Illinois
In the state:
1. Is there an existing salary history ban (prohibiting employers from asking about prior salary(ies))? If so, what is the name of the State law that establishes that ban?
Yes. In accordance with the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003, as amended, it is unlawful for an employer to request or require a wage or salary history from a job applicant as a condition of being considered for employment or as a condition of employment.
2. Is there a legal obligation to publish salaries when advertising roles internally or externally? If so, what is the requirement and what is the name of the State law that establishes that requirement?
Yes, the Equal Pay Act of 2003 was amended with effect from January, 1, 2025 to require employers with 15 or more employees to provide pay scale and benefit information for a position in all job postings.
Examples of items that should be included in a job posting include the wage or salary, a general description of the benefits, bonuses, equity incentives, or other incentives the employer reasonably expects in good faith to offer for the position. The law applies to positions that will be physically performed, at least in part, in Illinois, or will be physically performed outside of Illinois, but the employee reports to an individual or office in Illinois.
3. Is there a duty on employers to report on any gender pay differences? If so, what is the name of the State law that establishes that duty?
In accordance with the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003, as amended, private businesses with 100 or more employees in Illinois must apply for an Equal Pay Registration Certificate, including a compliance statement certifying that the business complies with state and federal equal pay and anti-discrimination laws.
Businesses must submit an application to obtain the Certificate by providing pay, demographic, and other data to the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) and recertify every two years. Such information will allow the Illinois Department of Labor to assess pay equity, including any gender, race, and ethnicity pay disparities.
4. Is there a duty on employers to report on any other pay (eg. ethnicity or disability etc.) differences? If so, what is the name of the State law that establishes that duty?
See 3. above. There is no requirement to report pay gaps between disabled and non-disabled workers, the primary focus being on gender, race, and ethnicity pay disparities.
5. Are employers required to take steps to reduce any identified pay gap?
The Illinois Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying unequal wages to men and women for doing the same or substantially similar work. Additionally, it prohibits paying African-American employees less than other employees for the same or substantially similar work. Employers can therefore face liability if they fail to take steps to reduce any pay gap in circumstances where such differences cannot be justified based on a seniority system, a merit system, a system measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production, or other factors unrelated to gender, race, and ethnicity.
6. Where there is a duty to report on any pay difference:
- What is the required frequency of reporting? Recertification of the Equal Pay Registration Certificate must take place every two years.
- What are the requirement triggers (e.g. employee headcount)? See 3. above.
- Is the report required to be published externally? No, the data submitted for the Equal Pay Registration Certificate is not published externally. The Illinois Department of Labor uses the data internally to assess compliance with equal pay laws and to identify any pay disparities. However, an employee, upon request, may receive anonymized data regarding their job classification or title and the pay for that classification and the Illinois Department of Labor may share data and identifiable information with the Illinois Department of Human Rights and/or the Illinois Office of the Attorney General.
- Is there any sanction for non-compliance? Businesses that fail to obtain the Certificate or provide false information can face civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.
7. Is there any pending legislation relating to pay transparency? If so, what is the current position?
N/A.
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