State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SB0135

 
                                               LRB9202034WHcs

 1        AN ACT concerning labor.

 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 may be cited as the
 5    Equal Pay Act of 2001.

 6        Section 5.  Definitions.  As used in this Act:
 7        "Director" means the Director of  Labor.
 8        "Department" means the Department of Labor.
 9        "Employee" means any individual permitted to work  by  an
10    employer.
11        "Employer" means an individual, partnership, corporation,
12    association, business, trust, person, or entity for whom 4 or
13    more   employees  are  gainfully  employed  in  Illinois  and
14    includes  the  State  of   Illinois,   any   State   officer,
15    department,  or agency, any unit of local government, and any
16    school district.

17        Section 10.  Prohibited acts.
18        (a)  No employer may discriminate  between  employees  on
19    the  basis  of  sex  by paying wages to an employee at a rate
20    less than the rate  at  which  the  employer  pays  wages  to
21    another  employee  of  the  opposite  sex  for  the  same  or
22    substantially  similar  work on jobs the performance of which
23    requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility,  and  which
24    are  performed under similar working conditions, except where
25    the payment is made under:
26             (1) a seniority system;
27             (2) a merit system;
28             (3) a system that measures earnings by  quantity  or
29        quality of production; or
30             (4)  a  differential based on any other factor other
 
                            -2-                LRB9202034WHcs
 1        than sex.
 2        An employer who is paying wages in violation of this  Act
 3    may  not,  to  comply  with this Act, reduce the wages of any
 4    other employee.
 5        (b)  It is unlawful for any employer to  interfere  with,
 6    restrain,  or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise
 7    any right provided under this Act.  It is  unlawful  for  any
 8    employer  to  discharge  or  in any other manner discriminate
 9    against  any  individual  for  inquiring  about,  disclosing,
10    comparing, or otherwise discussing the  employee's  wages  or
11    the wages of any other employee, or aiding or encouraging any
12    person to exercise his or her rights under this Act.
13        (c)  It is unlawful for any person to discharge or in any
14    other  manner discriminate against any individual because the
15    individual:
16             (1)  has filed  any  charge  or  has  instituted  or
17        caused  to  be instituted any proceeding under or related
18        to this Act;
19             (2)  has given, or is about to give, any information
20        in connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating  to
21        any right provided under this Act; or
22             (3)   has  testified, or is about to testify, in any
23        inquiry or proceeding  relating  to  any  right  provided
24        under this Act.

25        Section  15.   Enforcement.   The  Director or his or her
26    authorized representative shall administer and  enforce  this
27    Act.   The Director shall adopt rules necessary to administer
28    and enforce this Act.
29        The Department has the power to conduct investigations in
30    connection with the administration and  enforcement  of  this
31    Act   and  the  authorized  officers  and  employees  of  the
32    Department are authorized  to  investigate  and  gather  data
33    regarding   the   wages,  hours,  and  other  conditions  and
 
                            -3-                LRB9202034WHcs
 1    practices of employment in any industry subject to this  Act,
 2    and  may  enter  and  inspect such places and such records at
 3    reasonable times during regular business hours, question  the
 4    employees  and  investigate the facts, conditions, practices,
 5    or matters as he or she may deem necessary or appropriate  to
 6    determine  whether  any  person has violated any provision of
 7    this Act, or which may aid in the enforcement of this Act.

 8        Section 20.   Recordkeeping  requirements.   An  employer
 9    subject  to any provision of this Act shall make and preserve
10    records that document the name, address,  and  occupation  of
11    each employee, the wages paid to each employee, and any other
12    information  the  Director  may  by  rule  deem necessary and
13    appropriate for enforcement of this Act.  An employer subject
14    to any provision of this Act shall preserve those records for
15    a period of not less than 3 years and shall make reports from
16    the records as prescribed by rule or order of the Director.

17        Section 25.  Witnesses; subpoena.  The Director or his or
18    her authorized representative may administer oaths,  take  or
19    cause  to  be taken the depositions of witnesses, and require
20    by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the
21    production of all books, records, and other evidence relative
22    to the matter under investigation.  A subpoena  issued  under
23    this  Section  shall  be signed and issued by the Director or
24    his or her authorized representative
25        In case of failure of  any  person  to  comply  with  any
26    subpoena lawfully issued under this Section or on the refusal
27    of  any  witness  to  produce  evidence  or to testify to any
28    matter  regarding  which  he   or   she   may   be   lawfully
29    interrogated,  it  is  the  duty  of  any circuit court, upon
30    application  of  the  Director,  or  his  or  her  authorized
31    representative,  to  compel  obedience  by  proceedings   for
32    contempt,  as in the case of disobedience of the requirements
 
                            -4-                LRB9202034WHcs
 1    of a subpoena issued by such court or a  refusal  to  testify
 2    therein.  The Director may certify to official acts.

 3        Section 30.  Violations; fines and penalties.
 4        (a)   If  an employee is paid by his or her employer less
 5    than the wage to which he or she is entitled in violation  of
 6    Section  10  of this Act, the employee may recover in a civil
 7    action the amount of any underpayment together with costs and
 8    reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed  by  the  court.
 9    At  the  request  of  the  employee  or  on  a  motion of the
10    Director, the Department may make an assignment of  the  wage
11    claim  in  trust for the assigning employee and may bring any
12    legal action necessary to collect the claim, and the employer
13    shall be required to pay the costs incurred in collecting the
14    claim.  Every such action shall be  brought  within  3  years
15    from the date of the underpayment.
16        (b)  The  Director is authorized to supervise the payment
17    of the unpaid wages owing to any employee or employees  under
18    this  Act and may bring any legal action necessary to recover
19    the amount of unpaid wages and  penalties  and  the  employer
20    shall  be  required  to pay the costs.  Any sums recovered by
21    the Director on behalf of  an  employee  under  this  Section
22    shall be paid to the employee or employees affected.
23        (c)  Any  employer who violates any provision of this Act
24    or any rule adopted under this Act  is  subject  to  a  civil
25    penalty  not  to  exceed  $5,000  for each violation for each
26    employee affected.  In determining the amount of the penalty,
27    the appropriateness  of  the  penalty  to  the  size  of  the
28    business  of  the  employer  charged  and  the gravity of the
29    violation shall be considered. The penalty may  be  recovered
30    in  a  civil  action  brought  by the Director in any circuit
31    court.

32        Section 35.  Refusal to pay wages or final  compensation;
 
                            -5-                LRB9202034WHcs
 1    retaliatory discharge or discrimination.
 2        (a)  Any employer who has been ordered by the Director or
 3    the court to pay wages due an employee and who fails to do so
 4    within 15 days after the order is entered is liable to pay  a
 5    penalty  of  1% per calendar day to the employee for each day
 6    of delay in paying the wages to the employee, up to an amount
 7    equal to twice the sum of unpaid wages due the employee.
 8        (b) Any employer,  or  any  agent  of  an  employer,  who
 9    knowingly   discharges  or  in  any  other  manner  knowingly
10    discriminates against any employee because that employee  has
11    made  a  complaint to his or her employer, or to the Director
12    or his or her authorized representative, that he  or  she  or
13    any  employee of the employer has not been paid in accordance
14    with this Act, or because that  employee  has  instituted  or
15    caused  to  be  instituted any proceeding under or related to
16    this Act, or because that employee has testified or is  about
17    to  testify in an investigation or proceeding under this Act,
18    or offers any evidence of any violation of this Act,  commits
19    a Class B misdemeanor.

20        Section  40.   Notification.   Every  employer covered by
21    this Act shall post and keep posted, in conspicuous places on
22    the premises of the employer where notices to  employees  are
23    customarily  posted,  a notice, to be prepared or approved by
24    the Director, summarizing the requirements of  this  Act  and
25    information  pertaining  to  the  filing  of  a  charge.  The
26    Director  shall  furnish  copies  of  summaries  and rules to
27    employers upon request without charge.

28        Section  45.   Outreach  and  education   efforts.    The
29    Department  shall  conduct  ongoing  outreach  and  education
30    efforts  concerning this Act targeted toward employers, labor
31    organizations,  and  other  appropriate  organizations.    In
32    addition,  the  Department  shall conduct studies and provide
 
                            -6-                LRB9202034WHcs
 1    information biennially to employers, labor organizations, and
 2    the  general  public  concerning  the  means   available   to
 3    eliminate pay disparities between men and women, including:
 4             (1) conducting and promoting research to develop the
 5        means  to  correct  the  conditions  leading  to  the pay
 6        disparities;
 7             (2) publishing  and otherwise  making  available  to
 8        employers,      labor     organizations,     professional
 9        associations, educational institutions, the  legislature,
10        the  media, and the general public the findings resulting
11        from studies and other materials,  relating  to  the  pay
12        disparities;
13             (3)   providing   information  to  employers,  labor
14        organizations, and other interested persons on the  means
15        of eliminating pay disparities; and
16             (4)  developing  guidelines  to  enable employers to
17        evaluate job categories based on objective criteria  such
18        as    educational   requirements,   skill   requirements,
19        independence,  working  conditions,  and  responsibility.
20        These guidelines shall be designed to enable employers to
21        voluntarily compare wages  paid  for  different  jobs  to
22        determine  if  the  pay  scales  involved  adequately and
23        fairly  reflect  the  educational   requirements,   skill
24        requirements,   independence,   working  conditions,  and
25        responsibility  for  each  such  job  with  the  goal  of
26        eliminating unfair pay  disparities  between  occupations
27        traditionally dominated by men or women.

28          Section  50.  Annual report.  The Department shall file
29    with the Governor and the General  Assembly,  no  later  than
30    January  1 of each year, a report of its activities regarding
31    administration and enforcement of this Act for the  preceding
32    fiscal year.
 
                            -7-                LRB9202034WHcs
 1        Section  90.   Severability.   The provisions of this Act
 2    are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

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