103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5300

 

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Rep. Dagmara Avelar

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 40/2  from Ch. 48, par. 2002
820 ILCS 115/2  from Ch. 48, par. 39m-2
820 ILCS 115/10  from Ch. 48, par. 39m-10
820 ILCS 115/14  from Ch. 48, par. 39m-14

    Amends the Personnel Record Review Act. Provides that every employer shall, upon an employee's request which the employer may require be in writing on a form supplied by the employer, permit the employee to inspect his or her pay stubs. Amends the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. Provides that employers shall keep records of names and addresses of all employees and of wages paid each payday, and shall furnish each employee with a pay stub for each pay period (rather than shall furnish each employee with an itemized statement of deductions made from the employee's wages for each pay period). Provides that an employer shall maintain a copy of an employee's pay stub for a period of not less than 3 years after the date of payment, whether the pay stub is provided electronically or in paper form, and the employer shall furnish the pay stub to the employee or former employee upon the employee or former employee's request. Provides that an employer who furnishes electronic pay stubs in a manner that is restricted to the employer's current employees must, upon an employee's separation from employment, furnish the employee or former employee with a paper or emailed electronic record of all of the employee's or former employee's pay stubs for up to 3 years prior to the date of separation, in the method specified by the employee or former employee. Provides that an employer who fails to furnish an employee with a pay stub or commits any other violation of this Act, except for specified violations, shall be subject to a civil penalty of $500 per violation payable to the Department of Labor. Defines "pay stub".


LRB103 39473 SPS 69668 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5300LRB103 39473 SPS 69668 b

1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Personnel Record Review Act is amended by
5changing Section 2 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 40/2)  (from Ch. 48, par. 2002)
7    Sec. 2. Open records. Every employer shall, upon an
8employee's request which the employer may require be in
9writing on a form supplied by the employer, permit the
10employee to inspect his or her pay stubs as defined in Section
112 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and any
12personnel documents which are, have been or are intended to be
13used in determining that employee's qualifications for
14employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation,
15discharge or other disciplinary action, except as provided in
16Section 10. The inspection right encompasses personnel
17documents in the possession of a person, corporation,
18partnership, or other association having a contractual
19agreement with the employer to keep or supply a personnel
20record. An employee may request all or any part of his or her
21records, except as provided in Section 10. The employer shall
22grant at least 2 inspection requests by an employee in a
23calendar year when requests are made at reasonable intervals,

 

 

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1unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining
2agreement. The employer shall provide the employee with the
3inspection opportunity within 7 working days after the
4employee makes the request or if the employer can reasonably
5show that such deadline cannot be met, the employer shall have
6an additional 7 days to comply. The inspection shall take
7place at a location reasonably near the employee's place of
8employment and during normal working hours. The employer may
9allow the inspection to take place at a time other than working
10hours or at a place other than where the records are maintained
11if that time or place would be more convenient for the
12employee. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as a
13requirement that an employee be permitted to remove any part
14of such personnel records or any part of such records from the
15place on the employer's premises where it is made available
16for inspection. Each employer shall retain the right to
17protect his records from loss, damage, or alteration to insure
18the integrity of the records. The employer shall, upon the
19employee's written request, email or mail a copy of the
20requested record to the employee by the email address or
21mailing address identified by the employee for the purpose of
22receiving the copy of requested record. An employer may charge
23a fee for providing a copy of the requested record. The fee
24shall be limited to the actual cost of duplicating the
25requested record.
26(Source: P.A. 103-201, eff. 1-1-24.)
 

 

 

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1    Section 10. The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act
2is amended by changing Sections 2, 10, and 14 as follows:
 
3    (820 ILCS 115/2)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39m-2)
4    Sec. 2. Definitions. For all employees, other than
5separated employees, "wages" shall be defined as any
6compensation owed an employee by an employer pursuant to an
7employment contract or agreement between the 2 parties,
8whether the amount is determined on a time, task, piece, or any
9other basis of calculation. Payments to separated employees
10shall be termed "final compensation" and shall be defined as
11wages, salaries, earned commissions, earned bonuses, and the
12monetary equivalent of earned vacation and earned holidays,
13and any other compensation owed the employee by the employer
14pursuant to an employment contract or agreement between the 2
15parties. Where an employer is legally committed through a
16collective bargaining agreement or otherwise to make
17contributions to an employee benefit, trust or fund on the
18basis of a certain amount per hour, day, week or other period
19of time, the amount due from the employer to such employee
20benefit, trust, or fund shall be defined as "wage
21supplements", subject to the wage collection provisions of
22this Act.
23    As used in this Act, the term "employer" shall include any
24individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited

 

 

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1liability company, business trust, employment and labor
2placement agencies where wage payments are made directly or
3indirectly by the agency or business for work undertaken by
4employees under hire to a third party pursuant to a contract
5between the business or agency with the third party, or any
6person or group of persons acting directly or indirectly in
7the interest of an employer in relation to an employee, for
8which one or more persons is gainfully employed.
9    As used in this Act, the term "employee" shall include any
10individual permitted to work by an employer in an occupation,
11but shall not include any individual:
12        (1) who has been and will continue to be free from
13    control and direction over the performance of his work,
14    both under his contract of service with his employer and
15    in fact; and
16        (2) who performs work which is either outside the
17    usual course of business or is performed outside all of
18    the places of business of the employer unless the employer
19    is in the business of contracting with third parties for
20    the placement of employees; and
21        (3) who is in an independently established trade,
22    occupation, profession or business.
23    "Pay stub" means an itemized statement or statements
24reflecting an employee's hours worked, rate of pay, overtime
25pay and overtime hours worked, gross wages earned, deductions
26made from the employee's wages, total of wages and deductions

 

 

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1year to date, and the unused balance of any benefit or paid
2time off that is available to the employee. For the purposes of
3this definition, "pay stub" may include the unused balance of
4any benefit or paid time off in a separate statement from any
5other required information.
6    The following terms apply to an employer's use of payroll
7cards to pay wages to an employee under the requirements of
8this Act:
9    "Payroll card" means a card provided to an employee by an
10employer or other payroll card issuer as a means of accessing
11the employee's payroll card account.
12    "Payroll card account" means an account that is directly
13or indirectly established through an employer and to which
14deposits of a participating employee's wages are made.
15    "Payroll card issuer" means a bank, financial institution,
16or other entity that issues a payroll card to an employee under
17an employer payroll card program.
18(Source: P.A. 98-862, eff. 1-1-15.)
 
19    (820 ILCS 115/10)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39m-10)
20    Sec. 10.
21    (a) Employers shall notify employees, at the time of
22hiring, of the rate of pay and of the time and place of
23payment. Whenever possible, such notification shall be in
24writing and shall be acknowledged by both parties. Employers
25shall also notify employees of any changes in the

 

 

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1arrangements, specified above, prior to the time of change.
2    (b) Employers shall keep records of names and addresses of
3all employees and of wages paid each payday, and shall furnish
4each employee with a pay stub an itemized statement of
5deductions made from his wages for each pay period.
6    (c) An employer shall maintain a copy of an employee's pay
7stub for a period of not less than 3 years after the date of
8payment, whether the pay stub is furnished electronically or
9in paper form.
10    (d) In addition to furnishing a pay stub for each pay
11period as required under subsection (b), an employer shall
12furnish the pay stub to an employee or former employee upon the
13employee or former employee's request. An employer who
14furnishes electronic pay stubs in a manner that is restricted
15to the employer's current employees must, upon an employee's
16separation from employment, provide the employee or former
17employee with a paper or emailed electronic record of all of
18the employee's or former employee's pay stubs for up to 3 years
19prior to the date of separation, in the method specified by the
20employee or former employee.
21    (e) Every employer shall post and keep posted at each
22regular place of business in a position easily accessible to
23all employees one or more notices indicating the regular
24paydays and the place and time for payment of his employees,
25and on forms supplied from time to time by the Department of
26Labor containing a copy or summary of the provisions of this

 

 

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1Act.
2(Source: P.A. 81-593.)
 
3    (820 ILCS 115/14)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39m-14)
4    Sec. 14. Penalties.
5    (a) Any employee not timely paid wages, final
6compensation, or wage supplements by his or her employer as
7required by this Act shall be entitled to recover through a
8claim filed with the Department of Labor or in a civil action,
9but not both, the amount of any such underpayments and damages
10of 5% of the amount of any such underpayments for each month
11following the date of payment during which such underpayments
12remain unpaid. In a civil action, such employee shall also
13recover costs and all reasonable attorney's fees.
14    (a-5) In addition to the remedies provided in subsections
15(a), (b), and (c) of this Section, any employer or any agent of
16an employer, who, being able to pay wages, final compensation,
17or wage supplements and being under a duty to pay, willfully
18wilfully refuses to pay as provided in this Act, or falsely
19denies the amount or validity thereof or that the same is due,
20with intent to secure for himself or other person any
21underpayment of such indebtedness or with intent to annoy,
22harass, oppress, hinder, delay or defraud the person to whom
23such indebtedness is due, upon conviction, is guilty of:
24        (1) for unpaid wages, final compensation or wage
25    supplements in the amount of $5,000 or less, a Class B

 

 

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1    misdemeanor; or
2        (2) for unpaid wages, final compensation or wage
3    supplements in the amount of more than $5,000, a Class A
4    misdemeanor.
5    Each day during which any violation of this Act continues
6shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
7    Any employer or any agent of an employer who violates this
8Section of the Act a subsequent time within 2 years of a prior
9criminal conviction under this Section is guilty, upon
10conviction, of a Class 4 felony.
11    (b) Any employer who has been demanded or ordered by the
12Department or ordered by the court to pay wages, final
13compensation, or wage supplements due an employee shall be
14required to pay a non-waivable administrative fee to the
15Department of Labor in the amount of $250 if the amount ordered
16by the Department as wages owed is $3,000 or less; $500 if the
17amount ordered by the Department as wages owed is more than
18$3,000, but less than $10,000; and $1,000 if the amount
19ordered by the Department as wages owed is $10,000 or more. Any
20employer who has been so demanded or ordered by the Department
21or ordered by a court to pay such wages, final compensation, or
22wage supplements and who fails to seek timely review of such a
23demand or order as provided for under this Act and who fails to
24comply within 15 calendar days after such demand or within 35
25days of an administrative or court order is entered shall also
26be liable to pay a penalty to the Department of Labor of 20% of

 

 

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1the amount found owing and a penalty to the employee of 1% per
2calendar day of the amount found owing for each day of delay in
3paying such wages to the employee. All moneys recovered as
4fees and civil penalties under this Act, except those owing to
5the affected employee, shall be deposited into the Wage Theft
6Enforcement Fund, a special fund which is hereby created in
7the State treasury. Moneys in the Fund may be used for
8enforcement of this Act and for outreach and educational
9activities of the Department related to the recovery of unpaid
10or underpaid compensation and the disbursement of moneys to
11affected parties.
12    (b-5) Penalties and fees under this Section may be
13assessed by the Department and recovered in a civil action
14brought by the Department in any circuit court or in any
15administrative adjudicative proceeding under this Act. In any
16such civil action or administrative adjudicative proceeding
17under this Act, the Department shall be represented by the
18Attorney General.
19    (c) Any employer, or any agent of an employer, who
20discharges or in any other manner discriminates against any
21employee because that employee has made a complaint to his or
22her employer, to the Director of Labor or his or her authorized
23representative, in a public hearing, or to a community
24organization that he or she has not been paid in accordance
25with the provisions of this Act, or because that employee has
26caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to

 

 

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1this Act, or because that employee has testified or is about to
2testify in an investigation or proceeding under this Act, is
3guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C misdemeanor. An employee
4who has been unlawfully retaliated against shall be entitled
5to recover through a claim filed with the Department of Labor
6or in a civil action, but not both, all legal and equitable
7relief as may be appropriate. In a civil action, such employee
8shall also recover costs and all reasonable attorney's fees.
9    (d) Except as provided under subsections (a), (b), and
10(c), an employer who fails to furnish an employee with a pay
11stub as required by this Act or commits any other violation of
12this Act, shall be subject to a civil penalty of $500 per
13violation payable to the Department.
14(Source: P.A. 102-50, eff. 7-9-21; 103-182, eff. 6-30-23.)