Sen. Miguel del Valle
Filed: 2/1/2006
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| 1 | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2339
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| 2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2339 by replacing | ||||||
| 3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| 4 | "Section 5. The Minimum Wage Law is amended by changing | ||||||
| 5 | Section 12 as follows:
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| 6 | (820 ILCS 105/12) (from Ch. 48, par. 1012)
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| 7 | Sec. 12. (a) If any employee is paid by his employer less | ||||||
| 8 | than the wage
to which he is entitled under the provisions of | ||||||
| 9 | this Act, the employee may
recover in a civil
action the amount | ||||||
| 10 | of any such underpayments together with costs and such
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| 11 | reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the Court, and | ||||||
| 12 | any
agreement between him and his employer to work for less | ||||||
| 13 | than such wage is
no defense to such action. At the request of | ||||||
| 14 | the employee or on motion
of the Director of Labor, the
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| 15 | Department of Labor may make an assignment of such wage claim | ||||||
| 16 | in trust for
the assigning employee and may bring any legal | ||||||
| 17 | action necessary to collect
such claim, and the employer shall | ||||||
| 18 | be required to pay the costs incurred in
collecting such claim. | ||||||
| 19 | Every such action shall be brought within
3 years from the date | ||||||
| 20 | of the underpayment. Such employer shall be liable
to the | ||||||
| 21 | Department of Labor for 20% of the total employer's | ||||||
| 22 | underpayment
and shall be additionally
liable to the employee | ||||||
| 23 | for punitive damages in the amount of 2% of the amount
of any | ||||||
| 24 | such underpayments for each month following the date of payment
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| 1 | during which such underpayments
remain unpaid, and the employee | ||||||
| 2 | may recover such punitive damages in any proceeding or action | ||||||
| 3 | allowed by any provision of this subsection, including, but not | ||||||
| 4 | limited to, a civil action filed directly by the employee. The | ||||||
| 5 | Director may promulgate rules for the collection of these
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| 6 | penalties. The amount of a penalty may be determined, and the | ||||||
| 7 | penalty may be
assessed, through an administrative hearing. The | ||||||
| 8 | penalty may be recovered in a
civil action brought by the | ||||||
| 9 | Director of Labor in any circuit court. The penalty
shall be | ||||||
| 10 | imposed in cases in which an employer's conduct is proven by a
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| 11 | preponderance of the evidence to be willful. In any
such | ||||||
| 12 | action, the Director of Labor shall be represented by the | ||||||
| 13 | Attorney
General.
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| 14 | (b) The Director is authorized to supervise the payment of | ||||||
| 15 | the unpaid
minimum wages and the unpaid overtime compensation | ||||||
| 16 | owing to any employee
or employees under Sections 4 and 4a of | ||||||
| 17 | this Act and may bring any legal
action necessary to recover | ||||||
| 18 | the amount of the unpaid minimum wages and unpaid
overtime | ||||||
| 19 | compensation and an equal additional amount as punitive | ||||||
| 20 | damages,
and the employer shall be required to pay the costs.
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| 21 | The action shall be brought within 5 years from the date of the | ||||||
| 22 | failure to
pay
the wages or compensation.
Any sums thus | ||||||
| 23 | recovered
by the Director on behalf of an employee pursuant to | ||||||
| 24 | this subsection shall
be paid to the employee or employees | ||||||
| 25 | affected. Any sums which, more than one
year after being thus | ||||||
| 26 | recovered, the Director is unable to pay to
an employee shall | ||||||
| 27 | be deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
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| 28 | (Source: P.A. 92-392, eff. 1-1-02.)
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| 29 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 30 | becoming law.".
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