(a) Any employer who fails to timely pay a worker in accordance with this Article II of Title 6, or in accordance with any wage agreement between the employer and the worker above the threshold required by this Article II, shall have committed wage theft.
(1) Wage theft includes the non-payment of any wages required for work performed, and also includes not granting or properly paying required paid time off, whether legislatively or contractually required, and contractually required benefits to the worker.
(2) The timely payment of wages shall be in accordance with 820 ILCS 115/4.
(b) A worker may file a claim with the Office of Labor Standards or in a civil action, but not both. A worker who files a claim with the Illinois Department of Labor may not also file a claim with the Office of Labor Standards unless the Illinois Department of Labor has referred the case to the Office of Labor Standards.
(c) An employer shall be liable to a worker for the amount of any underpayments and shall also be liable for damages of either (i) 2% of the amount of any such underpayments for each month following the date of payment during which such underpayments remain unpaid or (ii) the amount specified by the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, 820 ILCS 115/14(a), if the amount in the state law is greater.
(Added Coun. J. 6-25-21, p. 32156, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 12-13-23, p. 7601, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 7-17-24, p. 14211, § 1)