Pay History Inquiries: A new law recently signed by Governor Pritzker prohibits employers from inquiring into potential employees’ pay history. The reasoning behind the new law is to help prevent the perpetuation of a pay gap between men and women based on women’s historically lower wages. This new law also protects employees’ rights to discuss their salaries and benefits with coworkers. Employers who violate this new law may be subject up to $10,000 in damages, possible punitive and compensatory damages, and attorney fees. These changes are effective September 29, 2019.
Amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act: The Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) has expanded protections to prevent discrimination against a person because of his or her “actual or perceived” race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, marital status, order of protection status, disability, military status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or unfavorable discharge from military service.
The amendments prohibit harassment that has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with the individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. “Working environment” is no longer limited to a physical location an employee is assigned to work.
Other amendments also restrict the ability of employers to unilaterally impose arbitration of disputes or require that employees waive any procedural or substantive legal rights relating to harassment, discrimination, or retaliation as a condition of employment . Employers are also forbidden from prohibiting the disclosure of information relating to harassment, discrimination, or retaliation. However, such conditions may be included in employment agreements where mutually agreed in a written agreement that provides a benefit to the employee in return for the waiver, acknowledges the employee’s rights to report unlawful practices to the proper authorities, participate in proceedings before those authorities, make disclosures required by law, and seek legal advice.
The amendments also limit the use of confidentiality provisions in agreements to settle claims of unlawful employment practices except where it is documented that the employee prefers confidentiality and it is beneficial to both the employee and employer, the employee is notified in writing that he or she has the right to have an attorney review the agreement and have 21 days to consider it, the agreement does not waive future claims, and the employee must have seven days to revoke the agreement after signing.
Finally, the IHRA now includes nonemployees, such as contractors and consultants, into the class of individuals protected against harassment.
$21.5 Million Awarded to Dishwashing Employee: A recent case illustrates the potentially high costs of violating employment laws. A former Hilton dishwashing employee was hired under the stipulation that she would have Sundays off of work for religious purposes. In 2015, after ten years of working for Hilton, the employee was assigned several Sunday shifts. After missing six straight Sunday shifts, the employee was fired. Based on the federal Civil Rights Act, an employer must make reasonable accommodations for an employee’s religious beliefs. The U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida awarded the employee $21.5 million for violation of the Civil Rights Act.