Illinois Pre-Shift Pay Ruling Compensates Workers for Required Activities

The Illinois pre-shift pay ruling is a landmark win for Illinois workers. Issued on March 19, 2026, the Illinois Supreme Court answered a critical question: Does state law protect employers from paying workers for time spent on required activities before and after their shifts? The court unanimously said no.

The case began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon required hourly warehouse employees to complete health screenings before clocking in. Employee health screenings took 10 to 15 minutes. Amazon did not pay workers for that time. Two former employees, Lisa Johnson and Gale Miller Anderson, sued the company. In LISA JOHNSON et al., Appellants, v. AMAZON.COM SERVICES, LLC, Appellee, they argued Amazon violated both federal and Illinois wage laws.

The federal claims failed. Federal law, specifically the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947, excludes preliminary and postliminary activities from compensable work time. Amazon argued that Illinois law should follow the same rule. The Illinois Supreme Court disagreed.

The court found that Illinois' Minimum Wage Law does not include the federal exclusion. Illinois law stands on its own. That means employers in Illinois may now be required to pay workers for mandatory pre-shift and post-shift activities. As a result, the ruling applies across industries, not just warehouse workers. Any employer who requires workers to complete tasks before clocking in should pay close attention to this decision.

What the Illinois Minimum Wage Law Actually Says

The Illinois Minimum Wage Law took effect in 1971. Later, the General Assembly added overtime protections in 1976. Over the years, lawmakers amended the law several times. They carved out specific exceptions to overtime requirements. Notably, four of those exceptions directly reference federal law.

But here is the key point: none of those exceptions mention the Portal-to-Portal Act, nor preliminary or postliminary activities. The court found that silence to be meaningful. If the legislature intended to adopt the federal exclusion, it would have said so.

The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) reinforced that conclusion. IDOL defines "hours worked" broadly. Under its definition, hours worked include all time an employee is required to be on the employer's premises. That definition directly contradicts the federal exclusion Amazon relied on.

Amazon argued the court should interpret Illinois law in line with federal law. When interpreting parallel provisions, Illinois courts often look to federal authority, which the court acknowledged. However, the Illinois Supreme Court refused to apply it here. While the Illinois and federal overtime provisions share a general rule, their exceptions differ dramatically. The court would not read a federal exception into a state statute that plainly omits it.

Justice David Overstreet wrote the opinion. During his analysis, he stated that “[i]t is the dominion of the legislature to enact laws and the courts to construe them, and we can neither restrict nor enlarge the meaning of an unambiguous statute.” In other words, Justice Overstreet couldn’t expand the plain language of Illinois’ controlling law.

How the Illinois Pre-Shift Pay Ruling Reached the Supreme Court

The Illinois pre-shift pay ruling did not follow a simple path. Johnson and Anderson first filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Amazon removed the case to federal court. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed both the federal and state claims. It reasoned that Illinois courts frequently apply federal wage law to state claims.

Johnson and Anderson appealed to the Seventh Circuit. On appeal, they dropped their federal claims entirely. They argued only that Illinois law entitled them to compensation. The Seventh Circuit saw genuine uncertainty. Federal case law had applied the Portal-to-Portal Act exclusion to Illinois wage claims. But the text of Illinois law pointed the other way.

The Seventh Circuit certified the question to the Illinois Supreme Court. That process asks the state court to resolve a specific legal question. The Illinois Supreme Court accepted the certification. It then answered the question directly: Illinois law does not incorporate the federal exclusion.

The IDOL and the Illinois Attorney General filed a joint brief supporting the workers' position. Business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, filed a brief in support of Amazon. Ultimately, the court sided with workers.

The case now returns to the Seventh Circuit. That court will apply the Illinois Supreme Court's answer to the underlying dispute. The final outcome for Johnson and Anderson is still pending.

What This Ruling Means for Illinois Employees

This decision has real implications for workers across Illinois. Required pre-shift activities are common in many industries. Security screenings, equipment checks, uniform requirements, and safety briefings all qualify as potential compensable time under Illinois law. If an employer requires it before the clock starts, it may now owe pay for it.

Notably, the ruling does not automatically resolve every wage dispute. Each situation depends on specific facts. The key question is whether the activity is required by the employer and performed on the employer's premises. If the answer is yes, Illinois law may require compensation even if federal law does not.

Workers should act promptly. Illinois wage claims are subject to statutes of limitations. Waiting too long can eliminate the right to recover unpaid wages. Workers who believe they have been underpaid for required pre-shift or post-shift time should document those activities. Records of start times, required screenings, and supervisor instructions all matter.

Meanwhile, employers should also take note. This ruling creates a clear obligation under Illinois law. Companies operating under the assumption that federal exclusions protect them from state claims should revisit that assumption immediately.

If you believe your employer has failed to pay you for required pre-shift or post-shift activities, contact O'Malley & Madden, P.C. today to discuss your rights under Illinois law.