Private businesses with more than 100 employees have two years to complete the registration

On March 23, 2021, amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act required employers to obtain an Equal Pay Registration Certificate (EPRC) every two years and include EEO-1 type diversity data in an annual report to be sent to the Illinois Secretary of State. The Act was further amended on June 25, 2021, and covered employers with more than 100 employees in Illinois, and required the businesses to:

• • • • Apply for an “equal pay registration certificate” from the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL),

      • Pay a $150 filing fee and an equal pay compliance statement to the IDOL,

      • Submit their most recent Employer Information Report EEO-1, and

      • Compile and submit demographic data and wage records.

The most recent amendments, effective March 24, 2022, require private employers in Illinois with 100 or more employees to report additional information to the IDOL. Private employers must submit (i) a copy of their most recently filed EEO-1 report and (ii) a list of all employees (by name and last four digits of their SSN) employed during the past calendar year (separated by gender, race, and ethnicity), each employee’s start date, the total wages, rounded to the nearest hundred, paid to each employee during the past calendar year and any additional information deemed necessary by the IDOL to determine if pay equity exists.  Wages include any pay owed to an employee pursuant to an employment contract or agreement and can include salaries, bonuses, and commissions.  

Covered employers must also submit a signed statement certifying that they are in compliance with the Act and that:

• • • the average compensation for female and minority employees is not consistently below the average compensation for male and non-minority employees within each of the major EEO-1 job categories for which the employee is expected to perform work;

    • employees of one sex are not restricted to certain job classifications; 

    • retention and promotion decisions are made absent consideration of sex; 

    • the employer corrects wage and benefit disparities when identified; 

    • the frequency of which wages and benefits are evaluated; and

    • the approach the employer takes when evaluating the wages and benefits that will be paid.

The agency is sending notices to employers reminding them when to register with the department. According to IDOL, “to allow time to properly implement and answer questions, the department has assigned each business a date to register by over the next two years.”

Private businesses will be notified by email of their registration date. If an organization doesn’t believe that they are subject to the new law, they should wait until they receive the email notification and follow the instructions provided by the agency on how to proceed. Each business will receive no less than 120 days' advance notice of their registration deadline.

Failure to obtain an EPRC as required may result in a penalty of up to $10,000, although employers have up to thirty (30) days to submit a revised EPRC application if their application is found to be deficient and may appeal the IDOL’s deficiency findings.  

If a business surpasses 100 employees, they will be required to submit their contact information to IDOL to remain in compliance with the law. The EPRC can be found here.  The Equal Pay Act Registration Certificate template can be found here.

Questions can be sent to Robert Parrilli at Robert.parrilli@illinois.gov or Nancy Hernandez at nancy.hernandez@illinois.gov.

OutSolve’s Take

Employers should consider the data that they will be providing the IDOL and what the agency might find by conducting analyses of the data. Employers should not wait to receive notification from the state before evaluating their pay practices and creating a plan to remedy any pay inequities before their EPRC applications are due and they have to certify compliance.

If you would like assistance with your filing, please contact your OutSolve Consultant or OutSolve directly at 888-414-2410 or by email at info@outsolve.com.