Public Act 098-0862
 
HB5622 EnrolledLRB098 19212 JLS 54364 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 Sections 2 and 4 and  by adding Section 14.5 
as follows:
 



    (820 ILCS 115/2)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39m-2)



    Sec. 2. For all employees, other than separated employees, 
"wages"
shall be defined as any compensation owed an employee 
by an employer pursuant
to an employment contract or agreement 
between the 2 parties, whether
the amount is determined on a 
time, task, piece, or any other basis of
calculation.  Payments 
to separated employees shall be termed "final
compensation" and 
shall be defined as wages, salaries, earned commissions,
earned 
bonuses, and the monetary equivalent of earned vacation and 
earned
holidays, and any other compensation owed the employee 
by the employer pursuant
to an employment contract or agreement 
between the 2 parties.  Where an
employer is legally committed 
through a collective bargaining agreement
or otherwise to make 
contributions to an employee benefit, trust or fund on
the 
basis of a certain amount per hour, day, week or other period 
of time,
the amount due from the employer to such employee 
benefit, trust, or fund
shall be defined as "wage supplements", 
subject to the wage collection
provisions of this Act.

    As used in this Act, the term "employer" shall include any 
individual,
partnership, association, corporation, limited 
liability company, business trust, employment and
labor 
placement agencies where wage payments are made
directly or 
indirectly by the agency or business for work undertaken by

employees under hire to a third party pursuant to a contract 
between the
business or agency with the third party, or any 
person or group of
persons acting directly or indirectly in the 
interest of an employer in
relation to an employee, for which 
one or more persons is gainfully employed.

    As used in this Act, the term "employee" shall include any 
individual
permitted to work by an employer in an occupation, 
but shall not include any
individual:


        (1) who has been and will continue to be free from 
    control and direction
over the performance of his work, 
    both under his contract of service with his
employer and in 
    fact; and


        (2) who performs work which is either outside the usual 
    course of business
or is performed outside all of the 
    places of business of the employer unless
the employer is 
    in the business of contracting with third parties for the

    placement of employees; and


        (3) who is in an independently established trade, 
    occupation, profession
or business.

    The following terms apply to an employer's use of payroll 
cards to pay wages to an employee under the requirements of 
this Act:
    "Payroll card" means a card provided to an employee by an 
employer or other payroll card issuer as a means of accessing 
the employee's payroll card account.
    "Payroll card account" means an account that is directly or 
indirectly established through an employer and to which 
deposits of a participating employee's wages are made.
    "Payroll card issuer" means a bank, financial institution, 
or other entity that issues a payroll card to an employee under 
an employer payroll card program. 
(Source: P.A. 94-1025, eff. 7-14-06.)

 



    (820 ILCS 115/4)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39m-4)



    Sec. 4. 
All wages earned by any employee during a 
semi-monthly or bi-weekly
pay period shall be paid to such 
employee not later than 13 days after
the end of the pay period 
in which such wages were earned. All wages
earned by any 
employee during a weekly pay period shall be paid not
later 
than 7 days after the end of the weekly pay period in which the

wages were earned. All wages paid on a daily basis shall be 
paid insofar
as possible on the same day as the wages were 
earned, or not later in
any event than 24 hours after the day 
on which the wages were earned.
Wages of executive, 
administrative and professional employees, as
defined in the 
Federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, may be paid on
or 
before 21 calendar days after the period during which they are

earned.

    The terms of this Section shall not apply, if there exists 
a valid
collective bargaining agreement which provides for a 
different date or
for different arrangements for the payment of 
wages.

    Employers shall pay to workers on strike or layoff, no 
later than the
next regular payday, all wages earned up to the 
time of such strike or
layoff.

    Any employee who is absent at the time fixed for payment, 
or who for
any other reason is not paid at that time, shall be 
paid upon demand at
any time within a period of 5 days after 
the time fixed for payment; and
after the expiration of the 5 
day period, payment shall be made upon 5
days demand. Payment 
to the absent employee shall be made by mail if the
employee so 
requests in writing.

    All wages and final compensation shall be paid in lawful 
money of the
United States, by check, redeemable upon demand 
and without discount
at a bank or other financial institution 
readily available to the
employee, or by deposit of funds in an 
account in a bank or other financial
institution designated by 
the employee, or by a payroll card that meets the requirements 
of Section 14.5.
No employer may designate a particular 
financial institution, bank, savings
bank, savings and loan, or 
currency exchange for the exclusive payment or
deposit of a

check for wages.  No financial institution, bank, savings bank, 
savings and
loan, or currency exchange shall refuse to honor a 
check for wages that
exclusively designates, in violation of 
this Section, a particular bank,
savings bank,
savings and 
loan, or currency exchange as the exclusive place of payment or

deposit except to the extent the bank, savings bank, savings 
and loan, or
currency exchange is otherwise excused from 
honoring the check under
Section 3-111 of the Uniform 
Commercial Code because the bank, savings bank,
savings and 
loan, or currency exchange is not the drawee or the maker of 
the
check.

(Source: P.A. 89-364, eff. 8-18-95.)

 
    (820 ILCS 115/14.5 new)
    Sec. 14.5. Payroll cards.   An employer using a payroll card 
to pay an employee's wages shall meet the following 
requirements:
        (1) The employer shall not make receipt of wages by 
    payroll card a condition of employment or a condition for 
    the receipt of any benefit or other form of remuneration 
    for any employee.
        (2) The employer shall not initiate payment of wages to 
    the employee by electronic fund transfer to a payroll card 
    account unless:
            (A) the employer provides the employee with a clear 
        and conspicuous written disclosure notifying the 
        employee that payment by payroll card is voluntary, 
        listing the other  method or methods of payment offered 
        by the employer in accordance with Section 4, and 
        explaining the terms and conditions of the payroll card 
        account option, including:
                (i) an itemized list of all fees that may be 
            deducted from the employee's payroll card account 
            by the employer or payroll card issuer;
                (ii) a notice that third parties may assess 
            transaction fees in addition to the fees assessed 
            by the employee's payroll card issuer; and
                (iii) an explanation of how the employee may 
            obtain, at no cost, the employee's net wages, check 
            the account balance, and request to receive paper 
            or electronic transaction histories, as provided 
            in item (3); 
            (B) the employer also offers the employee another 
        method or  methods of payment in compliance with Section 
        4; and
            (C) the employer obtains the employee's voluntary 
        written or electronic consent to receive the wages by 
        payroll card.
        (3) A payroll card program offered by the employer 
    shall provide the employee with:
            (A) at least one method of withdrawing the 
        employee's full net wages from the payroll card once 
        per pay period, but not less than twice per month, at 
        no cost to the employee, at a location readily 
        available to the employee; 
            (B) at the employee's request, one transaction 
        history, which the employee may request to receive in 
        paper or electronic form, each month that includes all 
        deposits, withdrawals, deductions, or charges by any 
        entity from or to the employee's payroll card account 
        at no cost to the employee; and
            (C) unlimited telephone access to obtain the 
        payroll card account balance on the payroll card at any 
        time without incurring a fee.
        (4) An employer may not use a payroll card program that 
    charges fees for point of sale transactions, the 
    application, initiation, loading of wages by the employer, 
    or participation in the payroll card program. Fees for 
    account inactivity may be assessed following one year of 
    inactivity. The payroll card program must offer the 
    employee a declined transaction, at no cost to the 
    employee, twice per month. Commercially reasonable fees, 
    limited to cover the costs to process declined 
    transactions, may be assessed on subsequent declined 
    transactions within that particular month.
        (5) The payroll card or payroll card account may not be 
    linked to any form of credit including, but not limited to, 
    overdraft fees or overdraft service fees, a loan against 
    future pay, or a cash advance on future pay or work not yet 
    performed.
        (6) An employee paid wages by payroll card may request 
    to be paid wages by another method of payment provided by 
    the employer in accordance with Section 4.  Following the 
    request, the employer shall, within 2 pay periods, begin 
    payment to the employee by the allowable method requested 
    by the employee.
        (7) A payroll card program offered by an employer shall 
    provide the employee with protections from unauthorized 
    use of the payroll card in accordance with State and 
    federal law concerning electronic fund transfers.
        (8) The employer's obligations under this Section 
    shall cease 60 days after the employer-employee 
    relationship has ended and the employee has been paid the 
    employee's full and final wages.
        (9) Within 30 days of the termination of the 
    employer-employee relationship, the employer shall notify 
    the employee that the terms and conditions of the account 
    may change if the employee chooses to continue a 
    relationship with the payroll card issuer.
  
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 
1, 2015.