Can my boss keep my tips or make me pool them in Illinois?
The short answer
The rule in Illinois
| Who owns tips | Gratuities are the property of employees. Employers can’t retain them. |
|---|---|
| Payout deadline | Within 13 days after the end of the pay period in which the tips were earned. |
| Tip pools | The law doesn’t prohibit a tip pooling arrangement among employees as permitted by law. |
| Tip credit | Since January 1, 2025, an employer may credit tips toward no more than 40% of the wages. |
“The law requires gratuities to be paid to employees within 13 days after the end of the pay period during which the gratuities were earned.” (Illinois Department of Labor: gratuities press release (Feb. 10, 2020))
What’s different in Illinois
The federal rule says who may join a required pool and bars managers from it. Illinois adds its own payout clock in state law: your tips can’t sit with the house past 13 days after the pay period closes.
Your pay floor is also higher. The state lets employers take a tip credit capped at 40% of wages, which leaves a $9.00 cash wage against a $15.00 minimum, well above the federal $2.13. The press release from the labor department doesn’t spell out who can be in a pool; it says pooling among employees is allowed where the law permits it, so the federal limits on managers and supervisors are a good starting point.
Official sources
Last verified
. Checked the agency pages linked above.
Still open: The pooling statement comes from a 2020 Illinois Department of Labor press release, not a rule page, and it doesn’t list who may join a pool.