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| [ Introduced ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
92_SB0281eng SB281 Engrossed LRB9206470WHcs 1 AN ACT concerning wages. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Minimum Wage Law is amended by changing 5 Section 12 as follows: 6 (820 ILCS 105/12) (from Ch. 48, par. 1012) 7 Sec. 12. (a) If any employee is paid by his employer 8 less than the wage to which he is entitled under the 9 provisions of this Act, the employee may recover in a civil 10 action the amount of any such underpayments together with 11 costs and such reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed 12 by the Court, and any agreement between him and his employer 13 to work for less than such wage is no defense to such action. 14 At the request of the employee or on motion of the Director 15 of Labor, the Department of Labor may make an assignment of 16 such wage claim in trust for the assigning employee and may 17 bring any legal action necessary to collect such claim, and 18 the employer shall be required to pay the costs incurred in 19 collecting such claim. Every such action shall be brought 20 within 3 years from the date of the underpayment. Such 21 employer shall be liable to the Department of Labor for 20% 22 of the total employer's underpayment and shall be 23 additionally liable to the employee for punitive damages in 24 the amount of 2% of the amount of any such underpayments for 25 each month following the date of payment during which such 26 underpayments remain unpaid. The Director may promulgate 27 rules for the collection of these penalties. The amount of a 28 penalty may be determined, and the penalty may be assessed, 29 through an administrative hearing. The penalty may be 30 recovered in a civil action brought by the Director of Labor 31 in any circuit court. The penalty shall be imposed in cases SB281 Engrossed -2- LRB9206470WHcs 1 in which an employer's conduct is proven by a preponderance 2 of the evidence to be willful. In any such action, the 3 Director of Labor shall be represented by the Attorney 4 General. 5 (b) The Director is authorized to supervise the payment 6 of the unpaid minimum wages and the unpaid overtime 7 compensation owing to any employee or employees under 8 Sections 4 and 4a of this Act and may bring any legal action 9 necessary to recover the amount of the unpaid minimum wages 10 and unpaid overtime compensation and an equal additional 11 amount as punitive damages, and the employer shall be 12 required to pay the costs. The action shall be brought within 13 3 years from the date of the failure to pay the wages or 14 compensation. Any sums thus recovered by the Director on 15 behalf of an employee pursuant to this subsection shall be 16 paid to the employee or employees affected. Any sums which, 17 more than one year after being thus recovered, the Director 18 is unable to pay to an employee shall be deposited into the 19 General Revenue Fund. 20 (Source: P.A. 88-431.)