Illinois House Bill (HB) 3129, which goes into effect on January 1, 2025, will amend the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 to require all employers with at least fifteen or more employees to provide pay scale and benefits information in any open job posting for positions where work will be physically performed in Illinois or supervised by someone located in Illinois.
“Pay scale and benefits” means the wage or salary, or its range, and a general description of the benefits and other compensation the employer reasonably expects to offer for the position. Other compensation includes bonuses, stock options, and other related incentives.
Employers may satisfy this disclosure requirement by including the information in each posting or by providing a hyperlink to a publicly viewable webpage on their website. The website must have a pay scale and up-to-date general benefits description for each listed job posting.
While the amendment does not require an employer to make a job posting for any position, employers are still required to provide pay scale and benefits information to a job applicant prior to making an offer or discussing compensation and at the applicant’s request.
Employers must retain the pay scale and benefits for each position as well as any job posting for a period of five years.
Current Employees
The amendment requires employers to announce promotion opportunities to current employees no later than fourteen calendar days after the job has been communicated to prospective external employees. Communication may be satisfied by announcing, posting, or otherwise making the job opportunity known.
Current employees in positions designated as “exempt from competitive selection” by the State of Illinois are exempt from this employer requirement for internal posting.
Third Parties
Employers must also provide pay scale and benefits information to third parties that announce, post, or publish job postings on their behalf. A third party will be liable if it fails to include the pay scale and benefits in a job posting unless it can show that the employer did not provide the necessary information.
Act Violations
The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) is required to investigate any employer violation claim within one year after the date of the alleged violation and may impose civil penalties of up to $10,000.
