The Freelance Worker Protection Act went into effect in Illinois on July 1.
The act regulates the relationship between non-construction independent contractors (“freelance workers”) and their contracting entities.
Under the new law, contracting entities must provide freelance workers with written contracts. The written contract must be provided either physically or electronically to the freelance worker.
If the written contract does not specify the date payment is due for the contracted services, the contracting entity must pay the freelance worker no later than 30 days after the completion of the contracted services.
The written contract must contain:
- “The name and contact information of both the contracting entity and the freelance worker, including the mailing address of the contracting entity”
- “An itemization of all products and services to be provided by the freelance worker, the value of the products and services to be provided under the terms of the contract, and the rate and method of compensation”
- “The date on which the contracting entity must pay the contracted compensation or the mechanism by which such date will be determined, which shall be no later than 30 days after the products or services are provided”
- “The date by which a freelancer worker must submit a list of products or services rendered under such contract to the contracting entity, if such a list is required in order to meet internal processing deadlines of the contracting entity for the purposes of compensation be timely rendered by the agreed-upon date”
The contracting entity is required to maintain the contract for at least two years and provide it to the state upon request by the Department of Labor.
The law provides freelance workers two years to pursue civil action against the contracting entity for alleged violations. It also grants the Illinois attorney general authority to initiate or intervene in a civil action to enforce the act.
The law, HB 1122, passed the Illinois General Assembly during the 2023 spring legislative session despite NFIB opposition and was signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker on August 4, 2023.
The text of the new act can be found here. The Illinois Department of Labor’s model contract can be found here.
