Full Text of HB0834 101st General Assembly
HB0834enr 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning employment.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Equal Pay Act of 2003 is amended by changing | 5 | | Sections 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 | 9 | | basis of sex by
paying wages
to an employee at a rate less than | 10 | | the rate at which the employer pays wages to
another employee | 11 | | of
the opposite sex for the same or substantially similar work | 12 | | on jobs the
performance of which
requires substantially similar | 13 | | equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are | 14 | | performed under
similar working
conditions, except where the | 15 | | payment 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 and | 5 | | consistent with a business necessity; and | 6 | | (C) accounts for the differential. | 7 | | No employer may discriminate between employees by paying | 8 | | wages to an African-American employee at a rate less than the | 9 | | rate at which the employer pays wages to another employee who | 10 | | is not African-American for the same or substantially similar | 11 | | work on jobs the performance of which requires substantially | 12 | | similar equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are | 13 | | performed under similar working conditions, except where the | 14 | | payment 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 and |
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| 1 | | consistent with a business necessity; and | 2 | | (C) accounts for the differential. | 3 | | An employer who is paying wages in violation of this Act | 4 | | may not,
to comply with
this Act, reduce the wages of any other | 5 | | employee.
| 6 | | Nothing in this Act may be construed to require an employer | 7 | | to pay, to
any employee at a workplace in a particular county, | 8 | | wages that are equal
to the wages paid by that employer at a | 9 | | workplace in another county to
employees in jobs the | 10 | | performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and
| 11 | | responsibility, and which are performed under similar working | 12 | | conditions.
| 13 | | (b) It is unlawful for any employer to interfere with, | 14 | | restrain, or
deny the exercise of or
the attempt to exercise | 15 | | any right provided under this Act. It is
unlawful for any | 16 | | employer
to discharge or in any other manner discriminate | 17 | | against any individual for
inquiring about,
disclosing, | 18 | | comparing, or otherwise discussing the employee's wages or the
| 19 | | wages
of any other
employee, or aiding or encouraging any | 20 | | person to exercise his or her rights
under this
Act. It is | 21 | | unlawful for an employer to require an employee to sign a | 22 | | contract or waiver that would prohibit the employee from | 23 | | disclosing or discussing information about the employee's | 24 | | wages, salary, benefits, or other compensation. An employer | 25 | | may, however, prohibit a human resources employee, a | 26 | | supervisor, or any other employee whose job responsibilities |
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| 1 | | require or allow access to other employees' wage or salary | 2 | | information from disclosing that information without prior | 3 | | written consent from the employee whose information is sought | 4 | | or requested.
| 5 | | (b-5) It is unlawful for an employer or employment agency, | 6 | | or employee or agent thereof, to (1) screen job
applicants | 7 | | based on their current or prior wages or salary histories, | 8 | | including benefits or other compensation, by
requiring that the | 9 | | wage or salary history of an applicant satisfy minimum or | 10 | | maximum criteria, (2) request or require a wage or salary | 11 | | history as a condition of being considered for employment, as a | 12 | | condition of being interviewed, as a condition of continuing to | 13 | | be considered for an offer of employment, as a condition of an | 14 | | offer of employment or an offer of compensation, or (3) request | 15 | | or require that an applicant disclose wage or salary history as | 16 | | a condition of employment. | 17 | | (b-10) It is unlawful for an employer to seek the wage or | 18 | | salary history, including benefits or other compensation, of a | 19 | | job applicant from any current or former employer. This | 20 | | subsection (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 | 5 | | construed to prevent an employer or employment agency, or an | 6 | | employee 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 | | (b-20) An employer is not in violation of subsections (b-5) | 14 | | and (b-10) when a job applicant voluntarily and without | 15 | | prompting discloses his or her current or prior wage or salary | 16 | | history, including benefits or other compensation, on the | 17 | | condition that the employer does not consider or rely on the | 18 | | voluntary disclosures as a factor in determining whether to | 19 | | offer a job applicant employment, in making an offer of | 20 | | compensation, or in determining future wages, salary, | 21 | | benefits, or other compensation. | 22 | | (c) It is unlawful for any person to discharge or in any | 23 | | other manner
discriminate against any individual because the | 24 | | individual:
| 25 | | (1) has filed any charge or has instituted or caused to | 26 | | be instituted any
proceeding under or related to this 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; or
| 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. 100-1140, eff. 1-1-19.)
| 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 | 13 | | the wage to
which he or
she is entitled in
violation of Section | 14 | | 10 of this Act, the employee may recover in a civil action
the | 15 | | entire amount of any
underpayment together with interest , | 16 | | compensatory damages if the employee demonstrates that the | 17 | | employer acted with malice or reckless indifference, punitive | 18 | | damages as may be appropriate, injunctive relief as may be | 19 | | appropriate, and the costs and reasonable attorney's
fees as | 20 | | may be
allowed by the
court and as necessary to make the | 21 | | employee whole. At the request of the
employee or on a motion | 22 | | of the Director,
the Department may
make an assignment of the | 23 | | wage claim in trust for the assigning employee and
may bring | 24 | | any
legal action necessary to collect the claim, and the | 25 | | employer shall be required
to pay the costs
incurred in |
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| 1 | | collecting the claim. Every such action shall be brought within | 2 | | 5
years from the date
of the underpayment. For purposes of this | 3 | | Act, "date of the underpayment" means each time wages are | 4 | | underpaid.
| 5 | | (a-5) If an employer violates subsection (b), (b-5), | 6 | | (b-10), or (b-20) of Section 10, the employee may recover in a | 7 | | civil action any damages incurred, special damages not to | 8 | | exceed $10,000, injunctive relief as may be appropriate, and | 9 | | costs and reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the | 10 | | court and as necessary to make the employee whole. If special | 11 | | damages are available, an employee may recover compensatory | 12 | | damages only to the extent such damages exceed the amount of | 13 | | special damages. Such action shall be brought within 5 years | 14 | | from the date of the violation. | 15 | | (b) The Director is authorized to supervise the payment of | 16 | | the unpaid wages under subsection (a) or damages under | 17 | | subsection (b), (b-5), (b-10), or (b-20) of Section 10
owing to | 18 | | any
employee or employees under this Act and may bring any | 19 | | legal action necessary
to recover the
amount of unpaid wages , | 20 | | damages, and penalties or to seek injunctive relief, and the | 21 | | employer shall be required to pay
the costs. Any
sums recovered | 22 | | by the Director on behalf of an employee under this
Section | 23 | | shall be
paid to the employee or employees affected.
| 24 | | (c) Employers who violate any provision of this Act or any | 25 | | rule
adopted under the Act are subject to a civil penalty for | 26 | | each employee affected as follows: |
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| 1 | | (1) An employer with fewer than 4 employees: first | 2 | | offense, a fine not to exceed $500; second offense, a fine | 3 | | not to exceed $2,500; third or subsequent offense, a fine | 4 | | not to exceed $5,000. | 5 | | (2) An employer with 4 or more employees: first | 6 | | offense, a fine not to exceed $2,500; second offense, a | 7 | | fine not to exceed $3,000; third or subsequent offense, a | 8 | | fine not to exceed $5,000. | 9 | | An employer or person who violates subsection (b) , (b-5), | 10 | | (b-10), (b-20), or (c) of Section 10 is subject to a civil | 11 | | penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation for each | 12 | | employee affected. | 13 | | (d) In determining the amount of the penalty, the
| 14 | | appropriateness of the
penalty to the size of the business of | 15 | | the employer charged and the gravity of
the violation shall
be | 16 | | considered. The penalty may be recovered in a civil action | 17 | | brought by the
Director in
any circuit court.
| 18 | | (Source: P.A. 99-418, eff. 1-1-16 .)
| 19 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect 60 days | 20 | | after becoming law. |
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