Public Act 099-0903
 
SB2804 EnrolledLRB099 18541 HEP 44880 b

    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Wage Assignment Act is amended by
changing Sections 2, 2.1, 2.2, 4.1, and 4.2 as follows:
 
    (740 ILCS 170/2)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39.2)
    Sec. 2. Demand on an employer for the wages of wage-earner
by virtue of a wage assignment may not be served on the
employer unless:
        (1) There has been a default of more than 40 days in
    payment of the indebtedness secured by the assignment and
    the default has continued to the date of the demand;
        (2) The demand contains a correct statement as to the
    amount the wage-earner is in default and the original or a
    photostatic copy of the assignment is exhibited to the
    employer; and
        (3) Not less than 20 days before serving the demand,
    notice required under Section 2.2 a notice of intention to
    make the demand has been served upon the employee, and an
    advice copy sent to the employer, by 2 methods: (i) first
    class mail; and (ii) registered or certified mail.
    Service of any demand without complying with this Section
has no legal effect. Proof of certified mail is prima facie
evidence of service.
    A demand under this Section applies only to wages due at
the time of service of the demand and upon subsequent wages
until the total amount due under the assignment is paid, or, if
the wage assignment is revocable under federal law, until the
employee revokes it or until the expiration of the employer's
payroll period ending immediately prior to 84 days after
service of such demand, whichever first occurs.
(Source: P.A. 88-395.)
 
    (740 ILCS 170/2.1)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39.2a)
    Sec. 2.1. A demand shall be in the following form:
    "Demand is hereby made upon an assignment of salary, wages,
commissions or other compensation for services, executed by
.... and delivered to .... on (insert date), to secure a debt
contracted on (insert date).
    The total amount of the debt is $..... Payments in the
amount of $.... have been made. The duration of the contract is
.... months. There is now due and owing without acceleration
the sum of $...., the last payment having been made on (insert
date).
    The employee herein named has been in default in his
payments in the amount of $...., of which $.... has been due
and owing for more than 40 days.
    Unless you have received a written notice from the employee
herein named revoking the wage assignment within the past 20
days, or do receive within 5 days after the service hereof, a
notice of defense from the employee herein named, you are
required by law to make payment in accordance with such
assignment. ...., first being duly sworn, deposes and says that
the facts stated in the demand above are true and correct; and
further deposes and says that he (or his principal, if he is an
agent for the assignee) has not received notice from the debtor
that he or she is revoking the wage assignment no notice of any
defenses of the debtor.
    Payments must be made until the total amount due under the
assignment is paid or until the employee revokes the wage
assignment.
...........................
    Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).
...........................
Notary Public".
(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
 
    (740 ILCS 170/2.2)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39.2b)
    Sec. 2.2. Forms; notice of intent to assign wages;
revocation.
    (a) The notice to an employee required by Section 2 shall
be in the following form:
"NOTICE OF INTENT TO ASSIGN WAGES
    This notice is required by the Illinois Wage Assignment
Act. The notice has been sent to tell you that a creditor (name
and address listed below) plans to have your wages assigned. A
wage assignment is a document you signed at the time you signed
the contract for your debt. It authorizes your creditor to
receive a portion of your wages directly from your employer, in
order to pay your debt. This notice contains important
information about the debt and what your options are. You
should read the entire notice carefully.
WHY THE CREDITOR WANTS TO ASSIGN YOUR WAGES
    You signed a wage assignment on ....... (date) ....... The
wage assignment was signed as security if you failed to make
payment on the contract you signed on ......... (date)
.......... A copy of the wage assignment is attached. The
creditor's records show that you have not made a payment since
......... (date) ....... and that you now owe $........ on the
contract. The creditor will send a demand for wages to your
employer 20 days from the date you receive this.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT YOUR WAGES FROM BEING ASSIGNED
    If you have a legal defense to the wage assignment you can
stop the wage assignment by filling out the enclosed Notice of
Defense Form and (1) sending it to the creditor by registered
or certified mail and (2) giving a copy to your employer. You
must do those 2 things within 20 days of receiving this notice.
You have the right to contact an attorney concerning the wage
assignment. In the event a false defense is made, you will be
subject to payment of attorneys' fees, court costs and other
expenses.
    The creditor's name, and address, and phone number are:
......................
......................
......................
......................
(Signed by)"
    (b) If the wage assignment is revocable under federal law,
the notice required under subsection (a) shall also include the
following:
UNDERSTANDING YOUR CHOICES UNDER THE
ILLINOIS WAGE ASSIGNMENT ACT
    There are options available to you in this process. You
should consider your options and determine the one that is best
for you. You have the right to contact an attorney at any point
concerning the wage assignment, or to help you determine your
best option.
    Your options include:
        (1) You can stop the wage assignment at any time, which
    will stop your wages from being deducted. It will not
    eliminate your debt, and interest may continue to accrue.
    You may contact your creditor for more information about
    the interest rate on your contract, and to determine how
    much interest might accrue if you stop the wage assignment.
        Your creditor will still be able to pursue other means
    of collecting any debt you may owe, including filing a
    lawsuit against you for the full amount owed under the
    contract and any interest that might accrue. A lawsuit
    might result in you owing legal fees and other costs.
        You can stop the wage assignment by filling out the
    enclosed Revocation Notice Form, or by writing a letter
    stating that you are revoking the wage assignment. Send the
    Revocation Notice Form or letter by registered or certified
    mail to the creditor, at the address listed above. It is
    highly recommended that you give a copy of the Revocation
    Notice Form or letter to your employer so your employer can
    stop any pending payments.
        If you choose to write a letter, it should be addressed
    to the creditor, and should include:
            (i) your name;
            (ii) the account number; and
            (iii) a statement that you are revoking the wage
        assignment, such as, "I am revoking the wage
        assignment."
        Even if the wage assignment has already begun, you can
    still stop it now or at any point in the future.
        (2) You can do nothing, and allow the wage assignment
    process to proceed. Starting in 20 days, part of your wages
    will be sent directly to the creditor to pay off your debt.
    This will reduce your take-home pay every pay period until
    the total amount of the debt is repaid.
        Up to 15% of your wages will be sent to the creditor
    every pay period. Once the total amount is repaid, the
    creditor will send a notice to you and to your employer
    that includes the creditor's name, your name, and the
    account number, stating that the wage assignment is closed
    and no further wages should be assigned.
        (3) You can contact your creditor to repay the debt, or
    to explore other options, including a repayment plan or
    refinancing, if available. You can contact your creditor at
    the address and phone number listed above.
        If you agree on another repayment option with your
    creditor, the creditor will send a notice to your employer
    stating that your wages should not be assigned.
    (c) If the wage assignment is revocable under federal law,
the notice required under subsection (b) shall be accompanied
by the following Revocation Notice Form, with the relevant
information inserted by the creditor:
"REVOCATION NOTICE
The employee's name and address are:
......................
......................
......................
......................
The creditor's name and address are:
......................
......................
......................
......................
Re: (insert account number)
    I, (insert name), hereby revoke the wage assignment I
signed on (insert date the wage assignment was signed). You no
longer have my permission to use this wage assignment.
 
......................    ......................
(Signed by)               (Date)"
(Source: P.A. 83-867.)
 
    (740 ILCS 170/4.1)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39.4a)
    Sec. 4.1. Revocation of wage assignment. If the wage
assignment is revocable under federal law, the employee may
revoke the wage assignment at any time by submitting the
Revocation Notice Form as provided in subsection (c) of Section
2.2 of this Act or otherwise providing written notice of
revocation to the creditor. Revocation is effective regardless
of how the creditor receives it. Failure to use the sample
language provided in the notice described in Section 2.2 does
not affect the validity of the written notice of revocation.
The employee may submit a copy of the notice to his or her
employer. If the written notice of revocation is served upon
the creditor prior to the creditor's service of demand upon the
employer, the demand shall not be served. Within 20 days after
receiving the notice required by Section 2 or within 5 days
after service of the demand, the employee may notify his
employer, in writing, of any defense he may have to the wage
assignment. A copy of such notice shall be served upon the
creditor by registered or certified mail. If served upon the
creditor prior to the creditor's service of demand upon the
employer, such demand shall not be served by the creditor. The
notice shall be by affidavit and shall be in substantially the
following form:
    "I, ...., hereby (swear) (affirm) that I have a bona fide
defense to the claim of ...., which claim is based on a debt
contracted on (insert date), and for security on which debt a
wage assignment was executed.
..............................
Address for service of summons
..............................
Employee
            
    Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).
............................."
Notary Public
         
(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
 
    (740 ILCS 170/4.2)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39.4b)
    Sec. 4.2.
    If the employee has not served a Revocation Notice Form as
provided in Section 4.1 of this Act or has not otherwise served
the creditor with a written notice of revocation (if the wage
assignment is revocable under federal law) given notice of
defense as provided in this Act within 20 days after receiving
the notice of intention to make a demand, the creditor may
proceed with his demand, and the employer shall commence
payment to the creditor not sooner than 5 business days after
service of such demand, if no revocation notice has been
received by the employer unless a notice of defense is received
within that 5 day period. If the employee cures the default
stated in the demand or revokes the wage assignment, the
creditor shall notify the employer and release the demand. No
employer shall be liable for payments made in compliance with
this Section.
    If a Revocation Notice Form as set forth in Section 4.1 of
this Act or other written notice of revocation from the
employee is received by an employer, If a notice of defense is
received by an employer within the period specified in Section
4.1, no wages are subject to a demand served by the creditor
for that wage assignment and the employer shall cease any
deduction of wages currently taking place for that wage
assignment, described in that notice of defense; unless the
employer receives a copy of a subsequent written agreement
between the creditor and employee authorizing such payments. If
such an agreement is not reached, the creditor may not
institute further proceedings on the wage assignment. If a
notice of defense has been given, service of summons in any
subsequent proceeding on the debt for which the wage assignment
was given as security may be made by registered or certified
mail.
(Source: Laws 1967, p. 2049.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2017.