Unpaid wages in Illinois: what the law says

What the statute says

Final pay detail

820 ILCS 115/5 (Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act): "Every employer shall pay the final compensation of separated employees in full, at the time of separation, if possible, but in no case later than the next regularly scheduled payday for such employee." The deadline is the SAME whether the employee was fired or quit - the Act draws no distinction, which is why no fixed number of days exists.

Read the full rule

The same section requires earned but unused vacation to be paid out on separation at the employee's final rate of pay and prohibits forfeiture of accrued vacation on termination. Separately, 820 ILCS 115/3 sets ordinary pay frequency (not read in this pass).

Penalty for paying late

820 ILCS 115/14(a): an employee not timely paid wages, final compensation, or wage supplements may recover, through an IDOL claim OR a civil action but not both, the underpayment plus "damages of 5% of the amount of any such underpayments for each month following the date of payment during which such underpayments remain unpaid," plus attorney's fees.

Read the full rule

This 5%/month accrues without a cap or an end date (contrast California's 30-day cap), so it compounds the longer the employer withholds. 820 ILCS 115/14(b) adds, where the Department is involved and the employer fails to comply, an administrative fee of $500-$1,250 depending on the amount owed, a 20% penalty payable to the Department, and a penalty of "1% per calendar day" payable to the employee. 820 ILCS 115/14(d): civil penalty up to $500 per violation for pay-stub and other Act violations. 820 ILCS 115/14(a-5): willful refusal to pay is criminal - Class B misdemeanor if the amount owed is $5,000 or less, Class A misdemeanor if over $5,000, and a Class 4 felony for a repeat violation within 2 years. 820 ILCS 115/14(c): retaliatory discharge is a Class C misdemeanor and the employee recovers legal and equitable relief plus attorney's fees.

State minimum wage

$15.00 / hour

Overtime beyond federal law

Illinois overtime is not broader than federal law on either the rate or the threshold. 820 ILCS 105/4a requires overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 per workweek "at a rate not less than 1 1/2 times the regular rate." There is no daily overtime rule in Illinois — nothing like California's 8-hour day or double-time.

Read the full rule

The Illinois Department of Labor puts it this way: "Overtime must be paid after 40 hour of work per week at time and one-half the regular rate." Illinois also has a separate One Day Rest In Seven Act (820 ILCS 140), administered by the same IDOL division; it is a distinct requirement from overtime and is not covered here.

Liquidated damages

Two distinct regimes depending on which Act is pleaded. (1) Minimum wage / overtime - 820 ILCS 105/12(a): an employee may recover in a private civil action "treble the amount of any such underpayments" plus "damages of 5% of the amount of any such underpayments for each month following the date of payment during which such underpayments remain unpaid," plus reasonable attorney's fees allowed by the court.

Read the full rule

Treble damages under the Illinois Minimum Wage Law are materially more generous than the FLSA's double damages. (2) Unpaid wages / final compensation generally - 820 ILCS 115/14(a): underpayment plus 5% per month unpaid, plus attorney's fees (no trebling under the IWPCA).

Time limit to sue

3 years

THREE years to sue in court under 820 ILCS 105/12 (five for the Director). BUT the deadline that actually bites is ONE YEAR: 820 ILCS 115/11 — "Complaints shall be filed within one year after the wages, final compensation, or wage supplements were due" — for the free IDOL administrative route (P.A. 103-201 eff.

Read the full rule

2024-01-01; P.A. 104-135 eff. 2025-08-01).

Who handles complaints

Illinois Department of Labor, Fair Labor Standards Division

Read it yourself

Official sources. If a number below matters to your case, open the statute and read it — laws get amended, and cities often stack stricter local rules on top.

• 820 ILCS 115/5: "Every employer shall pay the final compensation of separated employees in full, at the time of separation, if possible, but in no case later than the next regularly scheduled payday for such employee." Section also requires payout of earned vacation at the final rate of pay on separation and bars forfeiture of accrued vacation. Source line as displayed: P.A. 83-199. — 820 ILCS 115/5 - Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, final compensation of separated employees (official Illinois General Assembly text)
• 820 ILCS 115/14(a): recovery via IDOL claim or civil action but not both, of the underpayment plus "damages of 5% of the amount of any such underpayments for each month following the date of payment during which such underpayments remain unpaid," plus attorney's fees. (a-5) criminal: Class B misdemeanor for amounts of $5,000 or less, Class A misdemeanor for amounts over $5,000, Class 4 felony for a repeat violation within 2 years. (b): administrative fee of $500-$1,250 by amount owed, 20% penalty to the Department, and "1% per calendar day" penalty to the employee for non-compliance. (c): retaliatory discharge is a Class C misdemeanor, with legal/equitable relief plus attorney's fees. (d): civil penalty up to $500 per violation. Source: P.A. 103-182, eff. 6-30-23; 103-953, eff. 1-1-25; 104-135, eff. 8-1-25. — 820 ILCS 115/14 - IWPCA penalties and damages (official Illinois General Assembly text)
• 820 ILCS 115/11: an employee may file with the Department "a signed, completed wage claim application on the form provided by the Department and by submitting copies of all supporting documentation," and the claim must be filed "within one year after the wages, final compensation, or wage supplements were due." The Department may investigate, administer oaths, subpoena witnesses, examine records, take assignments of claims and prosecute collection for workers financially unable to sue, file court complaints, adjudicate claims administratively subject to appropriation, and enforce final administrative decisions as debts owed to the state. Employees retain the right to sue in circuit court. Source: P.A. 103-201, eff. 1-1-24; 104-135, eff. 8-1-25. — 820 ILCS 115/11 - IWPCA, filing a wage claim with the Department of Labor (official Illinois General Assembly text)
• 820 ILCS 105/4 schedule for workers 18 and older: $8.25 through 12-31-2019; $9.25 (1-1-2020 to 6-30-2020); $10.00 (7-1-2020 to 12-31-2020); $11.00 (2021); $12.00 (2022); $13.00 (2023); $14.00 (2024); $15.00 from January 1, 2025 onward. NO further increase is scheduled after 1-1-2025 and the statute contains no CPI/inflation indexing. Youth under 18 working 650 hours or fewer per year: $13.00 from 1-1-2025 (youth working more than 650 hours get the adult rate). Tip credit: an allowance for gratuities "in an amount not to exceed 40% of the applicable minimum wage rate," subject to substantial evidence of actual gratuities received. New-hire training rate: up to 50 cents below the minimum wage for "the first 90 consecutive calendar days after the employee is initially employed," excluding day laborers and temporary workers. Source: P.A. 101-1, eff. 2-19-19. — 820 ILCS 105/4 - Illinois Minimum Wage Law, rate schedule (official Illinois General Assembly text)
• 820 ILCS 105/4a: overtime is owed for hours in excess of 40 in a workweek "at a rate not less than 1 1/2 times the regular rate." No daily overtime trigger appears in the section. The section contains extensive category exemptions (outside salespeople, agricultural workers, executive/administrative/professional employees, commissioned employees, governmental bodies). Source: P.A. 99-17, eff. 1-1-16. — 820 ILCS 105/4a - Illinois Minimum Wage Law, overtime (official Illinois General Assembly text)
• 820 ILCS 105/12: a private employee action must be brought "within 3 years from the date of the underpayment"; an action by the Director of Labor may be brought "within 5 years from the date of the failure to pay." Employee may recover "treble the amount of any such underpayments" plus "damages of 5% of the amount of any such underpayments for each month following the date of payment during which such underpayments remain unpaid," plus "such reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the Court." Source: P.A. 103-182, eff. 6-30-23; 103-201, eff. 1-1-24; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24. — 820 ILCS 105/12 - Illinois Minimum Wage Law, remedies and limitations (official Illinois General Assembly text)
• IDOL states the current rates: standard (18+) $15.00/hour; tipped employees $9.00/hour; youth under 18 working fewer than 650 hours per year $13.00/hour. "Overtime must be paid after 40 hour of work per week at time and one-half the regular rate." Tip credit described as: "An employer where gratuities are paid to employee, may pay 60% of the minimum wage to its employees." Page also notes the sub-minimum-wage license program for workers with disabilities is being phased out by December 31, 2029. — Illinois Department of Labor - Minimum Wage Law page (official IDOL)
• Confirms the division's full official name is the "Fair Labor Standards Division" of the Illinois Department of Labor, and that it administers the Minimum Wage & Overtime Law, the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, the One Day Rest in Seven Act, the Child Labor Law, the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, and other statutes. Complaints are filed via the Department's "File a Complaint" route. — Illinois Department of Labor - Fair Labor Standards Division (official IDOL)

Last checked: 2026-08-17