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91_HB2266
LRB9103963KSsb
1 AN ACT to create the Equal Pay Act of 1999.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short Title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Equal Pay Act of 1999.
6 Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act, the
7 following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them:
8 "Director" means the Director of Labor.
9 "Department" means the Department of Labor.
10 "Employee" means any individual permitted to work by an
11 employer.
12 "Employer" means an individual, partnership, corporation,
13 association, business, trust, person, or entity for whom 4 or
14 more employees are gainfully employed in Illinois and
15 includes the State of Illinois, any state officer, department
16 or agency, any unit of local government, and any school
17 district.
18 Section 10. Prohibited acts.
19 (a) No employer shall discriminate between employees on
20 the basis of sex by paying wages to an employee at a rate
21 less than the rate at which he or she pays wages to another
22 employee of the opposite sex for the same or substantially
23 similar work on jobs the performance of which requires equal
24 skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed
25 under similar working conditions, except where the payment is
26 made pursuant to:
27 (1) a seniority system;
28 (2) a merit system;
29 (3) a system that measures earnings by quantity or
30 quality of production; or
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1 (4) a differential based on any other factor other
2 than sex.
3 An employer who is paying wages in violation of this Act
4 shall not, in order to comply with this Act, reduce the wages
5 of any other employee.
6 (b) It shall be unlawful for any employer to interfere
7 with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to
8 exercise any right provided under this Act. It shall be
9 unlawful for any employer to discharge or in any other manner
10 discriminate against any individual for inquiring about,
11 disclosing, comparing or otherwise discussing the employee's
12 wages or the wages of any other employee, or aiding or
13 encouraging any person to exercise his or her rights provided
14 under this Act.
15 (c) It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or
16 in any other manner discriminate against any individual
17 because the individual:
18 (1) has filed any charge or has instituted or
19 caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related
20 to this Act;
21 (2) has given, or is about to give, any information
22 in connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to
23 any right provided under this Act; or
24 (3) has testified, or is about to testify, in any
25 inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided
26 under this Act.
27 Section 15. Enforcement. The Director or his or her
28 authorized representative shall administer and enforce the
29 provisions of this Act. The Director of Labor shall issue
30 rules and regulations necessary to administer and enforce the
31 provisions of this Act.
32 The Department shall have the power to conduct
33 investigations in connection with the administration and
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1 enforcement of this Act and the authorized officers and
2 employees of the Department are authorized to investigate and
3 gather data regarding the wages, hours, and other conditions
4 and practices of employment in any industry subject to this
5 Act, and may enter and inspect such places and such records
6 at reasonable times during regular business hours, question
7 the employees and investigate the facts, conditions,
8 practices, or matters as he or she may deem necessary or
9 appropriate to determine whether any person has violated any
10 provision of this Act, or which may aid in the enforcement of
11 this Act.
12 Section 20. Record keeping requirements. Every employer
13 subject to any provision of this Act shall make and preserve
14 records that document the name, address, and occupation of
15 each of his or her employees, the wages paid to each
16 employee, and any other information the Director may by
17 regulation deem necessary and appropriate for enforcement of
18 this Act. Every employer subject to any provisions of this
19 Act shall preserve such records for a period of not less than
20 3 years and shall make reports from the records as prescribed
21 by regulation or order of the Director.
22 Section 25. Witnesses; subpoena. The Director of Labor
23 or his or her authorized representative may administer oaths,
24 take or cause to be taken the depositions of witnesses, and
25 require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses
26 and the production of all books, records, and other evidence
27 relative to the matter under investigation. A subpoena
28 issued under this Section shall be signed and issued by the
29 Director of Labor or his or her authorized representative
30 In case of failure of any person to comply with any
31 subpoena lawfully issued under this Section or on the refusal
32 of any witness to produce evidence or to testify to any
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1 matter regarding which he or she may be lawfully
2 interrogated, it is the duty of any circuit court, upon
3 application of the Director, or his or her authorized
4 representative, to compel obedience by proceedings for
5 contempt, as in the case of disobedience of the requirements
6 of a subpoena issued by such court or a refusal to testify
7 therein. The Director may certify to official acts.
8 Section 30. Violations; fines and penalties.
9 (a) If an employee is paid by his or her employer less
10 than the wage he or she is entitled to in violation of
11 Section 10 of this Act, the employee may recover in a civil
12 action the amount of any underpayment together with the costs
13 and reasonable attorney fees as may be allowed by the court.
14 At the request of the employee or on a motion of the
15 Director, the Department may make an assignment of the wage
16 claim in trust for the assigning employee and may bring any
17 legal action necessary to collect the claim, and the employer
18 shall be required to pay the costs incurred in collecting the
19 claim. Every such action shall be brought within 3 years
20 from the date of the underpayment.
21 (b) The Director is authorized to supervise the payment
22 of the unpaid wages owing to any employee or employees under
23 this Act and may bring any legal action necessary to recover
24 the amount of unpaid wages and penalties and the employer
25 shall be required to pay the costs. Any sums recovered by
26 the Director on behalf of an employee pursuant to this
27 Section shall be paid to the employee or employees affected.
28 (c) Any employer who violates any of the provisions of
29 this Act or any rule or regulation issued under the Act shall
30 be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each
31 violation for each employee affected. In determining the
32 amount of the penalty, the appropriateness of the penalty to
33 the size of the business of the employer charged and the
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1 gravity of the violation shall be considered. The penalty may
2 be recovered in a civil action brought by the Director in any
3 circuit court.
4 Section 35. Refusal to pay wages or final compensation;
5 retaliatory discharge or discrimination.
6 (a) Any employer who has been ordered by the Director of
7 Labor or the court to pay wages due an employee and who shall
8 fail to do so within 15 days after the order is entered shall
9 be liable to pay a penalty of 1% per calendar day to the
10 employee for each day of delay in paying the wages to the
11 employee up to an amount equal to twice the sum of unpaid
12 wages due the employee.
13 (b) Any employer, or any agent of an employer, who
14 knowingly discharges or in any other manner knowingly
15 discriminates against any employee because that employee has
16 made a complaint to his or her employer, or to the Director
17 or his or her authorized representative, that he or she or
18 any employee of the employer has not been paid in accordance
19 with the provisions of this Act, or because that employee has
20 instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or
21 related to this Act, or because that employee has testified
22 or is about to testify in an investigation or proceeding
23 under this Act, or offers any evidence of any violation of
24 this Act, is guilty, upon conviction of a Class B
25 misdemeanor.
26 Section 40. Notification. Every employer covered by
27 this Act shall post and keep posted, in conspicuous places on
28 the premises of the employer where notices to employees are
29 customarily posted, a notice, to be prepared or approved by
30 the Director, summarizing the requirements of this Act and
31 information pertaining to the filing of a charge. Employers
32 shall be furnished copies of summaries and regulations by the
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1 Director upon request without charge.
2 Section 45. Outreach and Education Efforts. The
3 Department of Labor shall conduct ongoing outreach and
4 education efforts concerning this Act targeted toward
5 employers, labor organizations, and other appropriate
6 organizations. In addition, the Department of Labor shall
7 conduct studies and provide information biennially to
8 employers, labor organizations, and the general public
9 concerning the means available to eliminate pay disparities
10 between men and women, including:
11 (a) conducting and promoting research to develop the
12 means to correct the conditions leading to the pay
13 disparities;
14 (b) publishing and otherwise making available to
15 employers, labor organizations, professional associations,
16 educational institutions, the legislature, the media, and the
17 general public the findings resulting from studies and other
18 materials, relating to the pay disparities;
19 (c) providing information to employers, labor
20 organizations, and other interested person on the means of
21 eliminating pay disparities; and
22 (d) developing guidelines to enable employers to evaluate
23 job categories based on objective criteria such as
24 educational requirements, skill requirements, independence,
25 working conditions, and responsibility. These guidelines
26 shall be designed to enable employers to voluntarily compare
27 wages paid for different jobs to determine if the pay scales
28 involved adequately and fairly reflect the educational
29 requirements, skill requirements, independence, working
30 conditions and responsibility for each such job with the goal
31 of eliminating unfair pay disparities between occupations
32 traditionally dominated by men or women.
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1 Section 50. Annual Report. The Department shall file
2 with the Governor and the General Assembly, no later than
3 January 1 of each year, a report of its activities regarding
4 administration and enforcement of this Act for the preceding
5 fiscal year.
6 Section 55. Severability. The provisions of this Act
7 are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.