Child labor protections for influencers, IDs and more: A look at new Illinois state laws
Nine new laws will come into effect Monday as Illinois enters a new fiscal year, including labor legislation and an identification-related law.
The beginning of 2024 also brought some new laws, including a Paid Leave for All Workers Act, a minimum wage increase and unpaid leave legislation.
Here’s what to know about the legislation going into effect Monday in the Land of Lincoln.
Higher education loan repayment awards
The Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program will see maximum grant amounts increase in several fields. Here are a few of the grants that will increase under the new law. The full text is available online.
The maximum grant amount for psychiatrists will increase from $35,000 per year to $40,000 per year.
From $15,000 to $20,000 per year for an advanced practice registered nurse or physician’s assistant
From $12,000 to $20,000 per year for a psychologist who has a doctoral degree
The program is no longer accepting applications for the 2024 fiscal year as of May 31, but you can check online for updated application information as it becomes available.
Driver’s license eligibility
Immigrants who are not U.S. citizens, permanent residents, who do not hold U.S. visas and have not applied for legal residency in the U.S. will be able to obtain a standard Illinois driver’s license beginning Monday.
Previously, immigrants who are not citizens could only get a temporary visitor driver’s license in Illinois, but the standard license will last four years and be compliant with the Real ID act.
To receive the four-year standard license, applicants will be required to pass the driving test, hold valid insurance, provide identification documents and prove Illinois residency for at least one year. More than 300,000 Illinois residents hold TVDLs, according to a June 2023 state government press release.
School board votes
Beginning Monday, Illinois school boards will be required to hold a vote at a regular school board meeting before approving a new contract for a “district-administered assessment” or standardized test.
Freelance worker protections
This new law will provide protections for freelance workers whose services within 120 days are priced at $500 or more (multiple services for the same company may be combined to reach this amount).
The law requires companies to pay their freelancers on time. If a payment timeline is not specified in the contract, payment will be due within 30 days of the work’s completion.
Companies will be prohibited from lowering the contracted payment rate as a condition of getting paid on time once the freelancer has begun the work.
The Freelance Worker Protection Act has additional provisions related to contracts, nondiscrimination, complaint procedure and more.
Prescription Monitoring Program
Illinois pharmacies and other providers will not be required to use a particular pharmacy records system with the Prescription Monitoring Program so long as the program they use meets certain requirements.
Child labor protections
Illinois child labor laws will apply to social media influencers beginning Monday.
Children younger than 16 will be considered “vloggers” if at least 30% of the vlogger’s compensated video content produced within a 30-day period included the likeness, name or picture of the child, if the content makes a compensation threshold.
The adult vlogger must put the child’s earnings in a trust the child can access when they turn 18. If only one child is considered a vlogger, at least half of their gross earnings must go to the trust. If multiple children are involved in the video content, the half gross proceeds must be equally divided among them.
More new Illinois laws
The Illinois Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Implementation Act is among the nine pieces of legislation to go into effect Monday.
Another piece of legislation amends appropriations in the new budget. Public Act 103-0591 will also go into effect Monday and amends the State Finance Act.
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