Under amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act (IEPA) passed and signed into law in 2021, with final regulations published in December 2022, certain employers who have not yet filed an application to receive an “Equal Pay Registration Certificate” (“EPRC”) must do so before March 24, 2024, or face significant fines up to $10,000.
The IEPA requires all Illinois employers with 100 or more employees to submit certain employee pay data and a compliance statement to the Illinois Department of Labor (“IDOL”) for the first time by March 24, 2024, and then re-certify its information every two years.
The Application Process
In order to apply, employers must first submit an enrollment form via the IDOL submission portal. The IDOL will then randomly assign a certification deadline by which the EPRC application should be submitted.
The application for an EPRC requires the employer to submit: (1) an “Equal Pay Act Compliance Statement” signed by a corporate officer, legal counsel, or an authorized agent of the business; (2) a list of employees with required demographic and pay information (discussed below); and (3) a $150 filing fee.
Tracking Employees Who Count Toward the 100-Employee Threshold
In order to determine whether the IEPA amendments apply, employers should pay mind to the Act’s broad definition of employee:
“Any person performing a service for a business under the Act whose base of operations, or if there is no base of operations, the place from which the service is directed or controlled, is located within the state of Illinois, or whose base of operations or the place from which the service is directed or controlled is not in any state in which some part of the service is performed, but the individual’s residence is in the State of Illinois.”
Required Employee Information and Signed Compliance Statement
The most significant burden under the IEPA amendments is the requirement to submit demographic and pay information for all Illinois employees to the IDOL. In order to properly submit an application for an EPRC, employers must include the following information on each of its employees: (1) first and last names; (2) social security number (last four digits only); (3) gender; (4) race; (5) ethnicity; (6) wages rounded to the nearest hundred dollars (W-2 box 5 should have the required information); (7) hours worked rounded to the nearest hour; (8) date of hire; (9) termination date, if any; (10) job classification; (11) job title; and (12) county where the employee actually reports or the county where the employee reports to management.
The IEPA amendments also require employers to submit a compliance statement signed by a corporate officer, legal counsel, or other authorized agent certifying certain information such as compliance with numerous laws, compensation levels for female and minority employees, correction of wage and benefit disparities, and how the business determines what level of wages to pay its employees.
Issuance of Certificate
Within 45 calendar days of receipt of an employer’s EPRC application, the IDOL must either issue the EPRC or a Statement of Rejection that will provide information on the reasons the application was rejected. If an employer receives a rejection, the employer will have an opportunity to cure any deficiencies or appeal the rejection.
Employees’ Rights to Information
The IEPA amendments also provide employees the right to make a written request for anonymized data regarding the employee’s job classification and/or title as well as the pay for that title and/or classification.
Recertification
After initially receiving an EPRC, employers must recertify every two years by submitting an EPRC application.
Recommendations for Employers
Employers should evaluate whether their company meets the 100-Illinois-employee threshold under the IEPA’s definition and, if it has not already done so, immediately submit contact information to IDOL here.
If an employer has not already submitted an EPRC application, the employer should immediately gather all demographic and pay information of employees it is required to report and consult with legal counsel with any questions regarding the EPRC process or compliance requirements. Employers, who have contracted payroll services, should confirm that the service is not submitting this information on their behalf.
Chico & Nunes is and will continue to monitor any changes to this law and other employment and labor laws affecting Illinois employers.
