Rep. Mary Beth Canty
Filed: 3/21/2023
 
 


 




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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3129 




2 AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3129 by replacing 
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:


4 "Section 5. The Equal Pay Act of 2003 is amended by 
5changing Sections 10, 20, 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 
13similar skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are 
14performed under
similar working
conditions, except where the 
15payment is made under:

16  (1) a seniority system;

 
 
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1  (2) a merit system;

2  (3) a system that measures earnings by quantity or 
3 quality of production;
or

4  (4) a differential based on any other factor other

5 than: (i) sex or (ii) a factor that would constitute 
6 unlawful discrimination
under the Illinois Human
Rights 
7 Act, provided that the factor:

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

25 quality of production; or
26  (4) a differential based on any other factor other

 
 
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1 than: (i) race or (ii) a factor that would constitute 
2 unlawful discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights 
3 Act, provided that the factor:
4   (A) is not based on or derived from a differential 
5 in
compensation based on race or another protected 
6 characteristic;
7   (B) is job-related with respect to the position 
8 and consistent with a business necessity; and
9   (C) accounts for the differential.
10 An employer who is paying wages in violation of this Act 
11may not,
to comply with
this Act, reduce the wages of any other 
12employee.

13 Nothing in this Act may be construed to require an 
14employer to pay, to
any employee at a workplace in a particular 
15county, wages that are equal
to the wages paid by that employer 
16at a workplace in another county to
employees in jobs the 
17performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and

18responsibility, and which are performed under similar working 
19conditions.

20 (b) It is unlawful for any employer to interfere with, 
21restrain, or
deny the exercise of or
the attempt to exercise 
22any right provided under this Act. It is
unlawful for any 
23employer
to discharge or in any other manner discriminate 
24against any individual for
inquiring about,
disclosing, 
25comparing, or otherwise discussing the employee's wages or the

26wages
of any other
employee, or aiding or encouraging any 
 
 
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1person to exercise his or her rights
under this
Act. It is 
2unlawful for an employer to require an employee to sign a 
3contract or waiver that would prohibit the employee from 
4disclosing or discussing information about the employee's 
5wages, salary, benefits, or other compensation. An employer 
6may, however, prohibit a human resources employee, a 
7supervisor, or any other employee whose job responsibilities 
8require or allow access to other employees' wage or salary 
9information from disclosing that information without prior 
10written consent from the employee whose information is sought 
11or requested. 

12 (b-5) It is unlawful for an employer or employment agency, 
13or employee or agent thereof, to (1) screen job
applicants 
14based on their current or prior wages or salary histories, 
15including benefits or other compensation, by
requiring that 
16the wage or salary history of an applicant satisfy minimum or 
17maximum criteria, (2) request or require a wage or salary 
18history as a condition of being considered for employment, as 
19a condition of being interviewed, as a condition of continuing 
20to be considered for an offer of employment, as a condition of 
21an offer of employment or an offer of compensation, or (3) 
22request or require that an applicant disclose wage or salary 
23history as a condition of employment. 
24 (b-10) It is unlawful for an employer to seek the wage or 
25salary history, including benefits or other compensation, of a 
26job applicant from any current or former employer. This 
 
 
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1subsection (b-10) does not apply if: 
2  (1) the job applicant's wage or salary history is a 
3 matter of public record under the Freedom of Information 
4 Act, or any other equivalent State or federal law, or is 
5 contained in a document completed by the job applicant's 
6 current or former employer and then made available to the 
7 public by the employer, or submitted or posted by the 
8 employer to comply with State or federal law; or 
9  (2) the job applicant is a current employee and is 
10 applying for a position with the same current employer.
11 (b-15) Nothing in subsections (b-5) and (b-10) shall be 
12construed to prevent an employer or employment agency, or an 
13employee or agent thereof, from:
14  (1) providing information about the wages, benefits, 
15 compensation, or salary offered in relation to a position; 
16 or
17  (2) engaging in discussions with an applicant for 
18 employment about the applicant's expectations with respect 
19 to wage or salary, benefits, and other compensation, 
20 including unvested equity or deferred
compensation that 
21 the applicant would forfeit or have
canceled by virtue of 
22 the applicant's resignation from the applicant's current 
23 employer. If, during such discussion, the applicant 
24 voluntarily and without prompting discloses that the 
25 applicant would forfeit or have canceled by virtue of the 
26 applicant's resignation from the applicant's current 
 
 
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1 employer unvested equity or deferred compensation, an 
2 employer may request the applicant to verify the aggregate 
3 amount of such compensation by submitting a letter or 
4 document stating the aggregate amount of the unvested 
5 equity or deferred compensation from, at the applicant's 
6 choice, one of the following: (1) the applicant's current 
7 employer or (2) the business entity that administers the 
8 funds that constitute the unvested equity or deferred 
9 compensation.
10 (b-20) An employer is not in violation of subsections 
11(b-5) and (b-10) when a job applicant voluntarily and without 
12prompting discloses his or her current or prior wage or salary 
13history, including benefits or other compensation, on the 
14condition that the employer does not consider or rely on the 
15voluntary disclosures as a factor in determining whether to 
16offer a job applicant employment, in making an offer of 
17compensation, or in determining future wages, salary, 
18benefits, or other compensation. 
19 (b-25) It is unlawful for an employer with 15 or more 
20employees to fail to include the pay scale and benefits for a 
21position in any job posting. If an employer with 15 or more 
22employees engages a third party to announce, post, publish, or 
23otherwise make known a job posting, the employer shall provide 
24the pay scale and benefits to the third party and the third 
25party shall include the pay scale and benefits in the job 
26posting. An employer is liable for a third party's failure to 
 
 
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1include the pay scale and benefits in the job posting. An 
2employer shall announce, post, or otherwise make known all 
3opportunities for promotion to all current employees no later 
4than the same calendar day that the employer makes an external 
5job posting for the position. Nothing in this subsection 
6requires an employer to make a job posting. As used in this 
7subsection, "pay scale and benefits" means the wage or salary, 
8or the wage or salary range, and a general description of the 
9benefits and other compensation the employer reasonably 
10expects to offer for the position.
11 (c) It is unlawful for any person to discharge or in any 
12other manner
discriminate against any individual because the 
13individual:

14  (1) has filed any charge or has instituted or caused 
15 to be instituted any
proceeding under or related to this 
16 Act;

17  (2) has given, or is about to give, any information in 
18 connection with any
inquiry or proceeding relating to any 
19 right provided under this Act;

20  (3) has testified, or is about to testify, in any 
21 inquiry or proceeding
relating to any right provided under 
22 this Act; or

23  (4) fails to comply with any wage or salary history 
24 inquiry.
25(Source: P.A. 101-177, eff. 9-29-19; 102-277, eff. 1-1-22.)





 
 
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1 (820 ILCS 112/20)


2 Sec. 20. Recordkeeping requirements. An employer subject 
3to any
provision of this
Act shall make and preserve records 
4that document the name, address, and
occupation of each

5employee, the wages paid to each employee, the pay scale and 
6benefits, as defined in subsection (b-25) of Section (10), for 
7a position, and any other
information
the Director
may by rule 
8deem necessary and appropriate for enforcement of this Act.
An 
9employer
subject to any provision of this Act shall preserve 
10those records for a period
of not less than 5
years and shall

11make reports from the records as prescribed by rule or order of 
12the
Director, unless the records relate to an ongoing 
13investigation or enforcement action under this Act, in which 
14case the records must be maintained until their destruction is 
15authorized by the Department or by court order.

16(Source: P.A. 96-467, eff. 8-14-09.)




17 (820 ILCS 112/30)



18 Sec. 30. Violations; fines and penalties. 

19 (a) If an employee is paid by his or her employer less than 
20the wage to
which he or
she is entitled in
violation of Section 
2110 or 11 of this Act, the employee may recover in a civil 
22action
the entire amount of any
underpayment together with 
23interest, compensatory damages if the employee demonstrates 
24that the employer acted with malice or reckless indifference, 
25punitive damages as may be appropriate, injunctive relief as 
 
 
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1may be appropriate, and the costs and reasonable attorney's

2fees as may be
allowed by the
court and as necessary to make 
3the employee whole. At the request of the
employee or on a 
4motion of the Director,
the Department may
make an assignment 
5of the wage claim in trust for the assigning employee and
may 
6bring any
legal action necessary to collect the claim, and the 
7employer shall be required
to pay the costs
incurred in 
8collecting the claim. Every such action shall be brought 
9within 5
years from the date
of the underpayment. For purposes 
10of this Act, "date of the underpayment" means each time wages 
11are underpaid.

12 (a-5) If an employer violates subsection (b), (b-5), 
13(b-10), or (b-20), or (b-25) of Section 10, the employee may 
14recover in a civil action any damages incurred, special 
15damages not to exceed $10,000, injunctive relief as may be 
16appropriate, and costs and reasonable attorney's fees as may 
17be allowed by the court and as necessary to make the employee 
18whole. If special damages are available, an employee may 
19recover compensatory damages only to the extent such damages 
20exceed the amount of special damages. Such action shall be 
21brought within 5 years from the date of the violation. 
22 (b) The Director is authorized to supervise the payment of 
23the unpaid wages under subsection (a) or damages under 
24subsection (b), (b-5), (b-10), or (b-20), or (b-25) of Section 
2510
owing to any
employee or employees under this Act and may 
26bring any legal action necessary
to recover the
amount of 
 
 
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1unpaid wages, damages, and penalties or to seek injunctive 
2relief, and the employer shall be required to pay
the costs. 
3Any
sums recovered by the Director on behalf of an employee 
4under this
Section shall be
paid to the employee or employees 
5affected.

6 (c) Employers who violate any provision of this Act or any 
7rule
adopted under the Act, except for a violation of 
8subsection (b-25) of Section 10, are subject to a civil 
9penalty for each employee affected as follows: 
10  (1) An employer with fewer than 4 employees: first 
11 offense, a fine not to exceed $500; second offense, a fine 
12 not to exceed $2,500; third or subsequent offense, a fine 
13 not to exceed $5,000.
14  (2) An employer with between 4 and 99 employees: first 
15 offense, a fine not to exceed $2,500; second offense, a 
16 fine not to exceed $3,000; third or subsequent offense, a 
17 fine not to exceed $5,000.
18  (3) An employer with 100 or more employees who 
19 violates any Section of this Act except for Section 11 
20 shall be fined up to $10,000 per employee affected. An 
21 employer with 100 or more employees that is a business as 
22 defined under Section 11 and commits a violation of 
23 Section 11 shall be fined up to $10,000. 
24 Before any imposition of a penalty under this subsection, 
25an employer with 100 or more employees who violates item (b) of 
26Section 11 and inadvertently fails to file an initial 
 
 
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1application or recertification shall be provided 30 calendar 
2days by the Department to submit the application or 
3recertification. 
4 An employer or person who violates subsection (b), (b-5), 
5(b-10), (b-20), or (c) of Section 10 is subject to a civil 
6penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation for each 
7employee affected.
8 (c-5) The Department may initiate investigations of 
9alleged violations of subsection (b-25) of Section (10) upon 
10receiving a complaint from any individual, or at the 
11Department's discretion. Any individual may submit a complaint 
12of a violation of subsection (b-25) of Section (10) to the 
13Department within one year after the date the individual 
14learned of the violation. If the Department has determined 
15that a violation of subsection (b-25) of Section (10) has 
16occurred, the employer has 7 days upon receipt of notice of a 
17violation from the Department to remedy the violation. The 
18employer shall demonstrate to the Department that the 
19violation has been remedied or the employer shall be subject 
20to a civil penalty of $100 per day for each day that a 
21violation continues after the 7-day notice period. Each job 
22posting not in compliance with the requirements of subsection 
23(b-25) of Section (10) shall be considered a separate 
24violation. 
25 (d) In determining the amount of the penalty, the

26appropriateness of the
penalty to the size of the business of 
 
 
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1the employer charged and the gravity of
the violation shall
be 
2considered. The penalty may be recovered in a civil action 
3brought by the
Director in
any circuit court.

4(Source: P.A. 101-177, eff. 9-29-19; 102-36, eff. 6-25-21.)



5 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 
61, 2024.".