Release Date: 12/31/2025

Illinois Department of Labor Highlights Key Worker Protections and Enforcement Actions in 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 31, 2025

CONTACT:
Paul Cicchini 217-785-1719
Paul.Cicchini@Illinois.gov

SPRINGFIELD – As 2025 ends, the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) is proud to share a year of impactful enforcement actions and successful resolutions that protected workers ' rights and ensured fair compensation across the state. From recovering unpaid wages – approximately $2.7 million year-to-date – to enforcing child labor and paid leave laws, IDOL has remained steadfast in its mission to uphold labor standards and support workers.

“The Illinois Department of Labor has taken decisive action to protect workers’ safety, recover unpaid wages, and promote employers’ compliance with the law,” said IDOL Director Jane Flanagan. “Throughout 2025, the Department worked diligently to ensure that Illinois workers are treated fairly and compensated properly.”

Here are some enforcement highlights from the past year:

Wage Recoveries

• IDOL continues to distribute back wages owed to workers pursuant to a settlement that IDOL and the Illinois Office of the Attorney General secured with GrapeTree Medical Staffing, LLC, a healthcare staffing company. The company had been deducting “booking fees” from employees’ paychecks when shifts were missed or canceled within 72 hours, violating the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. Year to date, approximately $102,000 has been paid to claimants.

• After a manufacturing worker was laid off with an expectation of re-employment, not only was the worker not rehired, but he was not paid his final compensation. After filing a wage claim with IDOL, the employer was ordered to pay over $30,000 in wages, earned vacation, and penalties.

Paid Leave for All Workers Act Enforcement

After implementing the Paid Leave for All Workers Act last year, IDOL began enforcement in earnest this year. In one instance IDOL by reached an agreement with an Illinois township that failed to provide part-time employees with paid leave. The township paid $5,000 in penalties and ensured that part-time workers began accruing paid leave as required by law.

Prevailing Wage Act Enforcement

IDOL resolved multiple complaints involving insufficient payment of prevailing wages on public works projects, including:

• IDOL reached a settlement agreement with a solar company in central Illinois and recovered approximately $81,000 in wages for the more than four dozen affected workers. The Department also collected more than $16,000 in penalties.

• On another solar construction project, IDOL recovered $85,000 in unpaid wages and $17,000 in civil penalties for workers due to employee misclassification and incorrect compensation.

Minimum Wage and Overtime Compliance

Following a complaint from a restaurant worker, IDOL conducted a wage audit and confirmed underpayments. The Department recovered over $20,000 for 30 affected workers, ensuring compliance with Illinois’ minimum wage and overtime laws.

Informal Resolution and Mediation Unit Success

IDOL’s Informal Resolution and Mediation Unit (IRMU), which was launched in 2024, has resolved more than 830 small value wage claims. Approximately $103,000 in unpaid wages have been collected by claimants.

Protecting Youth Workers

IDOL investigated allegations of child labor violations at a fast-food restaurant and identified that minors were working improper hours early in the morning and late at night, were working more than permitted on school days, were not receiving meal breaks, and the employer did not have appropriate child labor certificates on file. IDOL settled the case with the restaurant and recovered $31,000 in penalties.

Equal Pay Act Enforcement

A security firm employee alleged unequal pay based on sex. IDOL investigated and found a violation of the Equal Pay Act of 2003, resulting in a $10,000 wage payment to the employee and a $2,500 penalty paid to IDOL’s Equal Pay Fund.

Pay Transparency in Job Postings

As of January 1, 2025, the Illinois Equal Pay Act requires employers with 15 or more employees to include pay scale and benefit information in most job postings and inform their staff about externally promoted job postings. In the first year of enforcement, IDOL received over 1,500 Pay Transparency complaints and was able to resolve more than 630 of those (with over 60% resolved by informal collaboration with employers).

Protecting Public Fun

A family entertainment center chain was advertising that it had installed trampolines and was preparing to open soon. An inspector with the Department of Labor noticed the advertisement and realized that the business had not applied for the required permits to have the attractions inspected. Thanks to the inspector’s attention to detail, the Department of Labor was able to work with the business to ensure the trampolines met Illinois safety standards, allowing the center to open safely for children.

Protecting Public Workers

While driving back to headquarters, IL OSHA inspectors observed a municipal water department working at an excavation and pulled over to assess the site where they discovered an employee in an underground utility vault with no safety measures for confined space entry in place. The employer was cited by IL OSHA for multiple violations of standards related to confined space entry and excavation and has been working in good faith to improve health and safety for their employees since.

The Department encourages workers with concerns about unpaid wages or other labor violations to contact IDOL at 312-793-2800, or file a complaint online.

• Illinois Department of Labor Highlights Key Worker Protections and Enforcement Actions in 2025
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