On January 1, 2025, the Illinois Equal Pay Act which, as further explained will require
employers to disclose pay and benefit information on the job postings that are publicly
published. This Act applies to employers with 15 or more employees.
Within 14 days of the posting, the employer must notify its current employees of the job
opportunity, so the employees can apply. The Act applies to any job that is physically
performed, even partially, in Illinois; or even if performed outside of Illinois, but reports to
a supervisor or office located n Illinois. The disclosure must be: i) the actual
wage/salary or the wage/salary range; ii) a description of any benefits like 401k and
other compensation; and iii) how the pay is provided, such as salary, hourly or piece
rate. When describing the pay the employer can give a range and state “based on
qualifications and experience.” When posting with a third-party, the employer needs to
provide the wage and benefit information to the third-party, which could be done with a
web-link that provides the information. Even with the disclosure, the employer could
pay the employee more to an outstanding job candidate. The employer should
document the reasons in its records.
The Illinois Department of Labor enforces this Act through investigations and
inspections of records. The Employer must keep the records of the job posting, pay
scale/benefits and final determination for 5 years.