Illinois Pay Equality Certification Requirement on Employers

Illinois Pay Equality Certification Requirement on Employers

In 2021, Illinois passed a law which requires private businesses with 100 or more employees in the State of Illinois to submit an application to obtain an Equal Pay Registration Certificate by providing certain pay, demographic, and other data to the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL), and to recertify every two years after the first submission. Starting March 24, 2022, businesses can apply online for the Certificate and must do so by the deadline of March 23, 2024. The law requires such employers to submit with their application: (1) the employer's most recently filed Annual Employer Information Report EEO-1 that was filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); and (2) a statement certifying that they are in compliance with the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 and other State and federal laws related to equal pay. The IDOL can use the wage data submitted by the company to investigate whether a company is violating state law by its pay practices that may, in the IDOL’s view, be discriminating based on gender and/or ethnicity. Failure to obtain the Certificate can result in a fine of up to $10,000 per violation for businesses with more than 100 employees.

The production company employer would be responsible for complying with the state’s requirements. The state’s FAQs on the law and its requirements are available here.