By Anthony J. Caruso, Jr., Esq.
A little known regulation (alarming for employers!) exists in the State of Illinois. The Illinois Department of Labor adopted new regulations (to enforce the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act) which went into effect in August 2014. There was no notice in the press.
Under one of these regulations, Illinois employers are required to record EVERY employee’s hours worked each day regardless of the fact that the employee is salary exempt (possibly administrative, executive, or professional). Under federal law (Fair Labor Standards Act), there is no requirement for such record keeping.
The Illinois regulation requires:
- Records of hours worked for all employees, and
- Records kept for at least three (3) years.
This Illinois regulation fails to state a penalty on employers who fail to keep records. However, the Illinois Department of Labor will continue its position that if the employer does NOT have written records of hours worked of the employee claiming wages owed, then the employee’s statement of hours worked will prevail.
Based upon this new regulation, should Illinois employers change their record keeping of hours worked to include salaried exempt employees? It depends. If the employer is very certain that all salaried exempt employees are properly classified, the employer probably does not need to keep track of hours worked by the salaried exempt employees. If not, the employer may consider adding the burden of additional record keeping.
Questions?: Contact Anthony J. Caruso, Jr. of Wessels Sherman’s St. Charles office at (630) 377-1554 or via email at ancaruso@wesselssherman.com.
Based upon this new regulation, should Illinois employers change their record keeping of hours worked to include salaried exempt employees? It depends. If the employer is very certain that all salaried exempt employees are properly classified, the employer probably does not need to keep track of hours worked by the salaried exempt employees. If not, the employer may consider adding the burden of additional record keeping.
Questions?: Contact Anthony J. Caruso, Jr. of Wessels Sherman’s St. Charles office at (630) 377-1554 or via email at ancaruso@wesselssherman.com.
