As of January 1, 2016, Illinois’s Equal Pay Act (the “Act”) expanded to prohibit all employers, regardless of size, from paying unequal wages to men and women for doing the same or substantially similar work, except if the wage difference is based upon a seniority system, a merit system, a system measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production, or factors other than gender. The previous version of the Act only applied to employers with four or more employees.
The recent amendments to the Act also increase the civil penalties for violation of the law as follows:
- For employers with four or more employees: For a first offense, a fine not to exceed $2,500; for a second offense, a fine not to exceed $3,000; and for a third or subsequent offense, a fine not to exceed $5,000; and
- For employers with fewer than four employees: For a first offense, a fine not to exceed $500; for a second offense, a fine not to exceed $2,500; and for a third or subsequent offense, a fine not to exceed $5,000.
Continue Reading What You Need to Know About Recent Amendments to Illinois’s Equal Pay Act