Illinois · Wages · Updated April 2026

Hourly workers must be paid at least semi-monthly. Itemized statement required every payment.

The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (820 ILCS 115/3) requires hourly and non-exempt workers to be paid at least semi-monthly — twice per calendar month. Executive, administrative, and professional employees can be paid monthly. Each payment must be accompanied by an itemized wage statement showing hours, rates, gross wages, deductions, and net pay. Failure to comply triggers Wage Payment Act remedies: 5% per month penalty, attorney fees, double damages for willful violations.

Frequency
Semi-monthly (hourly)
Statement
Itemized every pay
Authority
820 ILCS 115/3, /10
Active

Wage Statement & Pay Frequency

Enforces semi-monthly minimum frequency for hourly workers. Generates itemized wage statements showing hours, rate, gross, deductions, and net per the IL Wage Payment Act.

Block monthly cadence for hourly worker
Verify statement contains required fields
Always running

What those rules do as payroll runs in Illinois.

The hero card configuration: Block on illegal monthly setup for hourly, Flag on missing statement fields.

Block · monthly cadence for hourly worker

When an admin attempts to set up a monthly pay cadence for an hourly or non-exempt worker, the configuration is blocked. Semi-monthly is the minimum — weekly or biweekly is also acceptable.

Flag · missing statement fields

Every wage statement is verified to contain: hours worked, rate(s) of pay, gross wages, all deductions itemized, net pay, employer name, employee name, pay period dates. Missing fields surface as Flag indicators.

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Deploy IL wage statements in your Teambridge.

Tell us about your Illinois workforce. We'll spin up wage statement formatting, frequency enforcement, and 21 other Illinois policies in a sandbox tenant.

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The rule, plainly stated

Two requirements: cadence and itemization.

The Wage Payment Act has been the foundation of Illinois wage compliance since the 1970s. Section 3 covers cadence; Section 10 covers statement contents. Both apply to every pay run.

820 ILCS 115/3 — Frequency; 820 ILCS 115/10 — Itemized Statements: All wages earned by any employee during a semi-monthly or biweekly pay period shall be paid not later than 13 days after the end of the pay period. Every employer shall furnish to every employee on each regular payday an itemized statement of deductions made from his or her wages.

Semi-monthly minimum for hourly

Hourly and non-exempt employees must be paid at least semi-monthly (twice per calendar month). Most Illinois employers use biweekly (every 2 weeks) or semi-monthly (1st and 15th, or 15th and end-of-month). Weekly pay is also acceptable. Monthly pay is permitted only for executive, administrative, and professional employees who pass the FLSA exempt tests.

Pay timeliness within the cadence

Wages earned during a semi-monthly or biweekly pay period must be paid not later than 13 days after the end of the pay period. Wages earned during a weekly pay period must be paid not later than 7 days after. The lag time is the operational deadline.

On autopilot

Teambridge enforces frequency, formats statements, retains the records.

Wage statement compliance is the kind of background work that's invisible until an IDOL audit — at which point the cost of getting it wrong compounds quickly.

01 · Cadence enforcement

Set at employer onboarding.

When an employer is configured, pay frequency is set per worker classification. Hourly workers are gated to semi-monthly minimum; exempt workers can be monthly.

02 · Statement generation

All required fields populated.

Every paystub generates with all IL Wage Payment Act required fields. Missing data fails the run before it processes.

03 · PLAWA/local-leave display

Balances integrated into statement.

Workers covered by paid leave ordinances see balances on each paystub: hours accrued, hours used, current balance. Visibility is required.

04 · Retention

3-year archive maintained automatically.

All wage statements are archived for at least 3 years and exportable for IDOL inspection on request.

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Send us your existing Illinois scheduling and pay configuration. Our compliance team returns a written audit within 5 business days — every Illinois-specific exposure ranked by risk and back-pay liability.

FAQ

People also ask.

How often must I pay hourly workers in Illinois?
At least semi-monthly — twice per calendar month. Weekly and biweekly are also acceptable. Monthly is only allowed for exempt executive, administrative, and professional employees.
What's the deadline for wages within the pay period?
Semi-monthly and biweekly: 13 days after the end of the pay period. Weekly: 7 days after. The lag time matters — paying late even by a few days creates Wage Payment Act exposure.
What has to be on the wage statement?
Hours worked at each rate, rate(s) of pay, gross wages, all deductions itemized, net pay, employer's name, employee's name, pay period beginning and end dates. Electronic delivery is fine if the worker can access and print.
Do I have to show PLAWA leave balance on the paystub?
Yes for PLAWA-covered workers. The Act requires visibility — workers need to see what they have. Same for Chicago Paid Leave and Cook County PLO. Most employers integrate the display into the regular paystub.
How long must I keep wage statement records?
At least 3 years under the IL Wage Payment Act. Records must be available for IDOL inspection on request. Lost records typically default in the worker's favor.
Can I issue paystubs electronically?
Yes, as long as the worker can access and print them. Electronic-only delivery without print capability has been challenged. Most Illinois employers offer both digital access and the ability to print or download.
How does Teambridge handle this?
Pay frequency is enforced at the worker classification level — hourly workers gated to semi-monthly minimum. Each paystub generates with all required fields. PLAWA/local-leave balances integrate into the statement. Records archive for 3+ years and export for IDOL audit.