What do Illinois labor laws change in the schedule and the pay?
Illinois counts overtime by the workweek: hours over 40 are paid at least 1.5 times the regular rate2. The One Day Rest in Seven Act gives covered employees at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive seven-day period4.
An employee who is to work 7 1/2 continuous hours gets a meal period of at least 20 minutes, starting no later than 5 hours in5. Watchmen and security guards are exempt from the day of rest; the meal-period section has its own, shorter list of exceptions678.
The general minimum wage is $15 an hour for employees 18 and older9. Chicago's is $17.05 for employers with 4 or more employees, and Cook County's is $15.40 where its ordinance applies31011.
This text does not constitute legal advice. Obligations vary by establishment and change over time. Confirm yours with the Illinois Department of Labor, the Chicago Office of Labor Standards, the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, or a qualified advisor.
Which dates changed the rules in Illinois?
- Paid Leave for All Workers Act
Employees earn paid leave, usable for any reason, up to a minimum of 40 hours in a 12-month period1213.
- State minimum wage: $15
For employees 18 and older; $13 for those under 18 who have not worked more than 650 hours for the employer in the calendar year914.
- Chicago $17.05, Cook County $15.40
Chicago's rate is for employers with 4 or more employees; Cook County's is for non-tipped employees310.
Past or upcoming as of November 12, 2026.
What changes in the week in Illinois?
When you build the schedule
Every employer must allow every employee, except those the Act lists, at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive seven-day period, on top of the regular rest at the close of each working day4.
Before operating on Sunday, the employer posts the employees required or allowed to work that day and each one's day of rest15. The Department's rule sets the deadline at 12:00 noon on the Friday before16. Permits, the exemptions and the meal-period count are on the Act's own page17.
Hours over 40 in a workweek are paid at not less than 1.5 times the regular rate2. The Department of Labor says overtime can be required, “unless such work would violate the One Day Rest in Seven Act”18.
When people clock in and take breaks
An employee who is to work 7 1/2 continuous hours gets at least 20 minutes for a meal period, beginning no later than 5 hours after the start of the work period, and an additional 20-minute meal period for every additional 4 1/2 continuous hours worked5.
When someone calls in sick
Under the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, paid leave accrues at one hour for every 40 hours worked, up to a minimum of 40 hours in a 12-month period, and can be used for any reason1319. Use can start 90 days after employment begins19.
For foreseeable leave the employer may require 7 calendar days' notice, and it may not require the employee to find a replacement worker20.
The Act does not apply to an employer covered by a municipal or county paid leave ordinance in effect on its effective date, January 1, 20242112. An employer such an ordinance does not require to give paid leave is still subject to the Act, and an ordinance enacted or amended later must give benefits, rights and remedies greater than or equal to the Act's21.
The Department of Labor says the Act does not apply to workers and employers in Chicago or Cook County, whose ordinances passed before January 1, 202422. For employers operating in several municipalities, Cook County requires paid leave for employees who spend at least 50% of their time in Cook County, in a municipality that follows its ordinance23.
In payroll
The general state minimum wage is $15 an hour for employees 18 and older9. In an adult's first 90 consecutive calendar days with the employer, the wage may be up to 50¢ less24. That does not apply to day or temporary laborers, or to occasional or irregular work that takes 90 days or less24. Employees under 18 who have not worked more than 650 hours for the employer in the calendar year can be paid $1314.
The Minimum Wage Law does not count as employees the workers of an employer with fewer than 4 employees, not counting the employer's immediate family25. An employer of tipped employees may take an allowance for gratuities of up to 40% of the minimum wage, with substantial evidence that the employee received the tips26.
The Department of Labor also says compensatory time off in place of overtime pay “is not legal in the private sector”18.
With a union agreement
The day-of-rest rule does not apply to employees whose work hours, days of work and rest periods are set through collective bargaining, and the meal-period rule does not apply where meal periods are277. The Department of Labor adds that if the agreement does not specify meal breaks or a day off, the Act's provisions apply28.
Watch for
- Who the day of rest leaves out. Besides watchmen and security guards, the list includes part-time employees who work 20 hours or fewer for one employer in a calendar week, emergency work, agriculture and coal mining, seasonal canning, executive, administrative and professional employees, outside salesmen and supervisors, and towing vessel crews62729.
- Emergencies. The Department's rule says an emergency does not include calling in employees on their day of rest to replace those scheduled who fail to report for work30.
- Overtime exemptions. The weekly overtime rule lists its own exemptions, among them bona fide executive, administrative and professional employees as the federal Fair Labor Standards Act defines them31.
- Hotel room attendants in Cook County. In a county of more than 3,000,000 people, a room attendant who works at least 7 hours gets two paid 15-minute rest breaks and a 30-minute meal period32. A missed break costs 3 times the regular hourly rate for that workday, and the employer keeps a record of the break periods32.
What changes for security, health care and warehouses in Illinois?
Security
The day-of-rest rule in § 2(a) does not apply to employees employed as watchmen or security guards6. The meal-period rule in § 3 lists different exceptions: union agreements that set meal periods, and two on-call roles, staff who monitor individuals with developmental disabilities or mental illness and private EMS licensees78.
In Chicago, the Fair Workweek Ordinance counts security services as building services, one of its seven covered industries33.
Hospitals
A hospital may not require a nurse to work mandated overtime except in an unforeseen emergent circumstance, as a last resort, and never more than 4 hours beyond the agreed shift. A nurse mandated to work up to 12 consecutive hours gets at least 8 consecutive hours off right after34.
The rule covers nurses who receive an hourly wage and have direct responsibility to oversee or carry out nursing care35. Time a nurse must be available in a specialized unit, such as surgical nursing services, does not count toward mandated overtime, and short staffing for the usual, predictable needs of patients is not an emergent circumstance35.
Warehouses and temporary staff
A day or temporary laborer sent to a client's worksite and not used is paid by the agency for at least 4 hours at the agreed rate, or 2 hours if placed at another location the same shift36. After more than 720 hours at the same client within a 12-month period, the agency's pay must meet one of the equal pay methods the Act sets37. The Act does not cover professional or clerical work38.
What do Chicago and Cook County add in Illinois?
Chicago
The Fair Workweek Ordinance covers employees in seven industries: building services, health care, hotels, manufacturing, restaurants, retail and warehouse services33. The employer has 100 or more employees globally (250 for not-for-profits), 50 of them covered39. A restaurant is covered only with, globally, at least 30 locations and 250 employees39. Covered employees earn up to a wage ceiling the City publishes, which the ordinance raises each year with the CPI4041. Schedules are posted 14 days before they start42. Every employee who works at least 80 hours within any 120-day period in the city earns paid leave and paid sick leave4344.
Chicago labor laws: what changes the schedule and the pay
Cook County
Where a municipality has its own minimum wage, as Chicago does, that rate applies; where it has none, the County's applies, and some municipalities have opted out11. The County's FAQ says its paid leave ordinance requires accrual at a rate of 1 hour for every 40 hours worked45.
| City or county | Rate | In force since | Next published rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicagoemployers with 4 or more employees | $17.053 | July 1, 2026 | — | Official page |
| Cook Countynon-tipped employees, where the County's ordinance applies11 | $15.4010 | July 1, 2026 | — | Official page |
What does an employer have to be able to show?
Illinois' rules are shown with time and pay records. For each person and each period, that means:
- The name, address and occupation, the rate of pay, the amount paid each pay period and the hours worked each day in each work week, kept for not less than 3 years46.
- A time book with the names and addresses of all employees and the hours each worked on each day, open to the Director of Labor47.
- The hours worked and the paid leave accrued, taken and remaining, kept for not less than 3 years48.
- For hotel room attendants in Cook County, a complete and accurate record of their break periods32.
- Letters granting day-of-rest permits, kept for two years under the Department's rule49.
For an employer with 25 or more employees, each violation of the day of rest or the meal period carries a penalty of up to $500 to the Department and up to $500 in damages to the employee, and $250 each below 25 employees50. Each week without the 24 hours and each day without the meal period is a separate offense, counted employee by employee50.
What does the law leave open?
Which posts count as security guards. § 2(b)(5) exempts “Employees employed as watchmen or security guards” from the day of rest6. The Act's definitions section defines only “Employer”, not those words51. Whether a given role is one of them is a question for your counsel.
How the seven-day period is counted. § 2(a) says “every consecutive seven-day period”4, and § 7(b) makes each week without the 24 hours a separate offense50. The Department's rules, in effect since January 31, 1979, define a week as running from 12:01 A.M. Sunday to Saturday midnight, and charge a violation for each week an employee works seven days of the calendar week without a permit525354. How those fit a rolling schedule is a question for your counsel.
Paid leave across Chicago, Cook County and the rest of the state. The state Act does not apply to employers covered by a local ordinance in effect on its effective date, under the conditions § 15(p) sets21. The Department says the Act does not apply in Chicago or Cook County22. For employers in several municipalities, Cook County covers employees who spend at least 50% of their time in Cook County, in a municipality that follows its ordinance23. Which rule governs an employee who works across those lines is a question for your counsel.
What does the law say exactly?
(a) Every employer shall allow every employee except those specified in this Section at least twenty-four consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive seven-day period in addition to the regular period of rest allowed at the close of each working day.
820 ILCS 140/2(b)(5) watchmen and security guards
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to the following: […] (5) Employees employed as watchmen or security guards;
820 ILCS 140/3 meal periods
Every employer shall permit its employees who are to work for 7 1/2 continuous hours, except those specified in this Section, at least 20 minutes for a meal period beginning no later than 5 hours after the start of the work period. An employee who works in excess of 7 1/2 continuous hours shall be entitled to an additional 20-minute meal period for every additional 4 1/2 continuous hours worked.
820 ILCS 140/4 the Sunday schedule and the day of rest
Before operating on the first day of the week, which is commonly known as Sunday, every employer shall post in a conspicuous place on the premises, a schedule containing a list of his employees who are required or allowed to work on Sunday, and designating the day of rest for each. Anything in this Act to the contrary notwithstanding, no employee shall be required to work on the day of rest so designated for him.
56 Ill. Adm. Code 220.700 and 220.910 the Friday-noon posting deadline
Schedules required by Section 4 of the Act, (Illinois Revised Statutes, 1977, chapter 48, par. 8d) shall be posted not later than 12:00 noon on the Friday preceding the Sunday to be worked. […] One violation shall be charged for each week the schedule required by Section 4 of the Act, (Illinois Revised Statutes, 1977, chapter 48, par. 8D) is not posted as provided in Section 220.700.
820 ILCS 140/7 penalties
(a) Any employer who violates Sections 2, 3, or 3.1 shall be guilty of a civil offense, and shall be subject to a civil penalty as follows: (1) For an employer with fewer than 25 employees, a penalty not to exceed $250 per offense, payable to the Department of Labor, and damages of up to $250 per offense, payable to the employee or employees affected. (2) For an employer with 25 or more employees, a penalty not to exceed $500 per offense, payable to the Department of Labor, and damages of up to $500 per offense, payable to the employee or employees affected. (b) An offense under this Act shall be determined on an individual basis for each employee whose rights are violated. (1) Each week that an employee is found to not have been allowed 24 consecutive hours of rest as required in Section 2 shall constitute a separate offense. (2) Each day that an employee is found not to have been provided a meal period as required in Section 3 shall constitute a separate offense.
820 ILCS 105/4a(1) overtime
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, no employer shall employ any of his employees for a workweek of more than 40 hours unless such employee receives compensation for his employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than 1 1/2 times the regular rate at which he is employed.
820 ILCS 105/4(a)(1) the minimum wage
and on and after January 1, 2025, every employer shall pay to each of his or her employees who is 18 years of age or older in every occupation wages of not less than $15 per hour.
820 ILCS 105/8 records
Every employer subject to any provision of this Act or of any order issued under this Act shall make and keep for a period of not less than 3 years, true and accurate records of the name, address and occupation of each of his employees, the rate of pay, and the amount paid each pay period to each employee, the hours worked each day in each work week by each employee,
820 ILCS 192/15(a)-(b) paid leave
(a) An employee who works in Illinois is entitled to earn and use up to a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave during a 12-month period or a pro rata number of hours of paid leave under the provisions of subsection (b). The paid leave may be used by the employee for any purpose as long as the paid leave is taken in accordance with the provisions of this Act. […] (b) Paid leave under this Act shall accrue at the rate of one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked up to a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave or such greater amount if the employer provides more than 40 hours. […] employers may set a reasonable minimum increment for the use of paid leave not to exceed 2 hours per day.
820 ILCS 192/15(p) local ordinances
(p) The provisions of this Act shall not apply to any employer that is covered by a municipal or county ordinance that is in effect on the effective date of this Act that requires employers to give any form of paid leave to their employees, including paid sick leave or paid leave. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, any employer that is not required to provide paid leave to its employees, including paid sick leave or paid leave, under a municipal or county ordinance that is in effect on the effective date of this Act shall be subject to the provisions of this Act if the employer would be required to provide paid leave under this Act to its employees. Any local ordinance that provides paid leave, including paid sick leave or paid leave, enacted or amended after the effective date of this Act must comply with the requirements of this Act or provide benefits, rights, and remedies that are greater than or equal to the benefits, rights, and remedies afforded under this Act. An employer in a municipality or county that enacts or amends a local ordinance that provides paid leave, including paid sick leave or paid leave, after the effective date of this Act shall only comply with the local ordinance or ordinances so long as the benefits, rights, and remedies are greater than or equal to the benefits, rights, and remedies afforded under this Act.
210 ILCS 85/10.9(b)-(c) nurse mandated overtime
(b) Mandated overtime prohibited. No nurse may be required to work mandated overtime except in the case of an unforeseen emergent circumstance when such overtime is required only as a last resort. Such mandated overtime shall not exceed 4 hours beyond an agreed-to, predetermined work shift. (c) Off-duty period. When a nurse is mandated to work up to 12 consecutive hours, the nurse must be allowed at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time immediately following the completion of a shift.
820 ILCS 175/30(g) temporary laborers not used
(g) A day or temporary laborer who is contracted by a day and temporary labor service agency to work at a third party client's worksite but is not utilized by the third party client shall be paid by the day and temporary labor service agency for a minimum of 4 hours of pay at the agreed upon rate of pay. However, in the event the day and temporary labor service agency contracts the day or temporary laborer to work at another location during the same shift, the day or temporary laborer shall be paid by the day and temporary labor service agency for a minimum of 2 hours of pay at the agreed upon rate of pay.
How does a system hold these rules?
In Illinois, the day of rest and weekly overtime land on the same schedule and the same timecard. This is how WorkAxle holds them:
- Daily and weekly hours, consecutive days and rest between shifts are set up as rules, each with its start date.
- While the schedule is built, the platform flags each shift that breaks one of those rules and names the rule. The supervisor decides.
- Each clock-in and clock-out is recorded with its time, and at the close of the period hours come out classified by your rules, ready for your payroll system.
The supervisor keeps the last word.
What can you check this week?
- Run last month's schedules site by site and find every employee the Act covers who went a consecutive seven-day period without 24 consecutive hours off462729.
- Check that each site posts its Sunday schedule, listing the employees who work Sunday and each one's day of rest, by 12:00 noon on the Friday before1516.
- Pull three timecards for shifts of 7 1/2 continuous hours or more and confirm the meal period began no later than 5 hours in5.
- List your sites in Chicago and in Cook County and check each rate against the table above310.
Sending it to finance, operations or your counsel? The link opens this page, and the printed brief carries the rules, the dates and the sources.
This text does not constitute legal advice. Obligations vary by establishment and change over time. Confirm yours with the Illinois Department of Labor, the Chicago Office of Labor Standards, the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, or a qualified advisor.
Frequently asked questions
Does Illinois require a day off every week?
The One Day Rest in Seven Act requires every employer to allow every employee, except those it lists, at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive seven-day period4. The list includes part-time employees who work 20 hours or fewer for one employer in a calendar week and employees whose days of rest are set through collective bargaining27.
Does Illinois have daily overtime?
Not in the Minimum Wage Law: its overtime rule counts the workweek, and hours over 40 are paid at not less than 1.5 times the regular rate2. The Department of Labor says time and a half is owed for work over 40 hours in a workweek18.
What is the minimum wage in Illinois?
$15 an hour for employees 18 and older, on and after January 1, 20259. The Minimum Wage Law does not count as employees the workers of an employer with fewer than 4 employees25. In an adult's first 90 consecutive calendar days with the employer, the wage may be up to 50¢ less, but not for day or temporary laborers or occasional or irregular work of 90 days or less24. Chicago's is $17.05 for employers with 4 or more employees, and Cook County's is $15.40 for non-tipped employees where its ordinance applies, both since July 1, 2026310.
How much paid leave do Illinois employers have to give?
Under the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, one hour for every 40 hours worked, up to a minimum of 40 hours in a 12-month period, usable for any reason from 90 days after employment begins1319. The Act does not apply to employers covered by a local paid leave ordinance in effect on its effective date21. An employer such an ordinance does not require to give paid leave is still subject to the Act21. The Department says the Act does not apply to workers and employers in Chicago or Cook County, whose ordinances passed before January 1, 202422.
Can an Illinois employer require overtime?
The Department of Labor says yes, “unless such work would violate the One Day Rest in Seven Act”18.
https://www.workaxle.com/compliance-center/united-states/illinois