Illinois Publishes New Guidance on Equal Pay Registration Certificate Requirement

The guidance provides clarification on how to count employees for the EPRC filing

The recently published new guidance from the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) addresses the requirement for certain Illinois employers to obtain an equal pay registration certificate (EPRC). In determining the total number of employees under the requirements, a business should count the total number of employees, who worked in or based out of Illinois on December 31 of the 12-month calendar year immediately prior to the year the business is required to complete the EPRC. These counts should include employees who are working remotely outside Illinois if the business is based in Illinois. However, businesses based in Illinois with multiple locations should only include employees who have a base location in Illinois.

The EPRC considers compensation to include paid salaries, earned commissions, earned bonuses, stocks, and ownership shares paid pursuant to an employment contract or agreement, as typically identified in the W-2 Box 5. Wages do not include health insurance benefits or other fringe benefits.

Applications must be submitted by covered businesses between March 24, 2022, and March 23, 2024. Each business will be contacted by IDOL with their assigned application due date and will be given 120 days to complete the applications. Businesses should confirm their contact information on IDOL’s EPRC registration page. After the initial submissions, covered businesses will have to recertify every two years.

Businesses failing to file an initial application or recertification for falsifying or misrepresenting information can be fined up to $10,000.

OutSolve’s Take

Employers should be prepared with the following when they are filing the EPRC application:                         

• -Wage records, including a copy of their most recently filed EEO-1 report.
• -An equal pay compliance statement.
• -A $150 filing fee.
• -Other information that may be relevant to explain any pay disparities. (optional)
• -A signature from a corporate offer, legal counsel, or authorized agent of the business.

For more information about the EPRC, get a copy of OutSolve’s Illinois Pay Data FAQs. For assistance in preparing and/or filing the report, please contact your consultant or OutSolve directly at 888-414-2410 or by email at info@outsolve.com.