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Employee Misclassification

Employee Misclassification Complaint Referral System

Under Illinois law, the Department of Revenue is required to post a link to a form (known as the Employee Classification Act Portal), managed by the Department of Labor, that allows individuals to make complaints regarding suspected instances of employee misclassification. The employee misclassification complaint referral system shall use one form that contains all the necessary information required for employee misclassification complaints to the Department of Employment Security, the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, the Department of Revenue, and the Department of Labor.

What is Employee Misclassification?

Misclassification occurs if any employer treats workers as "independent contractors" when they are employees.

Some employers use this tactic to avoid compliance with:

Employee or Contractor? It's as easy as A, B, C.

Service performed by an individual for an employing unit, whether or not such individual employs others in connection with the performance of such services, shall be deemed to be employment unless and until it is proven in any proceeding where such issue is involved that:

  1. Such individual has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of such services, both under his contract of service and in fact; and
  2. Such service is either outside the usual course of the business for which such service is performed or that such service is performed outside of all the places of business of the enterprise for which such service is performed; and
  3. Such individual is engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business.

Filing an Employee Misclassification Complaint

Complaints may be filed, electronically through the Employee Classification Act Portal or on paper, on behalf of yourself or a worker you believe has been misclassified. Complaints filed with the Illinois Department of Labor will be shared with the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the Illinois Department of Revenue, and the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission so those agencies can conduct investigations for violations of their requirements for employers.

File a Complaint Electronically

Create an Illinois Public ID Account

If you have participated in past Employee Classification survey, the User ID and PIN provided in connection with those surveys are no longer active. You will need to create an Illinois Public ID Account if you do not already have one.

  1. Click here to create an Illinois Public ID Account (will open a new tab).
    Do not close out of this page, after your account is created you will need to return here to log in to the online portal.
  2. Click "Create a new Account" and complete the registration form.
  3. Please note if you did not receive an email, follow the help instructions.
  4. Once your account is created, continue with the instructions below.

Access the Employee Classification Act (ECA) Portal

  1. After your Illinois Public ID Account is created you can access the ECA Portal
  2. After clicking the link above, select "Public Account" and login using the username/password you just created.
  3. Further instructions will be provided throughout the ECA portal to assist you with the process.

File a Complaint​ on Paper

Employee Classification Complaint Form (Español, Polski

Mail the ECA form to the following address:

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
524 South 2nd St Suite 400
Springfield Illinois 62701