New 2019 Spring Legislation

Legal updates

Employer Compliance Considerations Arising 
from Illinois’ Spring Legislative Session


June 25, 2019

As the 2019 spring legislative session came to a close, the Illinois General Assembly sent several labor and employment bills to Governor Pritzker for consideration. Although Governor Pritzker still has the ability to veto or respond with an amendatory veto, the potential compliance requirements for Illinois employers presented by this new legislation are quite significant—such that it is never too early to consider compliance steps. As these bills are signed into law, all Illinois employers will likely need to revisit their internal labor and employment rules, regulations, policies, protocol and forms in order to ensure compliance with new legal prohibitions and obligations. Some of the more significant actions that employers should be considering in the coming months are summarized below.

Some of these bills will be addressed at the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association’s (IPELRA) upcoming legislative update session on July 22, 2019. For more information, please visit IPELRA’s website.
 
Revise Applications for Employment and Hiring Protocol 

The Illinois General Assembly has passed amendments to the Equal Pay Act (HB 834), which would prohibit employers from requesting or requiring an applicant, employee or former employee to provide wage or salary history. This bill would create special damages, and take effect within 60 days of becoming law, meaning compliance with this law should be a priority. The law contains some helpful provisions for structuring hiring and salary discussions. As such, employers should work with legal counsel to develop compliant hiring forms and to ensure the proper training of all managers with hiring responsibility. Under a different bill, employers who use video interviews will be subject to some rather unique notice requirements that should also be considered during any hiring process review.

Develop Annual Anti-Harassment Employee Training Modules 

Perhaps the broadest changes passed by the General Assembly pertain to issues associated with the #MeToo movement. Starting January 1, 2020, all employers are required to provide annual anti-harassment training to all employees (SB 0075). Bars and restaurants have supplemental training requirements. A separate amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act extends coverage of that law, including the new training requirements, to employers with one employee (HB 0252), meaning all employers likely will face potential liability with respect to harassment and discrimination claims. Violations of the training requirement can subject employers to stiff monetary penalties. Now is obviously an ideal time to begin considering the creation of revised anti-harassment training modules.  

Develop Tracking Systems for Adverse Employment Rulings

New requirements under the same bill (SB 0075) will require all employers to annually report the number of adverse judgments or administrative rulings in favor of an employee or non-employee involving sexual harassment or unlawful discrimination. Tracking and reporting systems therefore will become important for employers in the coming years.

Revisit Pay Scales and Practices to Ensure Compliance with Amendments to the Equal Pay and Wage Payment and Collection Acts 

Additional revisions to the Equal Pay Act contained in HB 834 revise the standard for evaluating employee skills, effort and responsibility in determining whether an employer has violated the Act’s non-discrimination standard. While it remains to be seen what the legal effect of this change will be, employers should be prepared for increased scrutiny of their compensation plans under a potentially less defined standard.

Private sector employers are additionally reminded that revised EEO-1 reporting for calendar years 2017 and 2018 is due to the EEOC by September 30, 2019. Reporting will be open mid-July and covers W-2 information and hours worked within specific pay bands.    

Update Standard Employment Agreements (Both Hiring and Separation) to Ensure Compliance with Workplace Transparency Act

The Workplace Transparency Act (SB 0075), if approved by the Governor, will implement several employment restrictions arising from the #MeToo movement. These restrictions primarily target employment agreements and policies, including those that unilaterally require arbitration disputes over unlawful employment practices (not simply harassment or discrimination claims). The law also targets confidentiality and non-disclosure terms in employment agreements or post-employment settlement agreements. The restrictions on contract terms are rather complex, and employers who violate the law may find themselves paying an employee, prospective employee or former employee’s attorneys fees. All employers should therefore carefully review their policies and employment agreements.

Revise Sexual Harassment Complaints and Investigation Ordinance/Resolution For Elected Officials

Public sector employers likely will face additional #MeToo compliance obligations for elected officials due to the need to amend any sexual harassment policy (via ordinance) to provide for reporting mechanisms and independent review of allegations of sexual harassment made by one elected official against another (SB 0075).

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The 2019 spring legislative session yielded a variety of other provisions of interest to employers. For a comprehensive review of these and other legislative initiatives, contact any CBS attorney.  



The CBS LLP Legal Update is prepared for general information purposes only. Summaries of recent court opinions and other legal developments are not necessarily inclusive of all the recent legal authority of which you should be aware when making your legal decisions. Thus, while every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, you should not act on the information contained herein without seeking more specific legal advice on the application and interpretation of these developments to any particular situation. 
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