. 48, par. 39m-11)
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Sec. 11. It shall be the duty of the Department of Labor to | ||
inquire diligently
for any violations of this Act, and to | ||
institute the actions for penalties
herein provided, and to | ||
enforce generally the provisions of this Act.
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An employee may file a complaint with the Department | ||
alleging violations of the Act by submitting a signed, | ||
completed wage claim application on the form provided by the | ||
Department and by submitting copies of all supporting | ||
documentation. Complaints shall be filed within one year after | ||
the wages, final compensation, or wage supplements were due. | ||
Applications shall be reviewed by the Department to | ||
determine whether there is cause for investigation.
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The Department shall have the following powers:
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(a) To investigate and attempt equitably to adjust | ||
controversies between
employees and employers in respect | ||
of wage claims arising under this Act
and to that end the | ||
Department through the Director of Labor or any other
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person in the Department of Labor designated by him or her, | ||
shall have the
power to administer oaths, subpoena and | ||
examine witnesses, to issue subpoenas
duces tecum | ||
requiring the production of such books, papers, records and
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documents as may be evidence of any matter under inquiry | ||
and to examine and
inspect the same as may relate to the | ||
question in dispute. Service of such
subpoenas shall be | ||
made by any sheriff or any person. Any
court in this State, | ||
upon the application of the Department
may compel | ||
attendance of witnesses, the
production of books and | ||
papers, and the giving of testimony before the
Department | ||
by attachment for contempt or in any other way as the | ||
production
of evidence may be compelled before such court.
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(b) To take assignments of wage claims in the name of | ||
the Director of
Labor and his or her successors in office | ||
and prosecute actions for the
collection of wages for | ||
persons financially unable to prosecute such claims when in
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the judgment of the Department such claims are valid and | ||
enforceable in the
courts. No court costs or any fees for | ||
necessary process and
proceedings shall be payable in | ||
advance by the Department for prosecuting
such actions. In | ||
the event there is a judgment rendered against the
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defendant, the court shall assess as part of such judgment | ||
the costs of
such proceeding. Upon collection of such | ||
judgments the Department shall pay
from the proceeds of | ||
such judgment such costs to such person who is by law
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entitled to same. The Department may join in a single | ||
proceeding any number
of wage claims against the same | ||
employer but the court shall have
discretionary power to | ||
order a severance or separate trial for hearings.
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(c) To make complaint in any court of competent | ||
jurisdiction of
violations of this Act.
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(d) In addition to the aforementioned powers, subject | ||
to appropriation, the Department may establish an | ||
administrative procedure to adjudicate claims and to issue | ||
final and binding administrative decisions on such claims | ||
subject to the Administrative Review Law. To establish such | ||
a procedure, the Director of Labor or her or his authorized | ||
representative may promulgate rules and regulations. The | ||
adoption, amendment or rescission of rules and regulations | ||
for such a procedure shall be in conformity with the | ||
requirements of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. | ||
If a final and binding administrative decision issued by | ||
the Department requires an employer or other party to pay | ||
wages, penalties, or other amounts in connection with a | ||
wage claim, and the employer or other party has neither: | ||
(i) made the required payment within 35 days of the | ||
issuance of the final and binding administrative decision; | ||
nor (ii) timely filed a complaint seeking review of the | ||
final and binding administrative decision pursuant to the | ||
Administrative Review Law in a court of competent | ||
jurisdiction, the Department may file a verified petition | ||
against the employer or other party to enforce the final | ||
administrative decision and to collect any amounts due in | ||
connection therewith in the circuit court of any county | ||
where an official office of the Department is located. | ||
Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any employee | ||
from making
complaint or prosecuting his or her own claim for | ||
wages. Any employee aggrieved by a violation of this Act or any | ||
rule adopted under this Act may file suit in circuit court of | ||
Illinois, in the county where the alleged violation occurred or | ||
where any employee who is party to the action resides, without | ||
regard to exhaustion of any alternative administrative | ||
remedies provided in this Act. Actions may be brought by one or | ||
more employees for and on behalf of themselves and other | ||
employees similarly situated.
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Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the authority of | ||
the State's
attorney of any county to prosecute actions for | ||
violation of this Act or
to enforce the provisions thereof | ||
independently and without specific direction
of the Department | ||
of Labor.
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(Source: P.A. 98-527, eff. 1-1-14.)
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