103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3129

 

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Mary Beth Canty

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 112/10
820 ILCS 112/30

    Amends the Equal Pay Act of 2003. Provides that it is unlawful for an employer with 15 or more employees to fail to include the pay scale for a position in any job posting. Provides that if an employer with 15 or more employees engages a third party to announce, post, publish, or otherwise make known a job posting, the employer shall provide the pay scale to the third party and the third party shall include the pay scale in the job posting. Defines "pay scale". Makes conforming changes to provisions concerning violations of the Act and fines and penalties. Effective immediately.


LRB103 30957 SPS 57530 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3129LRB103 30957 SPS 57530 b

1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Equal Pay Act of 2003 is amended by changing
5Sections 10 and 30 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 112/10)
7    Sec. 10. Prohibited acts.
8    (a) No employer may discriminate between employees on the
9basis of sex by paying wages to an employee at a rate less than
10the rate at which the employer pays wages to another employee
11of the opposite sex for the same or substantially similar work
12on jobs the performance of which requires substantially
13similar skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are
14performed under similar working conditions, except where the
15payment is made under:
16        (1) a seniority system;
17        (2) a merit system;
18        (3) a system that measures earnings by quantity or
19    quality of production; or
20        (4) a differential based on any other factor other
21    than: (i) sex or (ii) a factor that would constitute
22    unlawful discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights
23    Act, provided that the factor:

 

 

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1            (A) is not based on or derived from a differential
2        in compensation based on sex or another protected
3        characteristic;
4            (B) is job-related with respect to the position
5        and consistent with a business necessity; and
6            (C) accounts for the differential.
7    No employer may discriminate between employees by paying
8wages to an African-American employee at a rate less than the
9rate at which the employer pays wages to another employee who
10is not African-American for the same or substantially similar
11work on jobs the performance of which requires substantially
12similar skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are
13performed under similar working conditions, except where the
14payment is made under:
15        (1) a seniority system;
16        (2) a merit system;
17        (3) a system that measures earnings by quantity or
18    quality of production; or
19        (4) a differential based on any other factor other
20    than: (i) race or (ii) a factor that would constitute
21    unlawful discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights
22    Act, provided that the factor:
23            (A) is not based on or derived from a differential
24        in compensation based on race or another protected
25        characteristic;
26            (B) is job-related with respect to the position

 

 

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1        and consistent with a business necessity; and
2            (C) accounts for the differential.
3    An employer who is paying wages in violation of this Act
4may not, to comply with this Act, reduce the wages of any other
5employee.
6    Nothing in this Act may be construed to require an
7employer to pay, to any employee at a workplace in a particular
8county, wages that are equal to the wages paid by that employer
9at a workplace in another county to employees in jobs the
10performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and
11responsibility, and which are performed under similar working
12conditions.
13    (b) It is unlawful for any employer to interfere with,
14restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise
15any right provided under this Act. It is unlawful for any
16employer to discharge or in any other manner discriminate
17against any individual for inquiring about, disclosing,
18comparing, or otherwise discussing the employee's wages or the
19wages of any other employee, or aiding or encouraging any
20person to exercise his or her rights under this Act. It is
21unlawful for an employer to require an employee to sign a
22contract or waiver that would prohibit the employee from
23disclosing or discussing information about the employee's
24wages, salary, benefits, or other compensation. An employer
25may, however, prohibit a human resources employee, a
26supervisor, or any other employee whose job responsibilities

 

 

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1require or allow access to other employees' wage or salary
2information from disclosing that information without prior
3written consent from the employee whose information is sought
4or requested.
5    (b-5) It is unlawful for an employer or employment agency,
6or employee or agent thereof, to (1) screen job applicants
7based on their current or prior wages or salary histories,
8including benefits or other compensation, by requiring that
9the wage or salary history of an applicant satisfy minimum or
10maximum criteria, (2) request or require a wage or salary
11history as a condition of being considered for employment, as
12a condition of being interviewed, as a condition of continuing
13to be considered for an offer of employment, as a condition of
14an offer of employment or an offer of compensation, or (3)
15request or require that an applicant disclose wage or salary
16history as a condition of employment.
17    (b-10) It is unlawful for an employer to seek the wage or
18salary history, including benefits or other compensation, of a
19job applicant from any current or former employer. This
20subsection (b-10) does not apply if:
21        (1) the job applicant's wage or salary history is a
22    matter of public record under the Freedom of Information
23    Act, or any other equivalent State or federal law, or is
24    contained in a document completed by the job applicant's
25    current or former employer and then made available to the
26    public by the employer, or submitted or posted by the

 

 

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1    employer to comply with State or federal law; or
2        (2) the job applicant is a current employee and is
3    applying for a position with the same current employer.
4    (b-15) Nothing in subsections (b-5) and (b-10) shall be
5construed to prevent an employer or employment agency, or an
6employee or agent thereof, from:
7        (1) providing information about the wages, benefits,
8    compensation, or salary offered in relation to a position;
9    or
10        (2) engaging in discussions with an applicant for
11    employment about the applicant's expectations with respect
12    to wage or salary, benefits, and other compensation,
13    including unvested equity or deferred compensation that
14    the applicant would forfeit or have canceled by virtue of
15    the applicant's resignation from the applicant's current
16    employer. If, during such discussion, the applicant
17    voluntarily and without prompting discloses that the
18    applicant would forfeit or have canceled by virtue of the
19    applicant's resignation from the applicant's current
20    employer unvested equity or deferred compensation, an
21    employer may request the applicant to verify the aggregate
22    amount of such compensation by submitting a letter or
23    document stating the aggregate amount of the unvested
24    equity or deferred compensation from, at the applicant's
25    choice, one of the following: (1) the applicant's current
26    employer or (2) the business entity that administers the

 

 

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1    funds that constitute the unvested equity or deferred
2    compensation.
3    (b-20) An employer is not in violation of subsections
4(b-5) and (b-10) when a job applicant voluntarily and without
5prompting discloses his or her current or prior wage or salary
6history, including benefits or other compensation, on the
7condition that the employer does not consider or rely on the
8voluntary disclosures as a factor in determining whether to
9offer a job applicant employment, in making an offer of
10compensation, or in determining future wages, salary,
11benefits, or other compensation.
12    (b-25) It is unlawful for an employer with 15 or more
13employees to fail to include the pay scale for a position in
14any job posting. If an employer with 15 or more employees
15engages a third party to announce, post, publish, or otherwise
16make known a job posting, the employer shall provide the pay
17scale to the third party and the third party shall include the
18pay scale in the job posting. As used in this subsection, "pay
19scale" means the salary or hourly wage range that the employer
20reasonably expects to pay for the position.
21    (c) It is unlawful for any person to discharge or in any
22other manner discriminate against any individual because the
23individual:
24        (1) has filed any charge or has instituted or caused
25    to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this
26    Act;

 

 

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1        (2) has given, or is about to give, any information in
2    connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any
3    right provided under this Act;
4        (3) has testified, or is about to testify, in any
5    inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under
6    this Act; or
7        (4) fails to comply with any wage or salary history
8    inquiry.
9(Source: P.A. 101-177, eff. 9-29-19; 102-277, eff. 1-1-22.)
 
10    (820 ILCS 112/30)
11    Sec. 30. Violations; fines and penalties.
12    (a) If an employee is paid by his or her employer less than
13the wage to which he or she is entitled in violation of Section
1410 or 11 of this Act, the employee may recover in a civil
15action the entire amount of any underpayment together with
16interest, compensatory damages if the employee demonstrates
17that the employer acted with malice or reckless indifference,
18punitive damages as may be appropriate, injunctive relief as
19may be appropriate, and the costs and reasonable attorney's
20fees as may be allowed by the court and as necessary to make
21the employee whole. At the request of the employee or on a
22motion of the Director, the Department may make an assignment
23of the wage claim in trust for the assigning employee and may
24bring any legal action necessary to collect the claim, and the
25employer shall be required to pay the costs incurred in

 

 

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1collecting the claim. Every such action shall be brought
2within 5 years from the date of the underpayment. For purposes
3of this Act, "date of the underpayment" means each time wages
4are underpaid.
5    (a-5) If an employer violates subsection (b), (b-5),
6(b-10), or (b-20), or (b-25) of Section 10, the employee may
7recover in a civil action any damages incurred, special
8damages not to exceed $10,000, injunctive relief as may be
9appropriate, and costs and reasonable attorney's fees as may
10be allowed by the court and as necessary to make the employee
11whole. If special damages are available, an employee may
12recover compensatory damages only to the extent such damages
13exceed the amount of special damages. Such action shall be
14brought within 5 years from the date of the violation.
15    (b) The Director is authorized to supervise the payment of
16the unpaid wages under subsection (a) or damages under
17subsection (b), (b-5), (b-10), or (b-20), or (b-25) of Section
1810 owing to any employee or employees under this Act and may
19bring any legal action necessary to recover the amount of
20unpaid wages, damages, and penalties or to seek injunctive
21relief, and the employer shall be required to pay the costs.
22Any sums recovered by the Director on behalf of an employee
23under this Section shall be paid to the employee or employees
24affected.
25    (c) Employers who violate any provision of this Act or any
26rule adopted under the Act are subject to a civil penalty for

 

 

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1each employee affected as follows:
2        (1) An employer with fewer than 4 employees: first
3    offense, a fine not to exceed $500; second offense, a fine
4    not to exceed $2,500; third or subsequent offense, a fine
5    not to exceed $5,000.
6        (2) An employer with between 4 and 99 employees: first
7    offense, a fine not to exceed $2,500; second offense, a
8    fine not to exceed $3,000; third or subsequent offense, a
9    fine not to exceed $5,000.
10        (3) An employer with 100 or more employees who
11    violates any Section of this Act except for Section 11
12    shall be fined up to $10,000 per employee affected. An
13    employer with 100 or more employees that is a business as
14    defined under Section 11 and commits a violation of
15    Section 11 shall be fined up to $10,000.
16    Before any imposition of a penalty under this subsection,
17an employer with 100 or more employees who violates item (b) of
18Section 11 and inadvertently fails to file an initial
19application or recertification shall be provided 30 calendar
20days by the Department to submit the application or
21recertification.
22    An employer or person who violates subsection (b), (b-5),
23(b-10), (b-20), or (c) of Section 10 is subject to a civil
24penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation for each
25employee affected.
26    (d) In determining the amount of the penalty, the

 

 

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1appropriateness of the penalty to the size of the business of
2the employer charged and the gravity of the violation shall be
3considered. The penalty may be recovered in a civil action
4brought by the Director in any circuit court.
5(Source: P.A. 101-177, eff. 9-29-19; 102-36, eff. 6-25-21.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.