Minimum Wage $15.00 / HR
Illinois guarantees a minimum wage of $15.00 per hour for workers 18 years of age and older. This applies to most workers in the state, regardless of job type or employment status. Overtime must be paid after 40 hours of work per week at 1.5 times the regular rate.
Tipped workers can be paid 60 percent of the minimum wage in cash, which comes to $9.00 per hour. But tips and wages together must always reach at least $15.00 per hour. If they do not, the employer must pay the difference. The tip credit does not reduce your total compensation below the full minimum wage.
Workers under 18 who work fewer than 650 hours in a calendar year may be paid $13.00 per hour. Once a youth worker reaches 650 hours in the year, their rate must increase to the full $15.00. If you are 18 or older, this reduced rate does not apply to you regardless of your hours.
Overtime Laws 1.5X RATE
Illinois requires most employees to be paid at 1.5 times their regular rate for all hours worked past 40 in a workweek. At $15.00 per hour, that puts overtime at $22.50. Employers cannot substitute time off in place of overtime pay. Overtime must be paid in wages.
Being paid a salary does not automatically make you exempt from overtime. Federal law exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees require both a qualifying salary level and specific job duties. Your actual responsibilities determine exemption status, not your title. Many workers in Illinois have been misclassified as exempt when their day-to-day work clearly does not qualify. If you are in that position, you may be owed overtime for every week you worked past 40 hours.
Day and temporary labor workers have additional protections. Under the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, if you work at the same client site for 90 days or more, the temp agency must pay you equal pay and benefits compared to directly hired employees doing the same work. This is a significant protection for workers placed through staffing agencies, and violations are common in Illinois.
Breaks & Day of Rest IL SPECIFIC
Illinois has its own law governing breaks and days off, the One Day Rest In Seven Act (ODRISA). Every employee must receive at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive 7-day period. Illinois requires this day of rest by law. An employer cannot schedule you to work seven days in a row without a full day off unless a permit has been issued and you have voluntarily agreed to work that day.
For meal breaks, Illinois requires at least a 20-minute meal period for every 7.5-hour shift, and that break must begin no later than 5 hours after the start of the shift. If your shift is 12 hours or longer, you are entitled to a second 20-minute meal period. On top of these meal breaks, employers must provide reasonable restroom breaks throughout the shift. These breaks are in addition to the meal period, not a substitute for it.
If an employer has you work on your required day of rest under a permit, those hours may count toward overtime if you go over 40 for the week. Employers cannot use the permit system as a way to avoid paying overtime for that seventh day.
Wage Payment & Collection Act CASE TRIGGER
The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA) sets the rules for how and when employers must pay wages. It covers more than just hourly wages. Commissions, bonuses, and vacation pay owed under a company policy are all covered under this law. An employer cannot simply decide not to pay what was promised.
Vacation pay is a common source of wage claims in Illinois. While Illinois law does not require employers to offer vacation, if your employer has a written or verbal policy that provides vacation, that vacation is considered earned wages. If you leave a job or are terminated with unused vacation that was earned under a company policy, your employer must pay it out. An employer cannot take away accrued vacation through a "use it or lose it" policy that has not been clearly disclosed.
Deductions from your paycheck require your consent. Your employer must give you an itemized statement of any deductions made for each pay period. Deductions not covered by law and not authorized by you are prohibited. Employers who make unauthorized deductions can be held liable for the full amount deducted plus penalties.
Final compensation must be paid on the next regular payday after separation. If you were terminated, your employer cannot delay your final paycheck. This includes any earned commissions, bonuses, or other compensation you were owed at the time of separation.
Paid Leave for All Workers IL SPECIFIC
Illinois enacted the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, which requires most Illinois employers to provide up to 40 hours of paid leave per year to their employees. This law is distinct from earned sick leave laws in other states because it does not restrict the reasons for using the leave. You can use your accrued paid leave for any reason. You do not have to explain it to your employer.
You accrue one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked. Leave begins accruing from your first day of work, though employers may require a waiting period before you can use it. The leave carries over from year to year up to the 40-hour cap. Part-time workers, temporary workers, and most other workers in Illinois are covered under this law.
Your employer cannot retaliate against you for using paid leave you are entitled to. If you have been disciplined, demoted, had your hours cut, or been threatened for using your paid leave, that retaliation is a violation of Illinois law separate from any wage claim.
Freelance Worker Protections IL SPECIFIC
Illinois passed the Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA), which took effect July 1, 2024. It applies to independent contractors who provide services in Illinois, or who work for a client located in Illinois, when the total value of the work is $500 or more in a 120-day period. If you work as a freelancer, consultant, or independent contractor and this threshold applies to you, the law gives you specific protections.
Under the FWPA, your hiring company must provide a written contract that includes both parties' names and contact information, a description of the products or services you are providing, your rate and method of payment, the date payment is due, and the dates when the work will be performed. If the contract does not specify a payment date, the law requires payment within 30 days of completing the work.
The hiring company cannot retaliate against you for asserting your rights under this law. If you were not paid on time or were not provided a written contract, you can file a complaint. This law fills a gap for workers who are classified as independent contractors and would not otherwise have access to standard wage protections.
Employee Misclassification COMMON VIOLATION
Calling a worker an independent contractor does not make it true. Illinois law looks at the actual working relationship. The label in your contract does not control how the law treats your employment status. If your employer controls how, when, and where you work, the work is central to the employer's business, and you work primarily for that employer, you are likely an employee regardless of what your paperwork says.
Illinois has a specific law for construction workers, the Employee Classification Act. Under this law, any worker performing construction services is presumed to be an employee unless the employer can satisfy a strict test. The test requires the worker to be genuinely free from control, performing work outside the company's usual course of business, and operating an independently established business. All three must be true. Construction workers who have been called contractors but work under the employer's direction, use the employer's materials, and do the employer's core work are employees under Illinois law.
Misclassification is especially common in construction, transportation, home care, and the gig economy in Illinois. If you have been misclassified, you may be owed back overtime, minimum wage violations, paid leave that was withheld, and other benefits that apply only to employees.
Filing a Claim ACT NOW
The window to recover unpaid wages in Illinois depends on which law covers your claim. Claims under the Illinois Minimum Wage Law generally must be filed within 3 years. Claims under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act may have up to a 5-year window for civil actions. The clock starts from the date each violation occurred. Every week of underpayment has its own deadline running. The more recent the violations, the stronger your recovery position.
Illinois law prohibits retaliation against workers who file wage complaints or exercise their rights under state wage and labor laws. If your employer fires you, cuts your hours, or takes any other adverse action against you for reporting a wage violation, that retaliation is its own legal violation and may increase what you can recover.
Start gathering records before you reach out. Pay stubs, contracts, emails, text messages about your pay, timesheets, and any written company policies about vacation, bonuses, or overtime are all useful. Partial records still help. An attorney can identify which violations apply to your situation and which laws give you the strongest path to recovery in Illinois.
Think You May Be Owed Back Wages?
Josephson Dunlap reviews wage claims for Illinois workers at no cost. There is no fee unless wages are recovered. A case manager will go through your situation and tell you where you stand.