The Illinois legislature recently passed and the Illinois govenor approved the Freelancer Protection Act which goes into effect July 1, 2024. The Illinois Freelancer Protection Act is similar to ordinances passed by a number of cities, including New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis, to offer basic protections to freelancers but this is fhe first state to pass a freelancer protection law.
The Freelancer Protection Act requires that any contract with a freelancer for services for more than $500 must be in writing and contain certain provisions including the name and address of the contracting party, the services, rate of compensation, when payment will be made (or how it is calculated), and the date the freelancer must submit any list of services if required by the contracting entity. The following section spells out the requirements.
Sectoin 15. Contract for products and services of freelance workers.
(a) Whenever a contracting entity retains a freelance worker, the contract for such products or services shall be reduced to writing. The contracting entity shall furnish a copy of the written contract, either physically or electronically, to the freelance worker.
(b) The written contract for the product and service of a freelance worker shall include, at a minimum, the following information:
(1) the name and contact information of both the contracting entity and the freelance worker, including the mailing address of the contracting entity;
(2) an itemization of all products and services to be provided by the freelance worker, the value of the products and services to be provided under the terms of the contract, and the rate and method of compensation;
(3) the date on which the contracting entity must pay the contracted compensation or the mechanism by which such date will be determined, which shall be no later than 30 days after the products or services are provided; and
(4) the date by which a freelance worker must submit a list of products or services rendered under such contract to the contracting entity, if such a list is required in order to meet any internal processing deadlines of the contracting entity for the purposes of compensation being timely rendered by the agreed-upon date as stipulated in paragraph (3).
see https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=103-0417
The Illinois Freelancer Protection Act is part of a trend of regulatory actions to protect freelancers. Companies who engage with freelancers in these districts should pay close attention to the requirements to ensure compliance.
