Illinois Provides Additional Protections to Workers on Publicly Funded Projects

In 2025, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed three new bills into law to amend the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act (the Act): HB 1189, SB 1344, and HB 2488. These amendments, which became effective June 2025, expanded protections for workers who are subject to the prevailing wage requirements of the Act and imposed additional penalties on contractors and subcontractors for violations of the Act. Now approaching almost one year with these amendments on the books, it is a good time for covered employers to assess their compliance.

Illinois’s Prevailing Wage Act

The Act requires contractors and subcontractors in Illinois to pay laborers, mechanics, and other workers on public works projects at least the general prevailing wage for similar work in the locality where the work is being performed. The requirement to pay prevailing wages extends to public works projects, which the Act defines as a fixed work constructed or demolished by any public body or paid wholly or partially out of public funds. Prevailing wage requirements also apply to any maintenance, repair, assembly, or disassembly work performed on equipment used on a public works project.

The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) administers the Act’s prevailing wage requirements. The prevailing wage rate that must be paid to a worker depends on the worker’s job classification and is comprised of both hourly cash wages and fringe benefits as determined by IDOL. Employers who perform work covered by the Act must maintain certain records, post wage rates at job sites, and file certified payroll records on a monthly basis to IDOL. Failure to pay prevailing wages, maintain records, and/or file certified payroll records can subject an employer to significant consequences, including penalties and punitive damages, and even disbarment from public works projects for repeat violations.

Illinois’s prevailing wage law imposes requirements that are separate and apart from those imposed by the federal Davis-Bacon Act (DBA). The DBA generally requires contractors and subcontracts to pay prevailing wages on federally funded or assisted construction projects over $2,000. Historically, Illinois prevailing wage requirements did not apply to DBA-covered projects.

2025 Amendments to the Act

HB 1189: Amending the Definition of Public Works

HB 1189 amends the definition of covered “public works” to include all federal construction projects administered or controlled by a public body in Illinois if the prevailing wage rate is equal to or greater than the prevailing wage rate set by the U.S. Department of Labor in the same locality, for the same type of construction. Said differently, workers on public works projects must now receive either the Illinois or federally set DBA prevailing wage rates, whichever is higher, on federal public works projects administered or controlled by a public body in the state of Illinois.

This amendment became effective on July 1, 2025.

SB 1344: Inspection of Sewers and New Penalties for Non-Compliance

SB 1344 further amends the definition of public works to include sewer inspection projects that use a closed-circuit television to identify issues in a sewer system. Contractors and subcontractors who perform projects of this kind are now subject to the prevailing wage obligations of the Act.

SB 1344 also imposes new penalties for non-compliance with the Act. Specifically, any contractor or subcontractor subject to the Act and any officer, employee, or agent who has the responsibility to file certified payroll records to IDOL as required by the Act may face new penalties for failure to file certified payrolls. The contractor, subcontractor, and/or individual responsible may be fined up to $1,000 for their first offense and up to $2,000 for a second or subsequent offense within five years of the first offense. Any offense more than five years after the first offense is considered a first offense, and each month an individual violates the Act is considered a separate offense. An offense may be challenged by requesting an administrative hearing within ten days of receiving notice of a violation from IDOL. IDOL will consider mitigating evidence for failure to submit certified payroll records, including that the contractor or subcontractor experienced technical difficulties, but lack of knowledge of the requirement to submit certified payroll records will not be considered mitigating evidence.

These amendments became effective June 30, 2025.

HB 2488: Apprentice Fringe Benefits

HB 2488 amends the Act’s requirements regarding apprentice compensation. All apprentices on Illinois public works projects must receive full journeyman fringe benefits, even if a previous collective bargaining agreement or apprenticeship program allowed a lower fringe benefit rate. IDOL has stated that this amendment merely codifies the agency’s existing longstanding interpretation of the Act to require that apprentices be paid fringe benefits at the same rate as journeymen.

This amendment became effective June 30, 2025.

Conclusion

With the 2025 amendments to the Act now established, employees performing work on public works projects in Illinois should take note of these important changes.

First, federal construction projects performed in Illinois are now subject to the Act’s prevailing wage requirements, with workers entitled to the higher of the Illinois state or federal prevailing wage rate.

Second, sewer inspection projects using closed-circuit television are now covered as public works, broadening the scope of projects subject to the Act.

Third, contractors and subcontractors face new penalties for failure to file monthly certified payroll records with IDOL, with each month of noncompliance treated as a separate offense. Fourth, all apprentices on public works projects must receive full journeymen fringe benefits. Contractors on public works projects in Illinois should review their current practices, ensure timely filing of certified payroll records, and consult legal counsel to confirm compliance with these expanded requirements.

This article was prepared with the assistance of 2026 summer associate John Stillman.