On February 22, 2011, the Illinois Department of Labor issued emergency rules to more swiftly implement and enforce the legislature’s amendment to the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA or the “Act”) that went into effect on January 1, 2011. The amendment modified the Act by: (1) clarifying an employee’s right to pursue a private right of action; (2) providing a new administrative forum for claims under $3,000; (3) imposing enhanced civil and criminal penalties; and (4) expanding employees’ protection from retaliation. With the emergency rules now in place, the Act has been further modified in some of the following ways:

• The Department has reconfirmed that administrative, executive, and professional exemptions to the Act’s overtime requirements shall be determined based on the regulations to Fair Labor Standards Act as they existed prior to the 2004 amendments;
• The Act now specifically prohibits employers from requiring employees to enroll in a direct deposit arrangement.
• Rather than just keep records for each employee, employers must make and maintain records to include particular information about employees’ hours worked, pay, vacation days earned, etc.
• Claimants now have 1 year to file a wage claim (extended from 180 days) from the time their wages or final compensation are due. Employers are likewise allowed 15 days rather than 10 to respond to a wage claim.

The Department’s most substantial addition to the Act, by way of these emergency rules, is the establishment of a formal administrative procedure (so-called “formal default hearings”) for the adjudication of wage claims under $3,000 (which reportedly constitute 75% of all wage claims filed each year). Here are some of the key developments: scheduling and notice requirements for formal default hearings are outlined and explained; consolidation/severance of hearings is possible; the Department is empowered to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of a witness and/or production of documents; and non-waivable administrative fees and statutory penalties may be assessed upon a finding against the employer.

These emergency rules appear to be an attempt by the Department to increase its enforcement power, while at the same time creating more informal procedures that will allow it to take on more claims per year. The Department is now taking comments on the emergency rules, which will remain effective for 150 days, or until July 22, 2011. On that date, any of the rules that have not been adopted will be nullified. However, it is likely that the emergency rules will, in large part, be ratified as they presently exist.

For more information on the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and its recent amendments, please see our ASAP.