Fair Labor Standards Act in Illinois: Wages, Overtime, and Leave

The Fair Labor Standards Act in Illinois sets the federal floor for wages, overtime, and child labor, but Illinois layers its own stricter rules on top through the Minimum Wage Law (820 ILCS 105), the Wage Payment and Collection Act (820 ILCS 115), the One Day Rest in Seven Act (820 ILCS 140), and the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (820 ILCS 192). When state and federal rules differ, the one more generous to the worker applies. For most Illinois employees that means a $15.00 minimum wage, overtime after 40 hours a week, a guaranteed meal period on longer shifts, and up to 40 hours of paid leave a year.

Illinois Minimum Wage

The statewide minimum wage for workers 18 and older is $15.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2025. During an employee’s first 90 calendar days on the job, an employer may pay up to 50 cents less, so the training-wage floor is $14.50. Day laborers and temporary workers do not get the training-wage discount and must receive the full $15.00 from day one.¹

Workers under 18 who have not yet logged 650 hours with an employer in a calendar year earn a minimum of $13.00 per hour. Once a minor crosses the 650-hour mark, the full $15.00 rate kicks in.²

Tipped employees have a separate floor. Employers may pay 60 percent of the standard minimum wage, or $9.00 per hour, so long as tips bring total earnings to at least $15.00 per hour for every pay period. If tips fall short, the employer must make up the difference.²

Chicago and Cook County

Chicago sets a higher wage floor. As of July 1, 2025, the city’s minimum wage is $16.60 per hour for employers with four or more workers, and Chicago adjusts the rate every July.³

Cook County outside Chicago has its own ordinance. As of July 1, 2025, that rate is $15.00 per hour for non-tipped employees and $9.00 for tipped employees.⁴ An employer with locations in more than one jurisdiction must pay whichever rate is highest for the location where the work is actually performed.

Overtime

Under both the FLSA and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a single workweek must be paid one and a half times their regular hourly rate for the extra hours.⁵ Illinois uses only the 40-hour weekly threshold; there is no daily overtime trigger. Four 10-hour days in one week produces no overtime.

The 40-hour count includes every hour of compensable work time. Mandatory training, travel between job sites during the workday, and other employer-required activities all count. Employers that treat these hours as unpaid time build up back-pay exposure quickly.

Who Is Exempt From Overtime

Illinois follows the federal framework for white-collar exemptions. An employee in an executive, administrative, or professional role can be classified as exempt only by meeting both a duties test and a salary test. After a federal court vacated the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2024 attempt to raise the threshold, the salary floor remains $684 per week, or $35,568 per year. An employee paid below that is non-exempt regardless of job title.⁶

Section 4a of the Illinois Minimum Wage Law also lists industry-specific exemptions. Agricultural workers are exempt from overtime. So are employees who primarily sell or service automobiles, trucks, or farm implements at non-manufacturing dealerships, and commissioned retail or service workers whose pay matches the federal Section 7(i) commission exemption. Some public-sector workers may receive compensatory time off instead of overtime pay.⁷ A job being seasonal or unusual does not, on its own, create an exemption. Check the specific statutory category before assuming a worker is exempt.

Meal Breaks and Rest Days

An Illinois employer must give a meal break of at least 20 minutes to any employee working a shift of 7.5 continuous hours or longer, and that break must begin no later than five hours into the shift. Employees who work beyond 7.5 continuous hours are entitled to another 20-minute meal period for every additional 4.5 continuous hours worked. Reasonable restroom breaks are on top of the meal period.⁸

The same act requires 24 consecutive hours of rest in every seven-day period. An employer can apply to the Illinois Department of Labor for a permit to have an employee work on a rest day, but only if the employee voluntarily agrees and receives overtime for any hours that push the weekly total above 40. Part-time workers logging 20 or fewer hours a week, agricultural employees, and workers under a collective bargaining agreement that addresses scheduling are among those excluded.⁸

Paid Leave for All Workers

Since January 1, 2024, nearly every Illinois employer has been required to provide paid leave. Employees accrue one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to at least 40 hours per 12-month period, and the leave can be used for any reason. The law does not require the employee to explain why.⁹

Accrual starts on day one, but the employer may require a 90-day waiting period before the leave can actually be used. For foreseeable leave, the employer can require seven calendar days’ notice; for unforeseeable absences, notice must be given as soon as practicable. Violations expose the employer to a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per offense plus the actual underpayment and an additional penalty between $500 and $1,000 per affected employee.⁹

School districts, park districts, employees covered by the Railway Labor Act, and certain short-term higher-education workers are excluded.⁹

Pay Transparency and Salary History

The Illinois Equal Pay Act (820 ILCS 112) bars every Illinois employer from asking about a job applicant’s wage or salary history, requesting it from a prior employer, or screening candidates on past compensation.

Employers with 15 or more employees have to go further. Every job posting must include the pay scale and a general description of benefits; a hyperlink to a publicly viewable page with that information satisfies the rule. Internal promotion opportunities must be announced to current employees within 14 calendar days of any external posting for the same role. Violations carry fines and civil liability.

Minors and Recordkeeping

Illinois places strict hour caps and a long list of hazardous-occupation prohibitions on workers under 18. If you employ minors, review the Illinois Department of Labor’s child labor guidance before scheduling them, because the rules on hours, night work, and prohibited jobs are more restrictive than the wage-and-hour rules that apply to adults.¹⁰

Every Illinois employer must keep accurate records of hours worked, wages paid, and leave accrued for at least three years. Missing records tend to cost the employer the benefit of the doubt during an investigation.¹¹

Penalties for Wage Violations

Illinois penalties for unpaid wages stack fast. Under the Wage Payment and Collection Act, an employer that fails to pay wages on time owes the unpaid amount plus damages of 5 percent of the underpayment for each month it remains unpaid, with no cap. An employee who sues in court can also recover attorney’s fees and costs.¹²

If the Illinois Department of Labor issues a demand or order to pay and the employer ignores it, more penalties attach:

An administrative fee to IDOL of $500 for orders of $3,000 or less, $750 for orders between $3,000 and $10,000, and $1,250 for orders of $10,000 or more.
A penalty to IDOL equal to 20 percent of the underpayment.
A penalty to the employee equal to 1 percent of the underpayment per calendar day of delay, with no cap.

These sit on top of the wages owed and the monthly 5 percent damages.¹³

Criminal charges are also on the table. An employer that is able to pay but willfully refuses faces a Class B misdemeanor for amounts of $5,000 or less and a Class A misdemeanor for amounts above $5,000. A second offense within two years is a Class 4 felony.¹²

How To File a Wage Complaint

If you believe you have been underpaid, you can file a claim with the Illinois Department of Labor’s wage claims division. The claim must be filed within one year after the wages were due, though IDOL will look back through up to three years of pay history from the filing date.¹⁴

Before you file, gather pay stubs, copies of paychecks, W-2s or 1099s, and anything else showing your employer’s name and your rate of pay. For claims involving vacation pay, bonuses, or commissions, include the relevant policy or agreement. Stronger documentation moves the investigation faster.

Once IDOL accepts the claim, the employer is notified and has a right to respond. The Department investigates and decides whether to schedule a hearing; if it does, both sides receive written notice at least 21 days in advance. You have to respond to Department inquiries and attend the hearing, or the claim can be dismissed.¹⁴

Filing with IDOL is one path. The other is suing directly in court with a private attorney. You can use one route or the other but not both at once. The lawsuit route lets you recover attorney’s fees on top of wages and penalties, which often makes it the better economic choice for larger claims.

1
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 105/4
2
Illinois Department of Labor. Minimum Wage Law
3
City of Chicago. Minimum Wage
4
Cook County Government. Minimum Wage Ordinance and Regulations
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 23 – Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Employee Exemptions
7
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 105/4a
8
Justia Law. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 140 – One Day Rest in Seven Act
9
Justia Law. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 192 – Paid Leave for All Workers Act
10
Illinois Department of Labor. Child Labor Law Compliance
11
Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code Title 56, Section 280.140 – Records Retention and Release
12
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 115/14
13
Illinois Department of Labor. Wage Payment and Collection Act Penalties
14
Illinois Department of Labor. Filing a Claim – FAQs