On Jan. 1, 2025, Illinois’ amendment to its Equal Pay Act became effective. The amendment was passed to promote pay transparency in job postings. Highlights of the amendment include:

• Employers with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale and benefits (or a link to a public web page containing such data) in all job postings where the job will be performed at least in part in Illinois or the position will report to an office or a supervisor located in Illinois.
• Employers must announce or post all promotional opportunities to current employees no later than 14 calendar days after an external posting for such positions – essentially, if a job is posted externally, it must also be posted internally within 14 days.
• Employers must disclose the applicable pay scale and benefits for a position to an applicant before making a job offer.
• Employers must preserve records of the pay scale and benefits for each position and each job posting for at least five years.
• Job postings found to be in violation of the amended act will subject employers to a series of increasing fines, starting at $500 and increasing up to $10,000 for each offense.

Employers posting jobs that are in Illinois or report to someone in Illinois should follow the new law immediately. The act contains a plethora of details that could confuse and frustrate employers. The Illinois Department of Labor has posted comprehensive FAQs that provide answers to many common questions regarding the new law.