SB3100 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  

 


 
100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
SB3100

 

Introduced 2/15/2018, by Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 112/10
820 ILCS 112/13 new

    Amends the Equal Pay Act of 2003. Prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to sign a nondisclosure agreement regarding the employee's salary, from seeking the salary history of a prospective employee, and from requiring that a prospective employee's salary history meet any specified criteria. Provides for employers to establish a self-evaluation plan of the employer's pay practices. Sets forth permissible components of a self-evaluation plan. Requires the self-evaluation plan to be submitted to the Department of Labor for verification. Provides that an employer that has completed a self-evaluation plan that has been verified by the Department of Labor has an affirmative defense to liability for certain alleged violations of the Act. Provides that an employer that does not have a verified self-evaluation plan may be subject to civil penalties for violations of the Act.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3100LRB100 20542 JLS 35934 b

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
5Section 10 and by adding Section 13 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 equal skill, effort,
13and responsibility, and which are performed under similar
14working conditions, except where the payment 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) sex or (ii) a factor that would constitute
21    unlawful discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights
22    Act.
23    An employer who is paying wages in violation of this Act

 

 

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1may not, to comply with this Act, reduce the wages of any other
2employee.
3    Nothing in this Act may be construed to require an employer
4to pay, to any employee at a workplace in a particular county,
5wages that are equal to the wages paid by that employer at a
6workplace in another county to employees in jobs the
7performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and
8responsibility, and which are performed under similar working
9conditions.
10    (b) It is unlawful for any employer to interfere with,
11restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise
12any right provided under this Act. It is unlawful for any
13employer to discharge or in any other manner discriminate
14against any individual for inquiring about, disclosing,
15comparing, or otherwise discussing the employee's wages or the
16wages of any other employee, or aiding or encouraging any
17person to exercise his or her rights under this Act. It is
18unlawful for an employer to require an employee to sign a
19contract or waiver that prohibits the employee from disclosing
20or discussing the employee's wage, salary, or other
21compensation. An employer may, however, prohibit a human
22resources employee, a supervisor, or any other employee whose
23job responsibilities require or allow access to other
24employees' wage or salary information from disclosing that
25information without prior written consent from the employee
26whose information is sought or requested.

 

 

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1    (b-5) It is unlawful for an employer to seek the wage or
2salary history of a prospective employee from the prospective
3employee or a current or former employer or to require that a
4prospective employee's wage or salary history meet certain
5criteria. This subsection does not apply if:
6        (1) the prospective employee's wage or salary history
7    is a matter of public record;
8        (2) the prospective employee is a current employee of
9    the employer and is applying for a position with the same
10    employer; or
11        (3) a prospective employee has voluntarily disclosed
12    the information.
13    (c) It is unlawful for any person to discharge or in any
14other manner discriminate against any individual because the
15individual:
16        (1) has filed any charge or has instituted or caused to
17    be instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act;
18        (2) has given, or is about to give, any information in
19    connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any
20    right provided under this Act; or
21        (3) has testified, or is about to testify, in any
22    inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under
23    this Act; or .
24        (4) fails to comply with any wage or salary history
25    inquiry.
26(Source: P.A. 93-6, eff. 1-1-04.)
 

 

 

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1    (820 ILCS 112/13 new)
2    Sec. 13. Self-evaluation plan.
3    (a) An employer against whom an action is brought alleging
4a violation of Section 10 of this Act and who, within the
5previous 3 years and prior to the commencement of the action,
6has completed a self-evaluation plan of its pay practices that
7has been verified by the Department pursuant to subsection (b)
8of this Section and can demonstrate that progress has been made
9towards eliminating wage differentials based upon gender for
10the same or substantially similar work on jobs the performance
11of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility and
12which are performed under similar working conditions, in
13accordance with that evaluation, has an affirmative defense to
14liability for violations under Section 10 of this Act. An
15employer's self-evaluation may be of the employer's own design
16provided that it is, in light of the size of the employer,
17reasonable in detail and scope.
18    A self-evaluation plan may include, but is not limited to,
19the following components:
20        (1) an evaluation of the employer's compensation
21    system for internal equity;
22        (2) an evaluation of the employer's compensation
23    system for industry competitiveness;
24        (3) an examination of the employers' compensation
25    system and comparison of job grades or scores;

 

 

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1        (4) a review of data for personnel entering the
2    employer;
3        (5) an assessment of how raises are awarded;
4        (6) an evaluation of employee training, development,
5    and promotion opportunities; and
6        (7) a written policy that prohibits the employer from
7    seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective
8    employee and prohibits the employer from requiring an
9    employee to sign a contract or waiver that would prohibit
10    the employee from disclosing or discussing the employer's
11    wage, salary, or other compensation.
12    (b) An employer shall submit the self-evaluation plan to
13the Department for verification that a self-evaluation plan has
14been completed. The self-evaluation plan shall be submitted to
15the Department on standard templates or forms issued by the
16Department.
17    (c) If an employer has completed a self-evaluation plan in
18another state within the previous 3 years that demonstrates
19that progress has been made towards eliminating wage
20differentials based on gender, then the business's evaluation
21plan shall be verified by the Department upon the employer
22providing proof the self-evaluation plan is completed and
23approved, verified, or otherwise accepted in that state.
24    (d) The Department shall verify an employer's
25self-evaluation plan established under subsection (a) within
2630 days after the employer's submission of the self-evaluation

 

 

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1plan.
2    (e) An employer who has completed a self-evaluation plan
3within the previous 3 years and prior to the commencement of
4the action can demonstrate that progress has been towards
5eliminating wage differentials based on gender for the same or
6substantially similar work on jobs the performance of which
7requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility and which are
8performed under similar working conditions, but cannot
9demonstrate that the self-evaluation plan was reasonable in
10detail and scope or verified by the Department is not be
11entitled to the affirmative defense established under this
12Section and is liable for any civil fine for a violation of
13this Act as follows:
14        (1) up to $500 per employee affected, if the employer
15    has fewer than 4 employees; or
16        (2) up to $2,500 per employee affected, if the employer
17    has 4 or more employees.
18    (f) Evidence of a self-evaluation plan or remedial steps
19undertaken in accordance with this Section is not admissible in
20any proceeding as evidence of a violation of this Act.
21    (g) An employer who has not completed a self-evaluation
22plan shall not be subject to any negative or adverse inference
23as a result of not having completed a self-evaluation plan.
24    (h) An employer who uses the affirmative defense under this
25Section is not precluded from using any other affirmative
26defense under this Act.