Labor & Employment Law Update

Back in early 2019, one of the very first actions taken by the new administration in Illinois was to amend the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act (IPWA).  While many changes took effect in 2019, one material change was set to become effective April 1, 2020. This change requires all contractors to submit their monthly certified transcript of payroll via the Illinois Department of Labor’s electronic database. To be clear, the Certified Transcript of Payroll submission under Illinois’ Prevailing Wage Act is now electronic and should be utilized by all contractors beginning with the April 15, 2020 submission for March 2020 work. 

The relevant changes to the IPWA are included here:

820 ILCS 130/5

After the activation of the database created under Section 5.1, the Department of Labor rather than the public body in charge of the project shall keep the records and maintain the database. The records submitted . . . . shall be considered public records, except an employee’s address, telephone number, social security number, race, ethnicity, and gender, and made available in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.

820 ILCS 130/5.1

Electronic database. The Department shall develop and maintain an electronic database capable of accepting and retaining certified payrolls submitted under this Act no later than April 1, 2020. The database shall accept certified payroll forms provided by the Department that are fillable and designed to accept electronic signatures.

The IDOL’s online portal can be found on the Illinois Department of Labor website.  

While some local units of government or certain government employees may not be familiar with this new change, contractors of all shapes and sizes performing prevailing wage work pursuant to the IPWA must be intimately familiar with this new administrative mandate. All such contractors must register an account (an Illinois Public ID Account) through the IDOL’s portal as soon as possible. You must have your own Illinois Public ID Account in order to submit the electronic transcript. 

The exact impact of this is to be determined. However, it should be rather obvious that this new maneuver will provide the IDOL instant access to all certified transcripts of payroll for any and all prevailing wage projects taken place throughout Illinois. Such changes provide the IDOL instantaneous information that may have taken days and weeks under prior practice; making investigation and enforcement easier and more prevalent in the future. As such, it is more critical than ever to make certain each and every certified transcript of payroll is prepared flawlessly.