Illinois employers will no longer be able to ask about salary history as part of their hiring process. This new law was signed into effect with the intent to help women in the workplace and close the gender pay gap by Governor J.B. Pritzker just earlier this week.
Set to take effect on September 29, 2019, Illinois employers should be aware of the new law’s provisions in order to adjust their hiring practices before this September.
Once effective, Illinois employers will be prohibited from:
-Requesting or requiring wage or salary history from an applicant as a condition of being interviewed, considered for a job, or hired
-Seeking a job applicant’s wage or salary history from any current or former employer. (However, this does not apply if the applicant is a current employee seeking another position within the same organization, or if their salary history is available as a matter of public record)
It is not considered a violation if the applicant voluntarily and without prompting discloses their current or prior salary history, so long as the employer does not consider or rely on this voluntary disclosure as a a factor in determining whether to extend a job offer or in determining that individual’s wages/salary upon hire.
Employers who violate this new salary ban could be liable for covering compensatory damages, recover damages (including special damages up to $10,000), compensatory damages, injunctive relief, along with costs and reasonable attorney fees if an affected worker pressed charges.
“We are declaring that one’s history should not dictate one’s future, that no person should be held back from earning their true value because of how much money they were paid in a previous job,” Pritzker remarked during the bill-signing event.
To see more information and details of the bill, you can view updates of the bill here.