Illinois recently amended its Equal Pay Act to require employers with 15 or more workers to include pay and benefits information for each covered job posting. There is, however, a delayed start date: This amendment will take effect on January 1, 2025.

IN DEPTH

• These posting disclosures apply to positions that are either “physically performed, at least in part, in Illinois” or “will be physically performed outside of Illinois, but the employee reports to a supervisor, office, or other work site in Illinois.”
• “Pay and benefits” is defined as “wage or salary, or the wage or salary range, and a general description of benefits and other compensation, including, but not limited to, bonuses, stock options, and other incentives the employer reasonably expects in good faith to offer for the position.”
  • The pay or pay scale can be determined by (1) a good faith estimate, (2) previously determined ranges for the position, (3) the range for employees holding similar positions or (4) the amount budgeted for the position.
  • The benefits requirement can be met by “posting a relevant and up to date general benefits description in an easily accessible, central, and public location on an employer’s website and referring to this posting in the job posting.”
• This posting requirement applies to both internal and external postings. Plus, if there is an external job posting for a position, employers “must announce, post, or otherwise make known all opportunities for promotion to all current employees no later than 14 calendar days after the employer makes an external job posting for the position.”
• This posting requirement applies even if the employer “engages a third party to announce, post, publish, or otherwise make known a job posting.” In such instances, the third party “shall include the pay scale and benefits, or a hyperlink to the pay scale and benefits, in the job posting.” The employer can avoid liability for a third party’s failure to include such information so long as the employer provides to the third party “the necessary information regarding pay scale and benefits.”
• Regardless of whether there is a job posting, employers must disclose to applicants the pay scale and benefits offered for the position prior to any offer or discussion of compensation. Employers must also disclose this information at the applicant’s request.

ENFORCEMENT

Persons who have been “aggrieved by a violation” of the amendment may file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) within one year of the alleged violation. The IDOL can investigate and impose penalties if the requirements of this amendment were not met. These penalties depend on if there is an active or inactive posting.

• Active Posting:
  • A first offense of a single job posting, or multiple postings identified by the IDOL at the same time, allows for a 14-day cure period and a penalty not to exceed $500 if uncured.
  • A second offense allows for a seven-day cure period and a penalty not to exceed $2,500 if uncured.
  • A third offense incurs penalties not to exceed $10,000. There is no cure period, and there are no cure periods for the employer for a five-year period.
• Inactive Posting:
  • A first offense of a single job posting, or multiple postings identified by the IDOL at the same time, incurs penalties not to exceed $250.
  • A second offense incurs penalties not to exceed $2,500.
  • A third offense incurs penalties not to exceed $10,000.

Employers cannot refuse to interview, hire, promote, employ or otherwise retaliate against an applicant for employment. They also cannot retaliate against employees for exercising their rights to file a complaint or for asking about pay scale and benefits information.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Illinois, like other states, has passed laws requiring pay transparency or seeking to promote pay equity. These laws will need to be considered in planning compliance with these amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act.

For example, Illinois does not allow employers to screen out applicants based on salary history or to use salary history as a factor in compensation decisions, but the most recent amendments still allow employers to ask about salary expectations. Likewise, Illinois requires employers with 100 or more employees to submit employee pay data and a compliance statement to obtain an Equal Pay Registration Certificate.