Full Text of HB2698 99th General Assembly
HB2698eng 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning employment.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Section 14 as follows:
| 6 | | (820 ILCS 115/14) (from Ch. 48, par. 39m-14)
| 7 | | Sec. 14. (a) Any employee not timely paid wages, final | 8 | | compensation, or wage supplements by his or her employer as | 9 | | required by this Act shall be entitled to recover through a | 10 | | claim filed with the Department of Labor or in a civil action, | 11 | | but not both, the amount of any such underpayments and damages | 12 | | of 2% of the amount of any such underpayments for each month | 13 | | following the date of payment during which such underpayments | 14 | | remain unpaid. In a civil action, such employee shall also | 15 | | recover costs and all reasonable attorney's fees. | 16 | | (a-5) In addition to the remedies provided in subsections | 17 | | (a), (b), and (c) of this Section, any employer or any agent of | 18 | | an employer, who, being able to pay wages,
final compensation, | 19 | | or wage supplements and being under a duty to pay,
wilfully | 20 | | refuses to pay as provided in this Act, or falsely denies the
| 21 | | amount or validity thereof or that the same is due, with intent | 22 | | to secure
for himself or other person any underpayment of such | 23 | | indebtedness or with
intent to annoy, harass, oppress, hinder, |
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| 1 | | delay or defraud the person to
whom such indebtedness is due, | 2 | | upon conviction, is guilty of: | 3 | | (1) for unpaid wages, final compensation or wage | 4 | | supplements in the amount of $5,000 or less, a Class 4 | 5 | | felony B misdemeanor ; or | 6 | | (2) for unpaid wages, final compensation or wage | 7 | | supplements in the amount of more than $5,000, a Class 4 | 8 | | felony A misdemeanor . | 9 | | Each day during which any violation of this Act continues
| 10 | | shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
| 11 | | Any employer or any agent of an employer who violates this | 12 | | Section of the Act a subsequent time within 5 2 years of a | 13 | | prior criminal conviction under this Section is guilty, upon | 14 | | conviction, of a Class 3 4 felony. | 15 | | (b) Any employer who has been demanded or ordered by the | 16 | | Department or ordered by the court
to pay wages, final | 17 | | compensation, or wage supplements due an employee shall be | 18 | | required to pay a non-waivable administrative fee to the | 19 | | Department of Labor in the amount of $250 if the amount ordered | 20 | | by the Department as wages owed is $3,000 or less; $500 if the | 21 | | amount ordered by the Department as wages owed is more than | 22 | | $3,000, but less than $10,000; and $1,000 if the amount ordered | 23 | | by the Department as wages owed is $10,000 or more. Any | 24 | | employer who has been so demanded or ordered by the Department | 25 | | or ordered by a court to pay such wages, final compensation, or | 26 | | wage supplements and who fails to seek timely review of such a |
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| 1 | | demand or order as provided for under this Act and who fails to | 2 | | comply within 15 calendar days after such demand or within 35 | 3 | | days of an administrative or court order is entered shall also | 4 | | be liable to pay a penalty to the Department of Labor of 20% of | 5 | | the amount found owing and a penalty to the employee of 1% per | 6 | | calendar day of the amount found owing for each day of delay in | 7 | | paying such wages to the employee. All moneys recovered as fees | 8 | | and civil penalties under this Act, except those owing to the | 9 | | affected employee, shall be deposited into the Wage Theft | 10 | | Enforcement Fund, a special fund which is hereby created in the | 11 | | State treasury. Moneys in the Fund may be used only for | 12 | | enforcement of this Act.
| 13 | | (b-5) Penalties and fees under this Section may be assessed | 14 | | by the Department and recovered in a civil action brought by | 15 | | the Department in any circuit court or in any administrative | 16 | | adjudicative proceeding under this Act. In any such civil | 17 | | action or administrative adjudicative proceeding under this | 18 | | Act, the Department shall be represented by the Attorney | 19 | | General.
| 20 | | (c) Any employer, or any agent of an employer, who | 21 | | discharges
or in any other manner discriminates against any | 22 | | employee because
that employee
has made a complaint to his | 23 | | employer, to the Director of Labor or his
authorized | 24 | | representative, in a public hearing, or to a community | 25 | | organization that he or she has not been paid in accordance
| 26 | | with the provisions of this Act, or because that employee has |
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| 1 | | caused to
be instituted any proceeding under or related to this | 2 | | Act, or because that
employee has testified or is about to | 3 | | testify in an investigation or proceeding
under this Act, is | 4 | | guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C misdemeanor. An employee | 5 | | who has been unlawfully retaliated against shall be entitled to | 6 | | recover through a claim filed with the Department of Labor or | 7 | | in a civil action, but not both, all legal and equitable relief | 8 | | as may be appropriate. In a civil action, such employee shall | 9 | | also recover costs and all reasonable attorney's fees.
| 10 | | (Source: P.A. 98-527, eff. 1-1-14.)
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