Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB4163

Amends the Equal Pay Act of 2003. Prohibits an employer from: (i) screening job applicants based on their wage or salary history, (ii) requiring that an applicant's prior wages satisfy minimum or maximum criteria, and (iii) requesting or requiring as a condition of being interviewed or as a condition of continuing to be considered for an offer of employment that an applicant disclose prior wages or salary. Prohibits an employer from seeking the salary, including benefits or other compensation or salary history, of a job applicant from any current or former employer, with some exceptions. Limits defenses. Provides for penalties and injunctive relief.

Recommends making it unlawful for an employee to disclose or discuss an employee's wage, salary, or other compensation (rather than information about the employee's wages). Recommends permitting an employer to prohibit a human resources employee, a supervisor, or any other employee whose job responsibilities require or allow access to other employees' wage or salary or other compensation information from disclosing such information without prior written consent from the employee whose information is sought or requested. Recommends making it unlawful for an employer to seek the wage, salary, or other compensation history of a prospective employee from the prospective employee or a current or former employer or to require that a prospective employee's wage, salary, or other compensation history meet certain criteria, with certain exceptions (rather than making it unlawful for an employer to screen job applicants based on their wage or salary history 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 as a condition of employment that an applicant disclose prior wages or salary). Recommends providing that an employer against whom an action is brought alleging gender-based wage discrimination shall have an affirmative defense to liability if, within the previous 3 years and prior to the commencement of the action, the employer has completed a self-evaluation of the employer's pay practices and can demonstrate that progress has been made towards eliminating wage differentials based on gender 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, in accordance with that evaluation. Recommends imposing specified fines on employers who cannot properly raise an affirmative defense. Recommends deleting provisions concerning compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, and special damages for employees who succeed in an action alleging gender-based wage discrimination. (Deletes reference to: 820 ILCS 112/30; Adds reference to: 820 ILCS 112/28)

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