Illinois Pay Stub Requirements: Deductions, Access, and Penalties

Illinois pay stub requirements come from the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA), which requires every employer to give employees a pay stub for each pay period. Each stub must show your hours worked, your rate of pay, overtime hours and overtime pay, gross wages, an itemized list of deductions, and year-to-date totals for wages and deductions.¹ Employers who fail to provide a compliant stub face civil penalties of up to $500 per violation.

What Must Appear on Every Pay Stub

The IWPCA defines a pay stub by a specific list. Every stub you receive has to include:¹

Hours worked during the pay period.
Your rate of pay (hourly, salary, or otherwise).
Overtime hours and overtime pay, tracked separately. Illinois follows the federal 40-hour workweek threshold, so hours beyond 40 in a workweek are paid at time-and-a-half.²
Gross wages earned before any deductions.
Itemized deductions, each shown as its own line. This covers federal and state income tax withholding, Social Security tax (6.2% on earnings up to $184,500 in 2026), Medicare tax (1.45% with no cap), and voluntary items like health insurance premiums and retirement contributions.³
Year-to-date totals for both wages earned and deductions taken.

Net pay is not listed as its own statutory line item, but it follows from gross wages minus itemized deductions. If that math doesn’t match what actually landed in your account, that’s worth looking into.

Which Deductions Are Actually Allowed

Seeing a deduction on your stub is not the same as your employer being allowed to take it. Illinois law limits wage deductions to four categories: deductions required by law (taxes, garnishments), deductions that benefit you (health insurance, retirement plans), valid wage assignments, and deductions you agreed to in writing at the time the deduction is made.⁴

That last category catches employers off guard. A blanket consent form signed during onboarding does not authorize every future deduction. The written consent has to be given freely at the time the deduction happens. If a line on your stub isn’t required by law, isn’t clearly for your benefit, and wasn’t agreed to in writing at the time, it may be an IWPCA violation.

How Often You Should Receive a Pay Stub

Illinois employers must pay wages at least twice a month, and wages are due no later than 13 days after the end of the pay period in which they were earned. Executive, administrative, and professional employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act may be paid once a month, and commission-based pay also follows a monthly schedule.¹ A stub goes with each pay period, so most Illinois workers should see at least 24 stubs a year.

Paper, Electronic, and Getting Copies

The statute lets employers deliver pay stubs “electronically or in paper form.”⁵ There is no required software or file format, but you must be able to access the records.

Access matters most when you leave a job. If your employer delivers stubs through a portal you won’t be able to reach for at least a full year after separation, they must offer to give you copies of the prior year’s stubs before your final pay period ends, and they have to record in writing when the offer was made and how you responded.¹

Requesting Past Stubs

Current employees can request copies of past stubs, and the employer must provide them within 21 calendar days. Former employees have the same right and the same 21-day window, as long as the request comes within one year of separation. Employers can require the request in writing and don’t have to fulfill more than two requests in a 12-month period. Former employees choose whether to receive physical or electronic copies.¹

How Long Employers Must Keep Stubs

Illinois employers must keep copies of each employee’s pay stubs for at least three years after the date of payment, whether the employee is still there or not, and whether the stubs were paper or electronic.⁵ Federal rules stack on top: the IRS requires employment tax records for at least four years after the fourth-quarter return is filed,⁶ and the FLSA requires three years of payroll records for non-exempt workers.⁷

Penalties When an Employer Doesn’t Comply

An employer who fails to provide a pay stub as required faces a civil penalty of up to $500 per violation, payable to the Illinois Department of Labor. The Department sets the amount based on the size of the business and the seriousness of the violation.¹

Criminal penalties apply when an employer willfully refuses to pay wages. Unpaid amounts of $5,000 or less are a Class B misdemeanor. Over $5,000 is a Class A misdemeanor. A second conviction within two years becomes a Class 4 felony, and each day the violation continues counts as a separate offense.¹

Workers owed unpaid wages can recover the full amount owed plus damages equal to 5% of the underpayment for each month it stays unpaid. A civil lawsuit can also recover attorney’s fees and court costs, but you can’t pursue both a Department claim and a civil suit for the same wages.¹

How to File a Wage Complaint

If your employer isn’t providing pay stubs, or the stubs you get are missing required information, the Illinois Department of Labor handles complaints. You can file online through the Department’s website or submit a paper form by email or mail. Online filings move faster; paper submissions by mail or fax run longer.⁸

You’ll need contact information for you and your employer, details about your job and pay, a description of the problem, and any communications you’ve had with your employer about it. Supporting documents help: existing pay stubs, W-2 or 1099 forms, employment contracts, handbook pages, and any written requests and responses.⁸

After you file, the Department contacts your employer, who can pay the claim or dispute it. If disputed, both sides submit responses and the Department decides whether to hold a hearing. The Department says roughly 90 days is normal, though cooperative employers and complete records speed things up.⁹ You don’t need an attorney for the administrative process.

When Pay Stub Rules Don’t Apply to You

The IWPCA covers employees, not independent contractors. If you’re paid as a 1099 contractor, you won’t receive pay stubs. Some employers misclassify workers as contractors to sidestep obligations like pay stubs, tax withholding, and overtime. The IRS looks at three areas to decide: behavioral control (does the company direct how you do the work?), financial control (does the company control how you’re paid and whether expenses are reimbursed?), and the nature of the relationship (written contract, benefits, expectation of ongoing work).¹⁰ No single factor decides it. If you think you’re misclassified, you can file Form SS-8 with the IRS or a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor; a reclassification brings pay stub rights with it.

1
Justia Law. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 115 – Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act
2
Illinois Department of Labor. Minimum Wage/Overtime FAQ
3
Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base
4
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 115/9
5
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 115/10
6
Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Recordkeeping
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Recordkeeping Requirements Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
8
Illinois Department of Labor. File a Workplace Complaint
9
Illinois Department of Labor. Wage Claims Process FAQ
10
Internal Revenue Service. Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee