Amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act have been passed by the Illinois House and Senate expanding protection for equal pay and are beneficial to employees who have been paid unequal wages.  The Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003, which applies to employers that have 4 or more employees, prohibits employers from paying unequal wages to men and women for doing the same or substantially similar work under similar working conditions in the same county.  However, there are exceptions and a wage differential is okay if it is based upon: (1) a seniority system; (2) a merit system; (3) a system measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (4) a differential based upon factors other than gender.   The 2003 Act provided that employers must keep Payroll records for three years, and provided a three year statute of limitations for filing a complaint from the date the employee learned of the underpayment.   Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 820 ILCS 112/1-90.

Legislation (HB 3634) was introduced in 2009 by Representative Barbara Flynn Currie to further expand the Illinois Equal Pay Act by extending the statute of limitations for pursuing legal action in state court and requiring employers to keep records longer. On March, 31, 2009, the House passed it by a vote of 86-26 after which it arrived at the Senate for consideration. On May 18, 2009, the Senate passed it 51-2, and the law becomes effective immediately.  Click here to see how your representative voted.   The new law requires that employers keep Payroll records for five years.  Once the records are involved in an ongoing investigation or action, the records must be maintained until destruction is authorized by the Department or Court order.  Moreover, the Legislation expands that time that an employee may bring an action in state court for violating the Equal Pay Act; an action can be brought within 5 years from the date of the underpayment.  The Legislation clarifies that this “date of underpayment” is the time the wages are underpaid.   Amendments to Illinois Equal Pay Act (HB 3634)

Employees do not have to resort only to legal actions to complain about unequal wages.  The Legislation also adds to Section 15 Enforcement and provides that “an employee or former employee may file a complaint with the Department [of Labor] alleging a violation of this Act by submitting a signed, completed complaint form.  All complaints shall be filed with the Department within one year from the date of underpayment.” 

The Legislation made the language of Sec 35 of the Act, which penalizes employers who refuse to pay wages or final compensation, more clear.  The Legislation inserted a mandatory provision for employers who refuse to pay wages 15 days after being ordered by either a Court Order or the Director of Labor.  Those employers are subjected to a 1% penalty for each calendar day they delay payment.  This Legislation is an example of how Illinois is keeping up with pay reform that has swept the nation since the enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.