What's Required of Employers by Illinois Law?
Let's face it - new employers in Illinois have a lot of state regulations to sift through to figure out exactly what they need to do under the law. But beyond the federal regulations, what exactly should you do for your employees? This is a quick guide to help you determine your legal requirements towards your workers under Illinois law.
New hires must be reported by Illinois employers to IDES, the Illinois Department of Economic Security. Quarterly wage reports must be filed with this agency on specific days.
The One Day Rest in Seven Act requires that employees have at least 24 hours completely off of work every seven days, except for part-time workers who work under 20 hours per week.
Working 7.5 hours or more continuously? You must provide a meal break of a minimum of 20 minutes under Illinois law, unless your business is a hotel, in which case hotel room attendants (housekeeping) must have a minimum of a 30-minute break for a 7-hour or longer shift.
Hotel room attendants are also entitled to two additional 15-minute breaks during a 7-hour shift.
Illinois has a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum wage. For the first 90 days, you can pay employees $7.75 per hour, but must increase their pay to $8.25 per hour thereafter as a minimum.
Tipped employees may be paid $4.65 per hour for the first 90 days of employment but must then increase to $4.95 per hour thereafter, which is 40% of the state minimum wage, provided that their tips make up the difference to the full minimum wage amount.
Illinois employees are entitled to unpaid leave only for jury duty and voting.
When you gain a better idea of what needs to happen under state law, Illinois employers are able to better ensure that they're able to meet or exceed their obligations to their workers. However, if your business falls under interesting areas in Illinois law, what do you need to do about the situation? Fortunately, you don't need to go it alone. At AccountRely, we have experienced professionals who have been in your shoes and who can help you through the process. Please feel free to contact us today to get started setting up your employment situation properly.
