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91_HB2267
LRB9103962KSpc
1 AN ACT to create the Fair 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 shall be called the
5 Fair Pay Act of 1999.
6 Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds the
7 following:
8 (a) Despite federal and state laws banning
9 discrimination in employment and pay, in both the private and
10 public sector, wage differentials persist between women and
11 men and between minorities and non-minorities in the same
12 jobs and in jobs that are dissimilar but that require
13 equivalent composites of skill, effort, responsibility and
14 working conditions.
15 (b) The existence of wage differentials:
16 (1) depresses wages and living standards for
17 employees necessary for their health and efficiency;
18 (2) reduces family incomes and contributes to the
19 higher poverty rates among female-headed and minority
20 households;
21 (3) prevents the maximum utilization of the
22 available labor resources;
23 (4) tends to cause labor disputes, thereby
24 burdening, affecting, and obstructing commerce;
25 (5) constitutes an unfair method of competition;
26 and
27 (6) violates the State's public policy against
28 discrimination.
29 (c) Discrimination in wage-setting practices has played
30 a role in depressing wages for women and minorities
31 generally.
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1 (d) Many individuals work in occupations that are
2 dominated by individuals of their same sex, race, or national
3 origin, and discrimination in hiring, job assignment, and
4 promotion has played a role in establishing and maintaining
5 segregated work forces.
6 (e) Eliminating discrimination in compensation based on
7 sex, race, and national origin would have positive effects,
8 including:
9 (1) providing a solution to problems in the economy
10 created by discriminatory wage differentials;
11 (2) reducing the number of working women and people
12 of color earning low wages, thereby lowering their
13 incidence of poverty during normal working years and in
14 retirement; and
15 (3) promoting stable families by raising family
16 incomes.
17 Section 10. Purpose. It is the purpose of this Act to
18 correct and as rapidly as practicable to eliminate
19 discriminatory wage practices based on sex, race, or national
20 origin.
21 Section 15. Definitions. As used in this Act, the
22 following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them:
23 "Department" means the Department of Labor.
24 "Employ" means to suffer or permit to work.
25 "Employee" means any person employed by an employer and
26 includes all of an employer's permanent employees, whether
27 working full-time or part-time, and any temporary employee
28 employed by an employer for a period of at-least three
29 months. "Employee" shall not include any individual employed
30 by his parents, spouse or child.
31 "Employer" means any person who employs 3 or more persons
32 and includes the State and all political subdivisions
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1 thereof.
2 "Equivalent jobs" means jobs or occupations that are
3 equal within the meaning of the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963
4 or jobs or occupations that are dissimilar but whose
5 requirements are equivalent, when viewed as a composite of
6 skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions.
7 "Person" means one or more individuals, partnerships,
8 associations, corporations, limited liability companies,
9 legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy,
10 receivers and the State and all political subdivisions and
11 agencies thereof.
12 "Labor organization" means any organization that exists
13 for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective
14 bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning
15 grievances, terms of conditions of employment, or of other
16 mutual aid or protection in connection with employment.
17 "Market rates" means the rates that employers within a
18 prescribed geographic area actually pay, or are reported to
19 pay for specific jobs, as determined by formal 'or informal
20 surveys, wage studies, or other means.
21 "Wages" and wage "rates" includes all compensation in any
22 form that an employer provides to employees in payment for
23 work done or services rendered, including but not limited to
24 base pay, bonuses, commissions, awards, tips, or various
25 forms of non-monetary compensation if provided in lieu of or
26 in addition to monetary compensation and that have economic
27 value to an employee.
28 Section 20. Prohibition against discrimination in wages.
29 (a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice in
30 violation of this Act for an employer to discriminate between
31 employees on the basis of sex, race, or national origin by:
32 (1) paying wages to employees at a rate less than
33 the rate paid to employees of the opposite sex or of a
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1 different race or national origin for work in equivalent
2 jobs; or
3 (2) paying wages to employees in a job that is
4 dominated by employees of a particular sex, race, or
5 national origin at a rate less than the rate at which the
6 employer pays to employees in another job that is
7 dominated by employees of the opposite sex or of a
8 different race or national origin, for work on equivalent
9 jobs.
10 (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section, it
11 shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer
12 to pay different wage rates to employees, where the payments
13 are made pursuant to:
14 (1) a bonafide seniority or merit system;
15 (2) a system that measures earnings by quantity or
16 quality of production; or
17 (3) any bonafide factor other than sex, race, or
18 national origin, provided that wage differentials based
19 on varying market rates for equivalent jobs or the
20 differing economic benefits to the employer of equivalent
21 jobs shall not be considered differentials based on
22 bonafide factors other than sex, race, or national
23 origin.
24 (c) Any employer who is paying wages in violation of
25 this Section shall not, in order to comply with the
26 provisions of this Section, reduce the wage of any employee.
27 (d) No labor organization or its agents representing
28 employees of an employer having employees subject to any
29 provision of this Act shall cause or attempt to cause an
30 employer to discriminate against an employee in violation of
31 subsection (a) of this Section.
32 (e) The Department shall promulgate rules specifying the
33 criteria for determining whether a job is dominated by
34 employees of a particular sex, race, or national origin.
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1 Criteria shall include, but not be limited to, factors such
2 as (i) whether the job has ever been formally classified as
3 or traditionally considered to be a "male" or "female" or
4 "white" or "minority"' job; (ii) whether there is a history
5 of discrimination against women or people of color with
6 regard to wages, assignment or access to jobs, or other terms
7 and conditions of employment; and (iii) the demographic
8 composition of the work force in equivalent jobs. The rules
9 shall not include a list of jobs.
10 Section 25. Other prohibited acts
11 (a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice in
12 violation of this Act for an employer:
13 (1) to take adverse actions or otherwise
14 discriminate against any individual because the
15 individual has opposed any act or practice made unlawful
16 by this Act, has sought to enforce rights protected under
17 this Act, or has testified, assisted, or participated in
18 any manner in an investigation, hearing, or other
19 proceeding to enforce this act; or
20 (2) to discharge or in any other manner
21 discriminate against, coerce, intimidate, threaten, or
22 interfere with any employee or any other person because
23 the employee inquired about, disclosed, compared, or
24 otherwise discussed the employee's wages or the wages of
25 any other employee, or because the employee exercised,
26 enjoyed, aided, or encouraged any other person to
27 exercise or enjoy any right granted or protected by this
28 Act.
29 Section 30. Wage disclosure, record keeping, and
30 reporting requirements.
31 (a) Upon commencement of an individual's employment and
32 at least annually thereafter, every employer subject to this
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1 Act shall provide to each employee a written statement
2 sufficient to inform the employee of his or her job title,
3 wage rate, and how the wage is calculated. This notice shall
4 be supplemented whenever an employee is promoted or
5 reassigned to a different position with the employer,
6 provided that the employer is not required to issue
7 supplemental notifications for temporary reassignments that
8 are no greater than 3 months in duration.
9 (b) Every employer subject to this Act shall make and
10 preserve records that document the wages paid to employees
11 and that document and support the method, system,
12 calculations, and other bases used to establish, adjust, and
13 determine the wage rates paid to the employer's employees.
14 Every employer subject to this Act shall preserve any records
15 for any periods of time and shall make any reports from the
16 records as shall be prescribed by rule or order by the
17 Department.
18 (c) The rules promulgated under this Act relating to the
19 form of reports required by paragraph (b) shall provide for
20 protection of the confidentiality of employees and shall
21 expressly require that reports shall not include the names or
22 other identifying information from which readers could
23 discern the identities of employees. The rules may also
24 identify circumstances that warrant a prohibition on
25 disclosure of reports or information identifying the
26 employer.
27 (d) The Department may use the information and data it
28 collects pursuant to subsection (b) for statistical and
29 research purposes, and may compile and publish studies,
30 analyses, reports, and surveys based on the information and
31 data, as it may consider appropriate.
32 Section 35. Remedies and enforcement.
33 (a) In any action in which a court or jury finds that an
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1 employer has engaged in acts that violate Sections 20, 25, or
2 30 of this Act, the court or jury shall award to any affected
3 employee or employees monetary relief, including back pay in
4 an amount equal to the difference between the employees'
5 actual earnings and what the employee would have earned but
6 for the employer's unlawful practices; and an additional
7 amount in compensatory and punitive damages, as appropriate.
8 (b) In any action in which a court or jury finds that an
9 employer has engaged in acts that violate Sections 20, 25, or
10 30 of this Act, the court shall enjoin the employer from
11 continuing to discriminate against affected employees and
12 shall direct the employer to comply with the provisions of
13 this act and may order the employer to take any additional
14 affirmative steps as are necessary, including reinstatement
15 or reclassification of affected workers, to ensure an end to
16 unlawful discrimination.
17 (c) In any action in which an affected employee or
18 employees prevail in their claims against employers, the
19 court shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to the
20 plaintiffs, allow a reasonable attorney's fee, reasonable
21 expert witness fees, and other costs of the action to be paid
22 by the employer.
23 (d) An action to recover the damages or equitable relief
24 prescribed in subsections (a), (b), or (c) of this Section
25 may be maintained against any employer in the circuit court
26 by any one or more employees or their representative for or
27 on behalf of the employees or the employees and other
28 employees similarly situated.
29 (e) The Department shall receive, investigate, and
30 attempt to resolve complaints of violations of Sections 20,
31 25, and 30.
32 (f) In the event the Department is unable to reach a
33 voluntary resolution of a complaint filed under subsection
34 (e), the Department may bring an action in the circuit court
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1 to recover the equitable and monetary relief described in
2 subsections (a), (b), or (c).
3 (g) Any sums recovered by the Department pursuant to
4 subsection (f) shall be paid directly to each employee
5 affected by the employer's unlawful acts.
6 (h) An action may be brought under this Section not
7 later than 2 years after the date of the last event
8 constituting the alleged violation for which the action is
9 brought.
10 Section 40. Rules. The Department shall prescribe any
11 rules that are necessary to carry out this Act not later than
12 120 days after this Act takes effect.
13 Section 45. Severability. The provisions of this Act
14 are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
15 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16 becoming law.