Things just got much more expensive for Illinois employers! On Thursday, March 19, 2026, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the Illinois Minimum Wage Law does not incorporate the federal Portal-to-Portal Act’s preliminary and postliminary exceptions to compensable work requirements. That is, even if employees undertake activities before their shift start time (or after their shift end time) that are neither necessary nor indispensable to their work duties and responsibilities, the time spent conducting these pre- and post-shift activities must be included as “work time” and compensated so long as the employee is “required” to be on the employer’s premises.
As a quick refresher, the Portal-to-Portal Act (PPA), which amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), excludes from “compensable” work time so-called “preliminary or postliminary” activities that employees may be required to perform before clocking-in for the start of their shift or after clocking-out at the end of their shift. Such preliminary or postliminary activities often include things like commuting (walking from the facility entrance to the time clock), changing clothes, security screenings, and donning and doffing certain work-related protective equipment. These kinds of activities, although ancillary to performing compensable duties, are not compensable under the PPA (and therefore under the FLSA) unless they are “integral and indispensable” to the employee’s principal duties.
The Illinois Wage Law (Wage...
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