New hire reporting — 20-day deadline
Illinois employers must report every newly hired employee to the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) within 20 days of the employee’s first day performing paid services. The report must include the following details for each new hire:
- Employee’s name, address, and Social Security number
- Date services for remuneration were first performed by the employee
- Employer’s name, address, and Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
This requirement applies to both employees and independent contractors. For employers submitting new hire reports magnetically or electronically, Illinois additionally requires the employee’s date of birth and state of hire.
There is no Illinois state law or regulation requiring employers to report whether health insurance is available to the employee as part of the new hire reporting process. The principal authority is 820 ILCS 405/1801.1, which lists the above reporting elements and authorizes the Director to require additional information only if required by federal law or regulation. While federal law (PRWORA) requires states to request health insurance availability if readily available, neither the Illinois statute nor IDES regulations make this reporting item mandatory.
Source: 820 ILCS 405/1801.1
Criminal history inquiry restrictions — "Ban the Box" timing requirements
Illinois employers with 15 or more employees may not inquire about or consider an applicant's criminal record or criminal history until after the applicant has been determined qualified for the position and notified that they have been selected for an interview. If the employer does not conduct interviews for the position, criminal history inquiries are prohibited until after a conditional offer of employment has been made. This two-stage gate—qualification assessment first, criminal inquiry only at interview or conditional-offer stage—applies to all forms of inquiry: application checkboxes, verbal questions during screening calls, and background-check requests.
The Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, codified at 820 ILCS 75, took effect January 1, 2015. It applies to private-sector employers with 15 or more employees and to employment agencies. The Act does not apply to positions where federal or state law prohibits employment of individuals convicted of certain crimes, positions requiring individuals licensed under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act, or positions requiring a standard fidelity bond where an applicant's conviction of one or more specified criminal offenses would disqualify the applicant from obtaining the bond.
Qualification determination before criminal inquiry
The statute requires employers to complete a threshold qualification determination—evaluating credentials, experience, skills, and other job-related factors—before any criminal-history topic is raised. Only after that initial screening, and after the employer has affirmatively selected the applicant for an interview (or, if no interview, extended a conditional offer), may the employer ask about criminal history or run a background check. This structure prevents criminal history from being a first-cut filter.
Employers are permitted to notify applicants in writing of specific offenses that will disqualify an applicant from employment in a particular position due to federal or state law or the employer's policy. This advance notice informs applicants of the scope of disqualifying convictions but does not authorize the employer to ask on the application whether the applicant has one of those convictions; the inquiry itself remains prohibited until the interview-selection or conditional-offer stage.
Enforcement, penalties, and remedies
The Illinois Department of Labor enforces the Act. The statute does not create a private cause of action. Civil penalties are structured in four tiers: a first violation results in a written warning that provides notice of the penalties for subsequent violations and gives the employer 30 days to remedy the violation. Subsequent violations within a five-year period trigger escalating monetary penalties. All penalties recovered are deposited into the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Enforcement Fund.
The Act addresses only the timing of criminal-history inquiries during hiring. It does not govern the substantive standards for how employers may use conviction information once disclosed (those standards are set by the Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5/2-103, which requires an individualized assessment and prohibits blanket exclusions). Employers subject to the Act must comply with both the timing rule in 820 ILCS 75 and the use-of-conviction standards in the IHRA.
Source: Illinois Department of Labor – Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act
E-Verify restrictions under the Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act (as amended by Public Act 103-0879, effective 2025)
Effective January 1, 2025, Illinois imposes detailed restrictions and obligations on employers using E-Verify under the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act, as amended by Public Act 103-0879.
Voluntary use and pre-enrollment disclosure Illinois law maintains that E-Verify remains voluntary unless federally mandated. (No Illinois state mandate applies to private employers.) Employers are urged to consult the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) website for independent research on E-Verify performance, accuracy, and employer obligations before enrolling. IDOL must post independent studies and summary guidance for employers on its website.
Employer attestation and training Any Illinois employer enrolling in E-Verify must, within 30 days, submit a signed attestation to IDOL certifying that all account holders have completed the DHS E-Verify or Basic Pilot training module and received anti-discrimination training resources. The employer must keep and produce this attestation (and the DHS training certificates) to IDOL upon request. Employers must post the DHS E-Verify participation and Office of Special Counsel (OSC) anti-discrimination notices in a conspicuous location accessible to current and prospective employees.
Prohibited uses and required notifications Illinois prohibits any employer from:
- Using E-Verify to prescreen job applicants prior to hire or completion of the Form I-9;
- Running E-Verify cases before account-holders have completed the required training;
- Sharing passwords/logins to let untrained users bypass the training and certification step;
- Taking adverse action against an employee based on a tentative nonconfirmation (TNC) response until a final nonconfirmation is issued;
- Failing to provide employees with the required written notice (including their contest rights and agency contacts) when a TNC is received.
Illinois also requires employers to keep E-Verify credentials confidential, limit access to persons needing it for verification, and protect all system-accessed information.
Posting and discrepancy notice requirements Employers must provide written notice to employees (and, where applicable, their representatives) within 72 hours of receiving any federal Form I-9 inspection notice, and must notify employees if the employer receives notice of a work authorization discrepancy found by a federal or state agency. Employee notification must be in writing, using the language provided in the relevant federal document.
No extra verification or reverification Employers may not impose any additional employment eligibility verification requirements beyond federal law. Any policy or practice requiring employees to present additional or different documents from those required by federal I-9 rules, or requiring re-verification except as federally mandated, is prohibited.
Penalties The statute authorizes IDOL to seek civil penalties for violations: $2,000–$5,000 per employee for a first violation of Section 13, and $5,000–$10,000 for any subsequent violation.
Penalties for failure to comply with Illinois new hire reporting requirements
Illinois employers who do not comply with new hire reporting requirements under 820 ILCS 405/1801.1 are subject to civil penalties. The statute requires every employer to timely report each newly hired individual to the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) within 20 days.
Civil penalties for noncompliance
- An employer who "knowingly fails to comply" with the reporting requirements is subject to a civil penalty of $15 for each individual whom the employer failed to report.
- If the employer and employee conspired not to file a report, or if the employer knowingly submitted a false or incomplete report as part of such a conspiracy, the penalty increases to $500 for each individual involved.
Notice and cure procedure Before the Director of IDES imposes any civil penalty, the agency must give the employer written notice of the violation. The employer then has at least 10 business days from the date of the notice to submit a complete and accurate report—a "cure" period. Only if the employer fails to cure within this timeframe will the penalty actually be assessed.
Definition of "knowingly fails to comply" The statute does not define "knowingly fails to comply." As of 2026-06-17, no additional regulatory, administrative, or case law guidance clarifies this term in the context of Illinois' new hire reporting. Employers should refer to the statute's plain language until further direction is published.
Source: 820 ILCS 405/1801.1
New hire reporting — electronic/magnetic transmission deadlines
Illinois statute gives employers a second option for new hire reporting deadlines if they transmit reports magnetically or electronically—this is in addition to the standard 20-day deadline for paper filers.
Bimonthly reporting option for electronic/magnetic transmission Under 820 ILCS 405/1801.1, employers who submit new hire reports electronically or magnetically can transmit their report in two monthly batches, but the statute is highly specific about the permissible timing:
- Each batch (or "transmission") must be no more than 16 days apart, and no fewer than 12 days apart.
- In other words, the employer must transmit all new hires from the preceding period at least twice per month, with each batch separated by 12–16 days—not simply at any point during the month.
How this differs from the paper deadline The standard deadline for paper filers is 20 days from the employee's first day performing paid services. The bimonthly batch option is only available to those using approved electronic/magnetic methods, and is structured to keep Illinois' central database closely up-to-date for child support and UI benefits enforcement.
Summary table
- Paper/microfiche: Each new hire must be reported individually within 20 days of their first day of paid work.
- Electronic or magnetic filers: All new hires during the previous transmission period must be reported in a batch sent every 12–16 days (i.e., at least twice per calendar month, not just at the end of the month).
Employers who fail to meet these timing requirements are subject to penalties under the same statute.
Source: 820 ILCS 405/1801.1