Collecting Unpaid Wages Gets Easier in Illinois

Gavel over money

It is about to get a lot easier for employees to collect on back wages here in Illinois on January 1, 2011. The new law will cover wage theft, a term used when an employer doesn’t pay a worker the wages they have earned.
Illinois workers can now go straight to court to collect unpaid wages, as well as their legal fees, rather than first filing a complaint with the state.

  • Employees can now sue not only the company but also an individual owner
  • Small cases, for less than $3,000, are handled by the Illinois Department of Labor, which will streamline its process to help collect unpaid wages more quickly
  • This new law also increases penalties and criminal charges, as well as fines and interest on past-due wages the for employers