Wage Theft Changes

There are two or three areas that the new wage theft laws and their amendments address that will be welcome news to those who have been victims of wage theft or misclassification.

In the past, the laws that were in place in states like Illinois only imposed a Class C misdemeanor for violations and had no real penalties for employers who penalized or fired employees who complained about wage theft.  The court cases indicated that the misdemeanor charges were only there to deter other offenders and few cases ended in penalties for retribution.

The recent amendments however, include a stronger role for the Illinois Department of Labor, prosecution in civil and criminal court for full payment and the possibility of Class 4 Felony charges for repeat offenders. 

Those changes are part of the national movement to raise awareness of this issue and to level the playing field for those companies who play by the rules.  Look for hearings on the bills in Congress meant to create a federal law to stop Wage Theft.