101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB2772

 

Introduced , by Rep. Maurice A. West II

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 112/10
820 ILCS 112/30

    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. Provides for penalties and injunctive relief. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Equal Pay Act of 2003 is amended by changing
5Sections 10 and 30 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 112/10)
7    Sec. 10. Prohibited acts.
8    (a) No employer may discriminate between employees on the
9basis of sex by paying wages to an employee at a rate less than
10the rate at which the employer pays wages to another employee
11of the opposite sex for the same or substantially similar work
12on jobs the performance of which requires substantially similar
13equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are
14performed under similar working conditions, except where the
15payment is made under:
16        (1) a seniority system;
17        (2) a merit system;
18        (3) a system that measures earnings by quantity or
19    quality of production; or
20        (4) a differential based on any other factor other
21    than: (i) sex or (ii) a factor that would constitute
22    unlawful discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights
23    Act, provided that the factor: .

 

 

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1            (A) is not based on or derived from a differential
2        in compensation based on sex or another protected
3        characteristic;
4            (B) is job-related with respect to the position and
5        consistent with a business necessity; and
6            (C) accounts for the entire differential.
7    No employer may discriminate between employees by paying
8wages to an African-American employee at a rate less than the
9rate at which the employer pays wages to another employee who
10is not African-American for the same or substantially similar
11work on jobs the performance of which requires substantially
12similar equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are
13performed under similar working conditions, except where the
14payment is made under:
15        (1) a seniority system;
16        (2) a merit system;
17        (3) a system that measures earnings by quantity or
18    quality of production; or
19        (4) a differential based on any other factor other
20    than: (i) race or (ii) a factor that would constitute
21    unlawful discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights
22    Act provided that the factor: .
23            (A) is not based on or derived from a differential
24        in compensation based on race or another protected
25        characteristic;
26            (B) is job-related with respect to the position and

 

 

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1        consistent with a business necessity; and
2            (C) accounts for the entire differential.
3    An employer who is paying wages in violation of this Act
4may not, to comply with this Act, reduce the wages of any other
5employee.
6    Nothing in this Act may be construed to require an employer
7to pay, to any employee at a workplace in a particular county,
8wages that are equal to the wages paid by that employer at a
9workplace in another county to employees in jobs the
10performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and
11responsibility, and which are performed under similar working
12conditions.
13    (b) It is unlawful for any employer to interfere with,
14restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise
15any right provided under this Act. It is unlawful for any
16employer to discharge or in any other manner discriminate
17against any individual for inquiring about, disclosing,
18comparing, or otherwise discussing the employee's wages or the
19wages of any other employee, or aiding or encouraging any
20person to exercise his or her rights under this Act. It is
21unlawful for an employer to require an employee to sign a
22contract or waiver that would prohibit the employee from
23disclosing or discussing information about the employee's
24wages.
25    (b-5) It is unlawful for an employer to screen job
26applicants based on their wage or salary history, including by

 

 

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1requiring that an applicant's prior wages, including benefits
2or other compensation, satisfy minimum or maximum criteria or
3requesting or requiring as a condition of being interviewed, as
4a condition of continuing to be considered for an offer of
5employment, as a condition of an offer of employment or an
6offer of compensation, or as a condition of employment that an
7applicant disclose prior wages or salary.
8    (b-10) It is unlawful for an employer to seek the wage or
9salary history, including benefits or other compensation, of
10any job applicant from any current or former employer. This
11subsection (b-10) does not apply if:
12        (1) the job applicant's wage or salary history is a
13    matter of public record under the Freedom of Information
14    Act, or any other equivalent State or federal law, or is
15    contained in a document completed by the job applicant's
16    current or former employer and then made available to the
17    public by the employer, or submitted or posted by the
18    employer to comply with State or federal law; or
19        (2) the job applicant is a current employee and is
20    applying for a position with the same current employer.
21    (c) It is unlawful for any person to discharge or in any
22other manner discriminate against any individual because the
23individual:
24        (1) has filed any charge or has instituted or caused to
25    be instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act;
26        (2) has given, or is about to give, any information in

 

 

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1    connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any
2    right provided under this Act; or
3        (3) has testified, or is about to testify, in any
4    inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under
5    this Act; or .
6        (4) fails to comply with any wage history inquiry.
7(Source: P.A. 100-1140, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
8    (820 ILCS 112/30)
9    Sec. 30. Violations; fines and penalties.
10    (a) If an employee is paid by his or her employer less than
11the wage to which he or she is entitled in violation of Section
1210 of this Act, the employee may recover in a civil action the
13entire amount of any underpayment together with interest,
14compensatory damages if the employee demonstrates that the
15employer acted with malice or reckless indifference, punitive
16damages as may be appropriate, injunctive relief as may be
17appropriate, and the costs and reasonable attorney's fees as
18may be allowed by the court and as necessary to make the
19employee whole. At the request of the employee or on a motion
20of the Director, the Department may make an assignment of the
21wage claim in trust for the assigning employee and may bring
22any legal action necessary to collect the claim, and the
23employer shall be required to pay the costs incurred in
24collecting the claim. Every such action shall be brought within
255 years from the date of the underpayment. For purposes of this

 

 

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1Act, "date of the underpayment" means each time wages are
2underpaid.
3    (a-5) If an employer violates subsection (b), (b-5), or
4(b-10) of Section 10, the employee may recover in a civil
5action any damages incurred, special damages not to exceed
6$10,000, injunctive relief as may be appropriate, and costs and
7reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court and
8as necessary to make the employee whole. If special damages are
9available, an employee may recover compensatory damages only to
10the extent such damages exceed the amount of special damages.
11Such action shall be brought within 5 years from the date of
12the violation.
13    (b) The Director is authorized to supervise the payment of
14the unpaid wages under subsection (a) or damages under
15subsection (b), (b-5), or (b-10) of Section 10 owing to any
16employee or employees under this Act and may bring any legal
17action necessary to recover the amount of unpaid wages,
18damages, and penalties or to seek injunctive relief, and the
19employer shall be required to pay the costs. Any sums recovered
20by the Director on behalf of an employee under this Section
21shall be paid to the employee or employees affected.
22    (c) Employers who violate any provision of this Act or any
23rule adopted under the Act are subject to a civil penalty for
24each employee affected as follows:
25        (1) An employer with fewer than 4 employees: first
26    offense, a fine not to exceed $500; second offense, a fine

 

 

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1    not to exceed $2,500; third or subsequent offense, a fine
2    not to exceed $5,000.
3        (2) An employer with 4 or more employees: first
4    offense, a fine not to exceed $2,500; second offense, a
5    fine not to exceed $3,000; third or subsequent offense, a
6    fine not to exceed $5,000.
7    An employer or person who violates subsection (b), (b-5),
8(b-10), or (c) of Section 10 is subject to a civil penalty not
9to exceed $5,000 for each violation for each employee affected.
10    (d) In determining the amount of the penalty, the
11appropriateness of the penalty to the size of the business of
12the employer charged and the gravity of the violation shall be
13considered. The penalty may be recovered in a civil action
14brought by the Director in any circuit court.
15(Source: P.A. 99-418, eff. 1-1-16.)
 
16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17becoming law.