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.

Effective Date:  9/29/2019