Navigating Labor Laws for Salaried Employees in Illinois: Essential Guide for IT Contractors

Efficient and simple hiring – this is the promise of Bench Direct. Designed to help IT firms in their search for talent, Bench Direct employs a direct approach, matching potential candidates with prospective employers. It is certainly not unique in its offering, as there are a number of platforms dealing with similar services, but where it really shines is its efficiency. Finding the right person for the job is one thing, and being able to help any businesses with the intricacies of the complexities of labor regulations is another.

The first thing that needs to be established is what is meant by “salaried employee”. Commonly confused with the term “exempt” which is used in the Federal context, a salaried employee is simply someone whose compensation is paid on a predetermined and established basis, regardless of the actual hours they work. The easiest way to determine whether someone is exempt is to refer back to the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (820 ILCS 115/2). Under 820 ILCS 115/2, a week’s salary may not be for less than $475 (2015 standards). This does not mean that a part-time salaried employee is exempt however, only that there is a minimum threshold for each work week. Even so, not all salaries are exempt. A regular wage and salary can fall under four categories that CAN be considered exempt – executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales. Obviously if a regular wage and salary exceeds the threshold for being exempt, it may still pay to follow employee classification rules so that decisions can be based on duty and responsibility rather than compensation.

Understanding Illinois labor laws for salaried employees enables responsible personnel to make better decisions. That is why having Illinois law outlined for transparency of interpretation by Frugal Engineers has been promoted. In this case, as with the many free tools available in the Bench Direct platform, information sharing creates better understanding that will further benefit businesses who hire through this direct recruitment tool. For personnel managers with understanding of state laws for example, it will enable them to check through any contracts that are drawn up or responsibilities that are assigned to ensure that they comply with the various conditions of the law. This can be anything from an itemized wage receipt to compliance with the minimum wage standards set out under Section 4 and 18 of the Illinois Minimum Wage Law of 1965 (820 ILCS 105/1 et seq.).

By providing more transparency through the sharing of information, companies can use the Bench Direct platform to its full potential, while also aiding the like-minded business efforts of Frugal Engineers. Clarity, along with the ability to book a consultation, contributes to the general viewing of Bench Direct as the best way to hire staff for IT services. The more information that can be shared, the more beneficial the assistance received.

It is not just the decisions made in the hiring process that require legal understanding, however. There is much to be gained from the costs that go into hiring personnel. Labor laws for salaried employees in Illinois can be useful for attempting to control finances. Legal documents are an important part of the bills relating to routine labor management. Things such as employment records, time and attendance records, payroll records, written offer and appointment letters and terms of appointment and employment should all be kept for up to three years and with the potential to be inspected by the Illinois Department of Labor. As well as this, proper accounting practice should reflect that an employer is responsible for keeping the former employee’s data up until at least three years after the employment ended.

Navigating the legal requirements relating to every aspect of labor planning may seem unfeasible, but Bench Direct allows companies to do just this. Not only will personnel managers be able to sort out their wider recruitment and hiring duties, but they can outsource the time consuming legal part and have it performed by professionals in the field.