Attorney General Raoul highlights efforts to protect workers in annual Labor Day report
Chicago – Heading into Labor Day weekend, Attorney General Kwame Raoul highlighted a new report detailing actions his office has taken during the past year to advocate for and protect Illinois workers.
The Attorney General’s Workplace Rights Bureau was codified in state statute in 2020 and has since collected more than $8.7 million in owed wages for workers and collected $930,000 in penalties against companies alleged to have discriminated against workers on the basis of race or sex.
“I am committed to continuing to fight for workers’ rights,” Raoul said. “I encourage anyone with questions or concerns about their workplace to reach out to my office’s Workplace Rights Bureau. Our bilingual attorneys and staff are happy to provide information and make sure that workers know their rights and have a place to turn if they need help upholding Illinois labor laws.”
The Workplace Rights Bureau advances the employment rights of all Illinois residents by taking actions such as investigating labor law violations, collecting owed wages and civil penalties, filing lawsuits to protect Illinois workers, and advocating for stronger legal protections for workers.
This year, Raoul led the effort to pass a law that will significantly increase the Attorney General’s office’s ability to protect witnesses and other whistleblowers from workplace retaliation for reporting violations of the law. The new statute, which was signed into law in August, will increase the damages and penalties workers may seek and broaden the scope of conduct protected under the Illinois Whistleblower Act.
The Workplace Rights Bureau won a significant legal victory for workers in January when the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of workers in a case where staffing agencies Elite Staffing Inc., Metro Staff Inc., and Midway Staffing Inc. had a no-poach agreement facilitated by their client company Colony Display LLC. The Supreme Court ruled that the labor market was not exempt from the Illinois Antitrust Act and that the agreement between the defendants was so anticompetitive that it violated antitrust law.
The Attorney General’s office reached settlements with Colony Display LLC (Colony) and Elite Staffing Inc. (Elite). Attorney General Raoul’s 2024 Labor Day report, which is also available in Spanish, highlights these settlements along with other recent settlements obtained on behalf of Illinois workers:
In November 2023, Attorney General Raoul announced a settlement with Colony Display LLC (Colony) to resolve allegations that it engaged in a wage-fixing and no-poach scheme with three of its staffing agencies. In July 2024, Raoul resolved those same allegations with one of Colony’s staffing agencies, Elite Staffing Inc. (Elite). Under the settlement, Colony agreed to pay $1.2 million while Elite agreed to pay $1.5 million to help compensate impacted workers and notify them of their rights.
In January 2024, The Attorney General’s office announced an agreement with trucking companies Velasco Enterprises Inc., Partner's Hauling Inc., and their owner Juan Velasco to pay drivers $335,000 for unpaid time spent driving between worksites as well as failure to pay overtime rates for public projects. The companies also agreed to follow heightened record-keeping requirements designed to prevent future violations.
In December 2023, Attorney General Raoul announced a settlement requiring Greenridge Farm Inc., a deli meat processing company, to pay $3 million in stolen back wages and damages to more than 280 current and former employees. Employees were able to recover nearly 2.5 times their owed wages; Greenridge also overhauled its payroll process as part of this agreement.
Raoul’s Workplace Rights Bureau advocates for important labor law improvements by drafting amicus briefs and commenting on proposed regulatory changes often collaborating with other state attorneys general. The office joined coalitions calling for an end to non-compete clauses nationwide while challenging no-poach provisions used by department stores and franchise agreements.
Raoul also supported overtime protections for salaried workers alongside fellow state attorneys general as well as advocating prevailing wages on renewable energy projects where employers claim expanded tax credits.
Attorney General Raoul encourages those wishing file complaints about potentially unlawful employer practices call Workplace Rights Hotline at 1-844-740-5076 or visit the Attorney General's website.