Employers face stiffer penalties on shortchanging

CHICAGO – Employers who shortchange or don’t pay their employees will face stiffer penalties and workers will have more rights under a bill Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law Friday, which experts say makes Illinois’ wage theft laws among the strongest in the
country.

Starting Jan. 1, a repeat offense will be considered a felony, not a misdemeanor. Also, employers who violate wage theft laws will have to pay workers back from the date of nonpayment with interest and a $250 fine.

“This protects all workers,” said Ana Guajardo, director of Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, a workers center in Chicago. “Here in Illinois, we’re not going to take this anymore.”

The law also gives the department more oversight in dealing with the 10,000-plus wage theft claims it gets annually. Instead of referring claims to the Illinois Attorney General, the Department of Labor will be able to directly adjudicate claims of $3,000 or less, which make up most of the
claims.

The department will set up a fund – with interest paid to the department – solely for dealing with wage theft issues.

The agency likely will add more staff, such as administrative law judges. But those changes would depend on funding, according to the agency’s Director Catherine Shannon.

“All too often employers ignore our order to pay penalties,” Shannon said. She said the law gives the department more enforcement capabilities and speeds up the process.

The law also provides some worker protections, such as anti-retaliation provisions.