Amendment to Illinois Minimum Wage Law Increases Employer Exposure

Employers will now face increased exposure from wage and hour claims under a new amendment to the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) that Governor Rod Blagojevich signed into law on July 14, 2006.

Under the IMWL, employees may recover unpaid wages in a civil action or may assign his or her claim to the Director of Labor (DOL), who then may bring a legal action on behalf of the employee. 820 ILCS 105/12(a). Before the amendment, employees could recover unpaid wages, costs, and attorneys' fees. The amendment, Senate Bill 2339, adds punitive damages to this list of damages an employee may recover.