If you are in the situation that you are supposed to receive child support, but the employer of the person responsible to pay isn’t withholding the funds, or then dispersing them for your benefit, there is relief available.

Did you know that under the Illinois Income Withholding for Support Act (750 ILCS28/) if an employer does not initiate income withholding within 14 days of receipt of the IWN (Income Withholding Notice) they are subject to penalty. If the employer doesn’t submit those withheld funds within 7 days, they are also subject to penalty.

The Withholding Act requires a payor to “pay a penalty of $100 for each day that the amount designated in the income withholding notice (whether or not withheld by the payor) is not paid to the State Disbursement Unit.” In some cases, those penalties can be extreme and substantial.

Take for instance the case In re marriage of Scott Bos and Lisa Watson, when all was said and done, the husband’s employer is facing $2 million dollars in fines because they did not withhold and pay the court ordered child support. In this case, over a 38 pay period time-frame, the employer should have withheld and submitted $7,820 in child support. Instead, they ignored the countless attempts to make them recognize the existing IWN. Because of their willful failure and refusal to pay, the employer now owes $2,263,500.00 between the amount of the withholding order and penalties and fines.

In another case involving Auto Zone, (-Grams v. Autozone, Inc., 319 Ill.App.3d 567, 745 N.E.2d 687, 253 Ill.Dec. 564, (Third Dist., 2001) the court was not friendly in its response. Auto Zone claimed that the $100 per day penalty could be devastating to an employer, the court responded “the penalty is justified on the basis that noncompliance with a child support withholding order by an employer may place a substantial burden on a child support obligee, who could be forced to miss mortgage payments or postpone purchasing necessities for a child until the overdue payment arrives.”

In Illinois, making sure you receive the child support ordered to you is a priority to the court. There are few legal issues where a person may feel like the court, or “the law” is actually on their side. This is one of those situations. The courts have thoroughly defined income source, as well as applying the statutory penalty to those who have failed withholding or submitting. The court has made it very clear in the matter that the “Payor” (employer in most cases) has to take their responsibilities in this Act extremely seriously.

If you are in a situation like this, the best thing to do is to speak to a knowledgeable Illinois attorney. If you would like our help in finding one, call us at (312) 346-5320. You can fill out our contact form if you prefer.