Who does the Illinois Equal Pay Act apply to?
All private employers that have at least 100 employees in Illinois.
What do employers need to do?
Covered employers in Illinois needed to obtain an “equal pay registration certificate” from the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) before March 24th, 2024, as well as recertify every two years thereafter. Companies that fail to certify will be subject to civil penalties of up to $10,000.
How do employers obtain the Equal Pay Registration Certificate from Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL)?
To obtain the certificate, employers must:
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Pay a filing fee of $150
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Submit an "equal pay compliance statement"
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Submit a copy of a report with a list of all employees, including total wages, separated by job category, gender, race and ethnicity categories
A new filing process was introduced in 2025. Read about it in our blog.
What must be included in the "equal pay compliance statement"?
The “equal pay compliance statement” must include specific representations concerning the business’s compliance with applicable federal and state equal pay laws, along with statements concerning the business’s methods of setting compensation and benefits, frequency of evaluating wages and benefits to ensure compliance with applicable non-discrimination laws, and steps taken to correct any identified wage and benefit disparities.
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 on the Illinois Department of Labor website.
