Public Act 101-0177
 
HB0834 EnrolledLRB101 06799 TAE 51826 b

    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Equal Pay Act of 2003 is amended by changing
Sections 10 and 30 as follows:
 
    (820 ILCS 112/10)
    Sec. 10. Prohibited acts.
    (a) No employer may discriminate between employees on the
basis of sex by paying wages to an employee at a rate less than
the rate at which the employer pays wages to another employee
of the opposite sex for the same or substantially similar work
on jobs the performance of which requires substantially similar
equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are
performed under similar working conditions, except where the
payment is made under:
        (1) a seniority system;
        (2) a merit system;
        (3) a system that measures earnings by quantity or
    quality of production; or
        (4) a differential based on any other factor other
    than: (i) sex or (ii) a factor that would constitute
    unlawful discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights
    Act, provided that the factor: .
            (A) is not based on or derived from a differential
        in compensation based on sex or another protected
        characteristic;
            (B) is job-related with respect to the position and
        consistent with a business necessity; and
            (C) accounts for the differential.
    No employer may discriminate between employees by paying
wages to an African-American employee at a rate less than the
rate at which the employer pays wages to another employee who
is not African-American for the same or substantially similar
work on jobs the performance of which requires substantially
similar equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are
performed under similar working conditions, except where the
payment is made under:
        (1) a seniority system;
        (2) a merit system;
        (3) a system that measures earnings by quantity or
    quality of production; or
        (4) a differential based on any other factor other
    than: (i) race or (ii) a factor that would constitute
    unlawful discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights
    Act, provided that the factor: .
            (A) is not based on or derived from a differential
        in compensation based on race or another protected
        characteristic;
            (B) is job-related with respect to the position and
        consistent with a business necessity; and
            (C) accounts for the differential.
    An employer who is paying wages in violation of this Act
may not, to comply with this Act, reduce the wages of any other
employee.
    Nothing in this Act may be construed to require an employer
to pay, to any employee at a workplace in a particular county,
wages that are equal to the wages paid by that employer at a
workplace in another county to employees in jobs the
performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and
responsibility, and which are performed under similar working
conditions.
    (b) It is unlawful for any employer to interfere with,
restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise
any right provided under this Act. It is unlawful for any
employer to discharge or in any other manner discriminate
against any individual for inquiring about, disclosing,
comparing, or otherwise discussing the employee's wages or the
wages of any other employee, or aiding or encouraging any
person to exercise his or her rights under this Act. It is
unlawful for an employer to require an employee to sign a
contract or waiver that would prohibit the employee from
disclosing or discussing information about the employee's
wages, salary, benefits, or other compensation. An employer
may, however, prohibit a human resources employee, a
supervisor, or any other employee whose job responsibilities
require or allow access to other employees' wage or salary
information from disclosing that information without prior
written consent from the employee whose information is sought
or requested.
    (b-5) It is unlawful for an employer or employment agency,
or employee or agent thereof, to (1) screen job applicants
based on their current or prior wages or salary histories,
including benefits or other compensation, by requiring that the
wage or salary history of an applicant satisfy minimum or
maximum criteria, (2) request or require a wage or salary
history as a condition of being considered for employment, as a
condition of being interviewed, as a condition of continuing to
be considered for an offer of employment, as a condition of an
offer of employment or an offer of compensation, or (3) request
or require that an applicant disclose wage or salary history as
a condition of employment.
    (b-10) It is unlawful for an employer to seek the wage or
salary history, including benefits or other compensation, of a
job applicant from any current or former employer. This
subsection (b-10) does not apply if:
        (1) the job applicant's wage or salary history is a
    matter of public record under the Freedom of Information
    Act, or any other equivalent State or federal law, or is
    contained in a document completed by the job applicant's
    current or former employer and then made available to the
    public by the employer, or submitted or posted by the
    employer to comply with State or federal law; or
        (2) the job applicant is a current employee and is
    applying for a position with the same current employer.
    (b-15) Nothing in subsections (b-5) and (b-10) shall be
construed to prevent an employer or employment agency, or an
employee or agent thereof, from:
        (1) providing information about the wages, benefits,
    compensation, or salary offered in relation to a position;
    or
        (2) engaging in discussions with an applicant for
    employment about the applicant's expectations with respect
    to wage or salary, benefits, and other compensation.
    (b-20) An employer is not in violation of subsections (b-5)
and (b-10) when a job applicant voluntarily and without
prompting discloses his or her current or prior wage or salary
history, including benefits or other compensation, on the
condition that the employer does not consider or rely on the
voluntary disclosures as a factor in determining whether to
offer a job applicant employment, in making an offer of
compensation, or in determining future wages, salary,
benefits, or other compensation.
    (c) It is unlawful for any person to discharge or in any
other manner discriminate against any individual because the
individual:
        (1) has filed any charge or has instituted or caused to
    be instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act;
        (2) has given, or is about to give, any information in
    connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any
    right provided under this Act; or
        (3) has testified, or is about to testify, in any
    inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under
    this Act; or .
        (4) fails to comply with any wage or salary history
    inquiry.
(Source: P.A. 100-1140, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
    (820 ILCS 112/30)
    Sec. 30. Violations; fines and penalties.
    (a) If an employee is paid by his or her employer less than
the wage to which he or she is entitled in violation of Section
10 of this Act, the employee may recover in a civil action the
entire amount of any underpayment together with interest,
compensatory damages if the employee demonstrates that the
employer acted with malice or reckless indifference, punitive
damages as may be appropriate, injunctive relief as may be
appropriate, and the costs and reasonable attorney's fees as
may be allowed by the court and as necessary to make the
employee whole. At the request of the employee or on a motion
of the Director, the Department may make an assignment of the
wage claim in trust for the assigning employee and may bring
any legal action necessary to collect the claim, and the
employer shall be required to pay the costs incurred in
collecting the claim. Every such action shall be brought within
5 years from the date of the underpayment. For purposes of this
Act, "date of the underpayment" means each time wages are
underpaid.
    (a-5) If an employer violates subsection (b), (b-5),
(b-10), or (b-20) of Section 10, the employee may recover in a
civil action any damages incurred, special damages not to
exceed $10,000, injunctive relief as may be appropriate, and
costs and reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the
court and as necessary to make the employee whole. If special
damages are available, an employee may recover compensatory
damages only to the extent such damages exceed the amount of
special damages. Such action shall be brought within 5 years
from the date of the violation.
    (b) The Director is authorized to supervise the payment of
the unpaid wages under subsection (a) or damages under
subsection (b), (b-5), (b-10), or (b-20) of Section 10 owing to
any employee or employees under this Act and may bring any
legal action necessary to recover the amount of unpaid wages,
damages, and penalties or to seek injunctive relief, and the
employer shall be required to pay the costs. Any sums recovered
by the Director on behalf of an employee under this Section
shall be paid to the employee or employees affected.
    (c) Employers who violate any provision of this Act or any
rule adopted under the Act are subject to a civil penalty for
each employee affected as follows:
        (1) An employer with fewer than 4 employees: first
    offense, a fine not to exceed $500; second offense, a fine
    not to exceed $2,500; third or subsequent offense, a fine
    not to exceed $5,000.
        (2) An employer with 4 or more employees: first
    offense, a fine not to exceed $2,500; second offense, a
    fine not to exceed $3,000; third or subsequent offense, a
    fine not to exceed $5,000.
    An employer or person who violates subsection (b), (b-5),
(b-10), (b-20), or (c) of Section 10 is subject to a civil
penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation for each
employee affected.
    (d) In determining the amount of the penalty, the
appropriateness of the penalty to the size of the business of
the employer charged and the gravity of the violation shall be
considered. The penalty may be recovered in a civil action
brought by the Director in any circuit court.
(Source: P.A. 99-418, eff. 1-1-16.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect 60 days
after becoming law.