Illinois joins lengthening list of states outlawing wage theft

Springfield, IL (PAI) — By an overwhelming legislative majority Illinois has joined the lengthening list of states to outlaw wage theft.

The measure, signed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker in September, shows again the importance of state-level lawmakers and governors to workers.

That can be both positive and negative. The nation is increasingly politically polarized. In “Blue States,” such as Illinois, New York, California, and, this year, Michigan and Minnesota, elected officials respond to workers’ support with worker protection legislation unlikely to make it through Capitol Hill.

But in often gerrymandered and/or racially polarized “Red States” – such as Texas and Florida and other Southern and lightly populated Great Plains states – right-wing radicals, funded by corporate special interests, enact and enforce worker suppression and voter suppression legislation, often at the same time.

Illinois’ wage theft bill, HB1122, was one of the top priorities of the state AFL-CIO. The Illinois House passed it 68 to 38 and the state Senate agreed 35 to 20. It takes effect next July 1.

The bill specifically applies to freelance workers, mandating their employers sign them to written, legally enforceable contracts, with wage protections.

The bill also increases fines for wage theft and gives more investigative and enforcement power to the state Labor Department.

While the bill singles out freelance workers for protection, House Deputy Majority Leader Natalie Manley (D-Joliet) says it applies to others as well.

“All workers, regardless of their employment status, deserve to have common-sense basic protections,” Manley told the Will County (Ill.) Labor Record.

“With so many working families living pay check to pay check, it can be devastating when workers aren’t paid on time, or aren’t paid at all,” Manley said. “Theft is theft, no matter who is doing it. Whether it’s an individual or a multinational corporation, no one is above the law.”