Public Act 101-0509
 
HB3405 EnrolledLRB101 08167 JLS 53233 b

    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act is
amended by changing Section 11 and by adding Section 4.1 as
follows:
 
    (820 ILCS 115/4.1 new)
    Sec. 4.1. Gratuities.
    (a) Gratuities to employees are the property of the
employees, and employers shall not keep gratuities. Failure to
pay gratuities owed to an employee more than 13 days after the
end of the pay period in which such gratuities were earned
constitutes a violation of this Act.
    (b) This Section does not prohibit an employer from
withholding from gratuities paid by credit card a proportionate
amount of any credit card processing fees that the employer
must pay in connection with the transaction, provided that the
amount withheld does not exceed the proportion of the amount of
the tip to the amount of the overall bill, regardless of
whether the overall bill was paid using a credit card. This
Section does not prohibit tip pooling as permitted by law. This
Section does not affect an employer's entitlement to an
allowance for gratuities to the extent permitted under
subsection (c) of Section 4 of the Minimum Wage Law.
 
    (820 ILCS 115/11)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39m-11)
    Sec. 11. It shall be the duty of the Department of Labor to
inquire diligently for any violations of this Act, and to
institute the actions for penalties herein provided, and to
enforce generally the provisions of this Act.
    An employee may file a complaint with the Department
alleging violations of the Act by submitting a signed,
completed wage claim application on the form provided by the
Department and by submitting copies of all supporting
documentation. Complaints shall be filed within one year after
the wages, final compensation, or wage supplements were due.
    Applications shall be reviewed by the Department to
determine whether there is cause for investigation.
    The Department shall have the following powers:
        (a) To investigate and attempt equitably to adjust
    controversies between employees and employers in respect
    of wage claims arising under this Act and to that end the
    Department through the Director of Labor or any other
    person in the Department of Labor designated by him or her,
    shall have the power to administer oaths, subpoena and
    examine witnesses, to issue subpoenas duces tecum
    requiring the production of such books, papers, records and
    documents as may be evidence of any matter under inquiry
    and to examine and inspect the same as may relate to the
    question in dispute. Service of such subpoenas shall be
    made by any sheriff or any person. Any court in this State,
    upon the application of the Department may compel
    attendance of witnesses, the production of books and
    papers, and the giving of testimony before the Department
    by attachment for contempt or in any other way as the
    production of evidence may be compelled before such court.
        (b) To take assignments of wage claims in the name of
    the Director of Labor and his or her successors in office
    and prosecute actions for the collection of wages for
    persons financially unable to prosecute such claims when in
    the judgment of the Department such claims are valid and
    enforceable in the courts. No court costs or any fees for
    necessary process and proceedings shall be payable in
    advance by the Department for prosecuting such actions. In
    the event there is a judgment rendered against the
    defendant, the court shall assess as part of such judgment
    the costs of such proceeding. Upon collection of such
    judgments the Department shall pay from the proceeds of
    such judgment such costs to such person who is by law
    entitled to same. The Department may join in a single
    proceeding any number of wage claims against the same
    employer but the court shall have discretionary power to
    order a severance or separate trial for hearings.
        (c) To make complaint in any court of competent
    jurisdiction of violations of this Act.
        (d) In addition to the aforementioned powers, subject
    to appropriation, the Department may establish an
    administrative procedure to adjudicate claims and to issue
    final and binding administrative decisions on such claims
    subject to the Administrative Review Law. To establish such
    a procedure, the Director of Labor or her or his authorized
    representative may promulgate rules and regulations. The
    adoption, amendment or rescission of rules and regulations
    for such a procedure shall be in conformity with the
    requirements of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
    If a final and binding administrative decision issued by
    the Department requires an employer or other party to pay
    wages, penalties, or other amounts in connection with a
    wage claim, and the employer or other party has neither:
    (i) made the required payment within 35 days of the
    issuance of the final and binding administrative decision;
    nor (ii) timely filed a complaint seeking review of the
    final and binding administrative decision pursuant to the
    Administrative Review Law in a court of competent
    jurisdiction, the Department may file a verified petition
    against the employer or other party to enforce the final
    administrative decision and to collect any amounts due in
    connection therewith in the circuit court of any county
    where an official office of the Department is located.
    Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any employee
from making complaint or prosecuting his or her own claim for
wages. Any employee aggrieved by a violation of this Act or any
rule adopted under this Act may file suit in circuit court of
Illinois, in the county where the alleged violation occurred or
where any employee who is party to the action resides, without
regard to exhaustion of any alternative administrative
remedies provided in this Act. Actions may be brought by one or
more employees for and on behalf of themselves and other
employees similarly situated.
    Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the authority of
the State's attorney of any county to prosecute actions for
violation of this Act or to enforce the provisions thereof
independently and without specific direction of the Department
of Labor.
(Source: P.A. 98-527, eff. 1-1-14.)