Jane Flanagan Director at Illinois Department of Labor | Official website
Jane Flanagan Director at Illinois Department of Labor | Official website
The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) is approaching a significant milestone, marking five years since it began the online collection of certified payrolls from contractors involved in public works projects. These projects encompass any construction work funded entirely or partially by state or local public tax dollars.
Certified payrolls serve as a record of wages paid to workers on these projects. As mandated by the Prevailing Wage Act, these records must include details such as the worker's name, classification, trade, hourly wage rate, and hours worked each week on both public works and other projects.
"Prevailing wage certified payroll filings help ensure that workers on government-funded projects are paid the correct wages and benefits for their work," stated Illinois Department of Labor Director Jane Flanagan. She added that "Illinois' public certified transcript of payroll portal provides transparency in the industry, helps maintain accountability among contractors that have won bids for their work, and allows the Department to report aggregate data on public works construction projects."
In 2018, changes were made to the certified payroll section of the Prevailing Wage Act by the Illinois General Assembly. With Governor Pritzker's inauguration in 2019, SB 203 was signed into law as PA 100-1177. This law tasked IDOL with maintaining an online portal for prevailing wage construction contractors to file their certified payrolls with the department. Previously, these records were collected by the public body overseeing each project.
To promote compliance with the Prevailing Wage Act, IDOL reminds construction contractors on public works projects to submit their certified payrolls by the 15th of every month for the preceding calendar month.
Since initiating this process in 2020, nearly 1.5 million submissions have been recorded in the portal.
Further details about certified transcript of payrolls and available training materials can be accessed through IDOL's resources.