Bill Text: IL HB3129 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Engrossed

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the engrossed bill with the following changes: Provides that if an employer engages a third party to announce, post, publish, or otherwise make known a job posting, the employer shall provide the pay scale and benefits, or a hyperlink to the pay scale and benefits, to the third party and the third party shall include the pay scale and benefits, or a hyperlink to the pay scale and benefits, in the job posting. Provides that the Department of Labor, during its investigation of a complaint, shall make a determination as to whether a job posting is not active by considering the totality of the circumstances, including, but not limited to: (i) whether a position has been filled; (ii) the length of time a posting has been accessible to the public; (iii) the existence of a date range for which a given position is active; and (iv) whether the violating posting is for a position for which the employer is no longer accepting applications. Makes other changes. Effective January 1, 2025.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 35-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-08-11 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0539 [HB3129 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB3129-Engrossed.html

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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, 20, 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 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:

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(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 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

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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

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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

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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,
including unvested equity or deferred compensation that
the applicant would forfeit or have canceled by virtue of
the applicant's resignation from the applicant's current
employer. If, during such discussion, the applicant
voluntarily and without prompting discloses that the
applicant would forfeit or have canceled by virtue of the
applicant's resignation from the applicant's current
employer unvested equity or deferred compensation, an
employer may request the applicant to verify the aggregate
amount of such compensation by submitting a letter or
document stating the aggregate amount of the unvested
equity or deferred compensation from, at the applicant's
choice, one of the following: (1) the applicant's current
employer or (2) the business entity that administers the

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funds that constitute the unvested equity or deferred
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.
(b-25) It is unlawful for an employer with 15 or more
employees to fail to include the pay scale and benefits for a
position in any job posting. If an employer with 15 or more
employees engages a third party to announce, post, publish, or
otherwise make known a job posting, the employer shall provide
the pay scale and benefits to the third party and the third
party shall include the pay scale and benefits in the job
posting. An employer is liable for a third party's failure to
include the pay scale and benefits in the job posting. An
employer shall announce, post, or otherwise make known all
opportunities for promotion to all current employees no later
than the same calendar day that the employer makes an external
job posting for the position. Nothing in this subsection
requires an employer to make a job posting. As used in this
subsection, "pay scale and benefits" means the wage or salary,

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or the wage or salary range, and a general description of the
benefits and other compensation the employer reasonably
expects to offer for the position.
(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;
(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. 101-177, eff. 9-29-19; 102-277, eff. 1-1-22.)
(820 ILCS 112/20)
Sec. 20. Recordkeeping requirements. An employer subject
to any provision of this Act shall make and preserve records
that document the name, address, and occupation of each
employee, the wages paid to each employee, the pay scale and
benefits, as defined in subsection (b-25) of Section (10), for
a position, and any other information the Director may by rule

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deem necessary and appropriate for enforcement of this Act. An
employer subject to any provision of this Act shall preserve
those records for a period of not less than 5 years and shall
make reports from the records as prescribed by rule or order of
the Director, unless the records relate to an ongoing
investigation or enforcement action under this Act, in which
case the records must be maintained until their destruction is
authorized by the Department or by court order.
(Source: P.A. 96-467, eff. 8-14-09.)
(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 or 11 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

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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), or (b-25) 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), or (b-25) 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, except for a violation of

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subsection (b-25) of Section 10, 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 between 4 and 99 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.
(3) An employer with 100 or more employees who
violates any Section of this Act except for Section 11
shall be fined up to $10,000 per employee affected. An
employer with 100 or more employees that is a business as
defined under Section 11 and commits a violation of
Section 11 shall be fined up to $10,000.
Before any imposition of a penalty under this subsection,
an employer with 100 or more employees who violates item (b) of
Section 11 and inadvertently fails to file an initial
application or recertification shall be provided 30 calendar
days by the Department to submit the application or
recertification.
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.

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(c-5) The Department may initiate investigations of
alleged violations of subsection (b-25) of Section (10) upon
receiving a complaint from any individual, or at the
Department's discretion. Any individual may submit a complaint
of a violation of subsection (b-25) of Section (10) to the
Department within one year after the date the individual
learned of the violation. If the Department has determined
that a violation of subsection (b-25) of Section (10) has
occurred, the employer has 7 days upon receipt of notice of a
violation from the Department to remedy the violation. The
employer shall demonstrate to the Department that the
violation has been remedied or the employer shall be subject
to a civil penalty of $100 per day for each day that a
violation continues after the 7-day notice period. Each job
posting not in compliance with the requirements of subsection
(b-25) of Section (10) shall be considered a separate
violation.
(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. 101-177, eff. 9-29-19; 102-36, eff. 6-25-21.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2024.