Illinois Signs Pay Transparency Law HB3129

Illinois is the most recent state to join the growing list of states with pay transparency laws. On August 11^th, Governor Prizker signed HB3129 which amends the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 and will require employers to provide pay and benefit information on job postings. Below is a more in-depth review of the new law.

Effective Date: January 1, 2025

Covered Employers: Employers with 15 or more employees to include pay scale and benefit information on job postings. More specifically, the pay scale and benefit information are required for positions that will be physically performed at least in part in Illinois, or for positions that will be physically performed outside of Illinois but report to a supervisor, office, or other work site in Illinois.

Pay Scale and Benefits Defined: HB3129 defined pay scale and benefits as “the wage or salary, or the wage or salary range, and a general description of the benefits and other compensation, including, but not limited to, bonuses, stock options, or other incentives the employer reasonably expects in good faith to offer for the position, set by reference to any applicable pay scale, the previously determined range for the position, the actual range of other currently holding equivalent positions, or the budgeted amount for the position, as applicable.”

Hyperlinks and Third-Party Postings: HB3129 specifies that the inclusion of a hyperlink to a publicly viewable webpage that includes the scale and benefits does satisfy the requirement. It is also important to note that if the employer is engaging a third party to announce, post, publish, or otherwise make known a job positing, the employer should provide the pay scale and benefits, or the hyperlink, to the third party and the third party should include the information in the job posting. The third party is also liable for failure to include the information unless the third party can show that the employer did not provide the necessary information.

Internal Announcements: An Employer shall announce, post, or otherwise make known all opportunities for promotion to all current employees no later than 14 days after the employer makes an external job posting for the position. The exception to this is for positions in the State of Illinois workforce that are designated as exempt from competitive selection.

Violations and Penalties: There are specific penalties associated with the new pay transparency subsection (b-25) of HB3129. A person who has been affected by a violation of this subsection may submit a complaint within 1 year of the date of violation. A job posting that is found to be in violation of this section is considered as one violating job posting, regardless of the number of duplicate positions that list the job opening. Below is a breakdown of the penalties for a job posting or a batch of job postings that are active at the time the Illinois Department of Labor issues a notice of violation:

• First Offense: For a first offense, following a cure period of 14 days to remedy the violation, a fine not to exceed $500. A first offense can be either a single job posting that violates the subsection or multiple job postings that are identified at the same time by the Department that violate the subsection.
• Second Offense: Following a cure period of 7 days, a fine not to exceed $10,000. A second offense is a single job posting that violates the subsection.
• Third or Subsequent Offence: There is no cure period, and a fine not to exceed $10,000. The third and subsequent offenses are a single job posting that is in violation of the subsection. If a company has a third offense, it shall incur automatic penalties, without a cure period, for 5 years. At the completion of the 5 years, any future offense shall count as a first offense. The 5-year period will restart if during that period the employer receives a subsequent notice of violation.

Below is a breakdown of the penalties for a single job posting or batch of job postings that are not active at the time the Department issues a notice of violation:

• First Offense: A fine not to exceed $250. A first offense can be either a single job positing that violates the subsection or multiple job postings that violate the subsections that are identified at the same time by the department
• Second Offense: A fine not to exceed $2,500. A second offense is a single job posting that violates the subsection.
• Third or Subsequent Offense: A fine not to exceed $10,000. A third and subsequent offense is a single job posting that violates the subsection.