State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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[ Engrossed ][ House Amendment 001 ]

91_HB2266

 
                                               LRB9103963KSsb

 1        AN ACT to create the Equal Pay Act of 1999.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 1.  Short Title.  This Act may be  cited  as  the
 5    Equal Pay Act of 1999.

 6        Section  5.   Definitions.   As  used  in  this  Act, the
 7    following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them:
 8        "Director" means the Director of  Labor.
 9        "Department" means the Department of Labor.
10        "Employee" means any individual permitted to work  by  an
11    employer.
12        "Employer" means an individual, partnership, corporation,
13    association, business, trust, person, or entity for whom 4 or
14    more   employees  are  gainfully  employed  in  Illinois  and
15    includes the State of Illinois, any state officer, department
16    or agency, any unit  of  local  government,  and  any  school
17    district.

18        Section 10.  Prohibited acts.
19        (a)   No employer shall discriminate between employees on
20    the basis of sex by paying wages to an  employee  at  a  rate
21    less  than  the rate at which he or she pays wages to another
22    employee of the opposite sex for the  same  or  substantially
23    similar  work on jobs the performance of which requires equal
24    skill, effort, and responsibility, and  which  are  performed
25    under similar working conditions, except where the payment is
26    made pursuant to:
27             (1) a seniority system;
28             (2) a merit system;
29             (3)  a  system that measures earnings by quantity or
30        quality of production; or
 
                            -2-                LRB9103963KSsb
 1             (4) a differential based on any other  factor  other
 2        than sex.
 3        An  employer who is paying wages in violation of this Act
 4    shall not, in order to comply with this Act, reduce the wages
 5    of any other employee.
 6        (b)  It shall be unlawful for any employer  to  interfere
 7    with,  restrain,  or  deny  the exercise of or the attempt to
 8    exercise any right provided under  this  Act.   It  shall  be
 9    unlawful for any employer to discharge or in any other manner
10    discriminate  against  any  individual  for  inquiring about,
11    disclosing, comparing or otherwise discussing the  employee's
12    wages  or  the  wages  of  any  other  employee, or aiding or
13    encouraging any person to exercise his or her rights provided
14    under this Act.
15        (c)  It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge  or
16    in  any  other  manner  discriminate  against  any individual
17    because the individual:
18             (1)  has filed  any  charge  or  has  instituted  or
19        caused  to  be instituted any proceeding under or related
20        to this Act;
21             (2)  has given, or is about to give, any information
22        in connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating  to
23        any right provided under this Act; or
24             (3)   has  testified, or is about to testify, in any
25        inquiry or proceeding  relating  to  any  right  provided
26        under this Act.

27        Section  15.   Enforcement.   The  Director or his or her
28    authorized representative shall administer  and  enforce  the
29    provisions  of  this  Act.  The Director of Labor shall issue
30    rules and regulations necessary to administer and enforce the
31    provisions of this Act.
32        The  Department  shall  have   the   power   to   conduct
33    investigations  in  connection  with  the  administration and
 
                            -3-                LRB9103963KSsb
 1    enforcement of this  Act  and  the  authorized  officers  and
 2    employees of the Department are authorized to investigate and
 3    gather  data regarding the wages, hours, and other conditions
 4    and practices of employment in any industry subject  to  this
 5    Act,  and  may enter and inspect such places and such records
 6    at reasonable times during regular business  hours,  question
 7    the   employees   and   investigate  the  facts,  conditions,
 8    practices, or matters as he or  she  may  deem  necessary  or
 9    appropriate  to determine whether any person has violated any
10    provision of this Act, or which may aid in the enforcement of
11    this Act.

12        Section 20.  Record keeping requirements.  Every employer
13    subject to any provision of this Act shall make and  preserve
14    records  that  document  the name, address, and occupation of
15    each of  his  or  her  employees,  the  wages  paid  to  each
16    employee,  and  any  other  information  the  Director may by
17    regulation deem necessary and appropriate for enforcement  of
18    this  Act.   Every employer subject to any provisions of this
19    Act shall preserve such records for a period of not less than
20    3 years and shall make reports from the records as prescribed
21    by regulation or order of the Director.

22        Section 25.  Witnesses; subpoena.  The Director of  Labor
23    or his or her authorized representative may administer oaths,
24    take  or  cause to be taken the depositions of witnesses, and
25    require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses
26    and the production of all books, records, and other  evidence
27    relative  to  the  matter  under  investigation.   A subpoena
28    issued under this Section shall be signed and issued  by  the
29    Director of Labor or his or her authorized representative
30        In  case  of  failure  of  any  person to comply with any
31    subpoena lawfully issued under this Section or on the refusal
32    of any witness to produce  evidence  or  to  testify  to  any
 
                            -4-                LRB9103963KSsb
 1    matter   regarding   which   he   or   she  may  be  lawfully
 2    interrogated, it is the  duty  of  any  circuit  court,  upon
 3    application  of  the  Director,  or  his  or  her  authorized
 4    representative,   to  compel  obedience  by  proceedings  for
 5    contempt, as in the case of disobedience of the  requirements
 6    of  a  subpoena  issued by such court or a refusal to testify
 7    therein.  The Director may certify to official acts.

 8        Section 30.  Violations; fines and penalties.
 9        (a)  If an employee is paid by his or her  employer  less
10    than  the  wage  he  or  she  is  entitled to in violation of
11    Section 10 of this Act, the employee may recover in  a  civil
12    action the amount of any underpayment together with the costs
13    and  reasonable attorney fees as may be allowed by the court.
14    At the request  of  the  employee  or  on  a  motion  of  the
15    Director,  the  Department may make an assignment of the wage
16    claim in trust for the assigning employee and may  bring  any
17    legal action necessary to collect the claim, and the employer
18    shall be required to pay the costs incurred in collecting the
19    claim.   Every  such  action  shall be brought within 3 years
20    from the date of the underpayment.
21        (b) The Director is authorized to supervise  the  payment
22    of  the unpaid wages owing to any employee or employees under
23    this Act and may bring any legal action necessary to  recover
24    the  amount  of  unpaid  wages and penalties and the employer
25    shall be required to pay the costs.  Any  sums  recovered  by
26    the  Director  on  behalf  of  an  employee  pursuant to this
27    Section shall be paid to the employee or employees affected.
28        (c) Any employer who violates any of  the  provisions  of
29    this Act or any rule or regulation issued under the Act shall
30    be  subject  to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each
31    violation for each employee  affected.   In  determining  the
32    amount  of the penalty, the appropriateness of the penalty to
33    the size of the business of  the  employer  charged  and  the
 
                            -5-                LRB9103963KSsb
 1    gravity of the violation shall be considered. The penalty may
 2    be recovered in a civil action brought by the Director in any
 3    circuit court.

 4        Section  35.  Refusal to pay wages or final compensation;
 5    retaliatory discharge or discrimination.
 6        (a) Any employer who has been ordered by the Director  of
 7    Labor or the court to pay wages due an employee and who shall
 8    fail to do so within 15 days after the order is entered shall
 9    be  liable  to  pay  a  penalty of 1% per calendar day to the
10    employee for each day of delay in paying  the  wages  to  the
11    employee  up  to  an  amount equal to twice the sum of unpaid
12    wages due the employee.
13        (b) Any employer,  or  any  agent  of  an  employer,  who
14    knowingly   discharges  or  in  any  other  manner  knowingly
15    discriminates against any employee because that employee  has
16    made  a  complaint to his or her employer, or to the Director
17    or his or her authorized representative, that he  or  she  or
18    any  employee of the employer has not been paid in accordance
19    with the provisions of this Act, or because that employee has
20    instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or
21    related to this Act, or because that employee  has  testified
22    or  is  about  to  testify  in an investigation or proceeding
23    under this Act, or offers any evidence of  any  violation  of
24    this   Act,   is   guilty,  upon  conviction  of  a  Class  B
25    misdemeanor.

26        Section 40.  Notification.   Every  employer  covered  by
27    this Act shall post and keep posted, in conspicuous places on
28    the  premises  of the employer where notices to employees are
29    customarily posted, a notice, to be prepared or  approved  by
30    the  Director,  summarizing  the requirements of this Act and
31    information pertaining to the filing of a charge.   Employers
32    shall be furnished copies of summaries and regulations by the
 
                            -6-                LRB9103963KSsb
 1    Director upon request without charge.

 2        Section   45.    Outreach  and  Education  Efforts.   The
 3    Department  of  Labor  shall  conduct  ongoing  outreach  and
 4    education  efforts  concerning  this  Act   targeted   toward
 5    employers,   labor   organizations,   and  other  appropriate
 6    organizations.  In addition, the Department  of  Labor  shall
 7    conduct   studies   and  provide  information  biennially  to
 8    employers,  labor  organizations,  and  the  general   public
 9    concerning  the  means available to eliminate pay disparities
10    between men and women, including:
11        (a) conducting and  promoting  research  to  develop  the
12    means   to   correct   the  conditions  leading  to  the  pay
13    disparities;
14        (b)  publishing   and  otherwise  making   available   to
15    employers,  labor  organizations,  professional associations,
16    educational institutions, the legislature, the media, and the
17    general public the findings resulting from studies and  other
18    materials, relating to the pay disparities;
19        (c)    providing    information   to   employers,   labor
20    organizations, and other interested person on  the  means  of
21    eliminating pay disparities; and
22        (d) developing guidelines to enable employers to evaluate
23    job   categories   based   on   objective  criteria  such  as
24    educational requirements, skill  requirements,  independence,
25    working  conditions,  and  responsibility.   These guidelines
26    shall be designed to enable employers to voluntarily  compare
27    wages  paid for different jobs to determine if the pay scales
28    involved  adequately  and  fairly  reflect  the   educational
29    requirements,   skill   requirements,  independence,  working
30    conditions and responsibility for each such job with the goal
31    of eliminating unfair  pay  disparities  between  occupations
32    traditionally dominated by men or women.
 
                            -7-                LRB9103963KSsb
 1          Section  50.  Annual Report.  The Department shall file
 2    with the Governor and the General  Assembly,  no  later  than
 3    January  1 of each year, a report of its activities regarding
 4    administration and enforcement of this Act for the  preceding
 5    fiscal year.

 6        Section  55.   Severability.   The provisions of this Act
 7    are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

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