EMPLOYER ALERT: CHANGES LIKELY COMING TO THE ILLINOIS EQUAL PAY ACT
Illinois Equal Pay Act House Bill 3129 passed both Houses of the Illinois legislature on May 17, 2023. The bill, which addresses pay transparency in job postings, is expected to be signed into law by Governor Pritzker and go into effect on January 1, 2025. The law would only apply to job postings issued on or after that date.
Here are the key takeaways on the current version of the Bill:
The Bill would require employers with 15 or more employees to include pay scale and benefits information for a position in any job posting. In addition to positions that will be physically performed in Illinois, the disclosure requirement will apply to positions that will be physically performed outside of Illinois by an employee who reports to a supervisor, office or work site in Illinois.
If an employer with 15 or more employees utilizes a third party to announce, post, publish or otherwise make known a job posting, the employer would need to provide the pay scale to the third party, and the third party, in turn, would be required to include the pay scale in the job posting.
The Bill defines “pay scale and benefits” to mean “the wage or salary, or the wage or salary range, and a general description of the benefits and other compensation the employer reasonable expects to offer for the position.”
Employers are required to announce, post, or otherwise make known all opportunities for promotion to all current employees no later than the same calendar day that the employer makes an external job posting for the position.
An employer must maintain records for a period of not less than 5 years that document the name, address, and occupation of each employee, the wages paid to each employee, the pay scale and benefits for each position, the job posting for each position, and any other information the Director of Labor may deem necessary and appropriate.
Penalties for violations of the transparency requirements are dependent how many times the employer previously committed violations and whether the job posting at issue is still active when the Illinois Department of Labor (“IDOL”) issues its findings. Penalties can range from $250 to $10,000 per violation.
In determining whether a job posting is active, the IDOL will consider the totality of the circumstances, including, but not limited to: (i) whether a position has been filled; (ii) the length of time a posting has been accessible to the public; (iii) the existence of a date range for which a given position is active; and (iv) whether the violating posting is for a position for which the employer is no longer accepting applications.
If signed into law, the Bill would add Illinois to the growing list of states requiring pay transparency in job postings, including California, Colorado, New York, and Washington.
Many insurance policies exclude coverage for civil fines and penalties. It is important for employers to take note if this Bill is signed, that they implement all necessary policies and procedures to maintain compliance.
We will provide an update when the Bill is signed and any changes to the Bill made after the issuance of this blog.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christine Trimarco
With her extensive legal and insurance industry experience, Christine serves as Complex Claims Counsel at Assurance. She’s well-versed in areas like construction law, product liability, medical malpractice and errors & omissions. Prior to joining Assurance, Christine was an attorney for Cassiday Schade LLP, where she was a partner and chair of the hiring committee. She earned her Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from DePaul University.
