Illinois Equal Pay Act (IEPA)

What do employers need to do?

1. pay a filing fee of $150,
2. submit an "equal pay compliance statement",
3. submit, if applicable, a copy of the most recent EEO-1 report with a list of all employees, inclusive of total wages, separated by gender, race and ethnicity categories as indicated in the EEO-1 report.
   1. Section 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act  defines wages as “all compensation owed to an employee pursuant to the employment contract or agreed upon by all parties”.

What must be included in the "equal pay compliance statement"?

What factors are recognized as appropriate to account for pay differences?

Factors recognized include seniority, merit, the quality or quantity of production, or factors other than gender. In making these comparisons, organizations must utilize “bona fide” factors recognized in IEPA as accounting for pay differences in seniority system, a merit system, a system measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production, or factors other than gender or race (e.g., education, training, experience). Under IEPA, organizations must compare African-Americans to members of other racial groups.

Are there similar laws being enacted elsewhere?

This follows the expected trend to enact separate equal pay reporting following the halt of EEO-1 Component 2 reporting in 2019. In 2022, California passed SB 1162 requiring all California employers to report pay data categorized by race/ethnicity and sex. 

More information on the Illinois Equal Pay Act can be found here.