Section 300.1210  Payment of Wages or Compensation Owed, Penalties, and Fees

a)         A respondent shall pay wages, compensation, penalties, or fees owed in either of the following manners:

1)         Mail two separate certified checks, cashier's checks, or money orders to pay the amount of wages or compensation owed to the office location designated by the Department. One certified check, cashier's check, or money order shall be for the amount of any wages or final compensation, less all required deductions for federal and State taxes and social security plus statutory damages and statutory penalties owed to the employee, made payable to: “[INSERT EMPLOYEE NAME] or Illinois Department of Labor", inserting the employee's name accordingly.  The second certified check, cashier's check, or money order shall be for the amount of any penalties and fees owed to the Department made payable to the "Illinois Department of Labor".

2)         Make two separate payment transactions using an electronic payment system designated by the Department for such payments. One transaction shall be for the amount of any wages owed or final compensation, less all required deductions for federal and State taxes and social security; plus statutory damages and statutory penalties owed to the employee, designated with the employee’s name. The second transaction shall be for the amount of any penalties and fees owed to the Department, designated as "Fines/Fees to IDOL".

b)         The Department shall make a good faith effort to find any aggrieved employee owed wages or other compensation. To aid the Department in locating all aggrieved employees, the Department may seek the last known address of the aggrieved employee from the employer and may require the employer to provide the Department with known contact information for an aggrieved employee. If an aggrieved employee cannot be found after one year from the date the payment from the employer is received by the Department, the money owed to that aggrieved employee shall be transferred to the Office of the Treasurer as unclaimed property, under the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act [765 ILCS 1026/15-201].

1)         For the purposes of this Section, "good faith effort" means that the Department took all necessary and reasonable steps to locate all aggrieved employees, including phone calls, electronic mail, and electronic searches for each aggrieved employee, even if those steps were not successful. "Good faith efforts" are those that one could reasonably expect from a person who is actively attempting to contact an aggrieved employee.

2)         Each respondent who provides wages, compensation, damages, penalties, or fees under this Section shall be assigned a vendor number by the Department.  The vendor number shall be communicated to the Illinois State Comptroller’s Office. When an aggrieved employee makes a valid request for payment to the Department, the Department shall use the vendor payment number to process payment on behalf of the aggrieved employee.  [820 ILCS 115/11.5(b)]

c)         When the Department can locate the claimant or other aggrieved employee, the Department shall remit payment of wages or other compensation owed within 120 days after the Department received such payment from the employer or located the claimant or other aggrieved employee.

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 5406, effective March 31, 2023)