Public Act 93-0006
SB2 Enrolled LRB093 03272 WGH 03289 b
AN ACT in relation to equal pay.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short Title. This Act may be cited as the
Equal Pay Act of 2003.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Director" means the Director of Labor.
"Department" means the Department of Labor.
"Employee" means any individual permitted to work by an
employer.
"Employer" means an individual, partnership, corporation,
association, business, trust, person, or entity for whom 4 or
more employees are gainfully employed in Illinois and
includes the State of Illinois, any state officer,
department, or agency, any unit of local government, and any
school district.
Section 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 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.
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.
(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.
Section 15. Enforcement. The Director or his or her
authorized representative shall administer and enforce the
provisions of this Act. The Director of Labor shall adopt
rules necessary to administer and enforce this Act.
The Department has the power to conduct investigations in
connection with the administration and enforcement of this
Act and the authorized officers and employees of the
Department are authorized to investigate and gather data
regarding the wages, hours, and other conditions and
practices of employment in any industry subject to this Act,
and may enter and inspect such places and such records at
reasonable times during regular business hours, question the
employees and investigate the facts, conditions, practices,
or matters as he or she may deem necessary or appropriate to
determine whether any person has violated any provision of
this Act, or which may aid in the enforcement of this Act.
Section 20. Recordkeeping requirements. An employer
subject to any provision of this Act shall make and preserve
records that document the name, address, and occupation of
each employee, the wages paid to each employee, and any other
information the Director may by rule deem necessary and
appropriate for enforcement of this Act. An employer subject
to any provision of this Act shall preserve those records for
a period of not less than 3 years and shall make reports from
the records as prescribed by rule or order of the Director.
Section 25. Witnesses; subpoena. The Director of Labor
or his or her authorized representative may administer oaths,
take or cause to be taken the depositions of witnesses, and
require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses
and the production of all books, records, and other evidence
relative to the matter under investigation. A subpoena
issued under this Section shall be signed and issued by the
Director of Labor or his or her authorized representative.
In case of failure of any person to comply with any
subpoena lawfully issued under this Section or on the refusal
of any witness to produce evidence or to testify to any
matter regarding which he or she may be lawfully
interrogated, it is the duty of any circuit court, upon
application of the Director, or his or her authorized
representative, to compel obedience by proceedings for
contempt, as in the case of disobedience of the requirements
of a subpoena issued by such court or a refusal to testify
therein. The Director may certify to official acts.
Section 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 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 3 years
from the date the employee learned of the underpayment.
(b) The Director is authorized to supervise the payment
of the unpaid wages owing to any employee or employees under
this Act and may bring any legal action necessary to recover
the amount of unpaid wages and penalties 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) Any employer who violates any provision of this Act
or any rule adopted under the Act is subject to a civil
penalty not to exceed $2,500 for each violation for each
employee affected. 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.
Section 35. Refusal to pay wages or final compensation;
retaliatory discharge or discrimination.
(a) Any employer who has been ordered by the Director of
Labor or the court to pay wages due an employee and who fails
to do so within 15 days after the order is entered is liable
to pay a penalty of 1% per calendar day to the employee for
each day of delay in paying the wages to the employee, up to
an amount equal to twice the sum of unpaid wages due the
employee.
(b) Any employer, or any agent of an employer, who
knowingly discharges or in any other manner knowingly
discriminates against any employee because that employee has
made a complaint to his or her employer, or to the Director
or his or her authorized representative, that he or she or
any employee of the employer has not been paid in accordance
with the provisions of this Act, or because that employee has
instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or
related to this Act or consulted counsel for such purposes,
or because that employee has testified or is about to testify
in an investigation or proceeding under this Act, or offers
any evidence of any violation of this Act, shall be liable to
the employee for such legal and equitable relief as may be
appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this Section, the
value of any lost benefits, backpay, and front pay as
appropriate so long as the employee has made reasonable
efforts to mitigate his or her damages and an additional
equal amount as liquidated damages.
Section 40. Notification. Every employer covered by
this Act shall post and keep posted, in conspicuous places on
the premises of the employer where notices to employees are
customarily posted, a notice, to be prepared or approved by
the Director, summarizing the requirements of this Act and
information pertaining to the filing of a charge. The
Director shall furnish copies of summaries and rules to
employers upon request without charge.
Section 45. Outreach and education efforts. The
Department of Labor shall conduct ongoing outreach and
education efforts concerning this Act targeted toward
employers, labor organizations, and other appropriate
organizations. In addition, the Department of Labor shall
conduct studies and provide information biennially to
employers, labor organizations, and the general public
concerning the means available to eliminate pay disparities
between men and women, including:
(1) conducting and promoting research to develop the
means to correct the conditions leading to the pay
disparities;
(2) publishing and otherwise making available to
employers, labor organizations, professional
associations, educational institutions, the legislature,
the media, and the general public the findings resulting
from studies and other materials, relating to the pay
disparities;
(3) providing information to employers, labor
organizations, and other interested persons on the means
of eliminating pay disparities; and
(4) developing guidelines to enable employers to
evaluate job categories based on objective criteria such
as educational requirements, skill requirements,
independence, working conditions, and responsibility.
These guidelines shall be designed to enable employers to
voluntarily compare wages paid for different jobs to
determine if the pay scales involved adequately and
fairly reflect the educational requirements, skill
requirements, independence, working conditions, and
responsibility for each such job with the goal of
eliminating unfair pay disparities between occupations
traditionally dominated by men or women.
Section 50. Annual Report. The Department shall file
with the Governor and the General Assembly, no later than
January 1 of each year, a report of its activities regarding
administration and enforcement of this Act for the preceding
fiscal year.
Section 90. Severability. The provisions of this Act
are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.