New Illinois Legislation Addresses Equal Pay, Requires Certification by Employers

By: Kiki Council

            On March 23, 2021, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed an amendment to the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 (“EPA”), requiring that by March 23, 2024, employers with more than 100 employees in Illinois certify compliance with the EPA by obtaining an Equal Pay registration certificate from Illinois’s Department of Labor (“DOL”).FN1

            To obtain the certificate, employers must pay a $150.00 filing fee and submit a statement of compliance with the Illinois DOL. FN2 Any business required to file a federal EEO-1 report must also include a copy of their most recent EEO-1 report, and additionally submit a list of all employees in the last calendar year, sorted by gender and race/ethnicity with corresponding wages paid to each employee for that period.FN3 

            Businesses that fail to procure the EPA registration certificate, or whose certificate is revoked, will be fined in an amount equal to one percent of that business’s gross profits. Employers with state contracts are additionally at risk of having those contracts revoked as a penalty.FN4

            If you would like assistance obtaining Illinois’ newly required Equal Pay registration certificate, please contact Campbell Litigation, P.C.

FN1 – Full text of SB1480, available at: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=10100SB1480ham002&GA=101&SessionId=108&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=118365&DocNum=1480&GAID=15&SpecSess=0&Session=

FN2 – Id.

FN3 – Id.

FN4 – Id.