Effective January 1, 2020, the minimum wage in Illinois is $9.25 per hour. The DOL has now provided a chart on the Your Rights notice outlining minimum wage increases through 2025.

Employers should note that the next increase for the state will occur on July 1, 2020, when the minimum wage will be $10.00 per hour. Thereafter, increases of $1.00 will occur on January 1.

Illinois employers should also be aware that domestic workers are now covered under the law, even if an employer has just one worker.

UNPAID WAGES

An amendment to the Wage Payment and Collection Act states that employees must now be reimbursed for all necessary expenditures or losses they incur related to the work they perform for their employer. Reimbursement requests must be submitted by employees within 30 calendar days—unless the employer’s policy provides more time for submission.

EQUAL PAY ACT

Under the Equal Pay Act, employers and employment agencies are now prohibited from asking job applicants about their previous wage and compensation history. Failure to comply will result in severe penalties. Employers should remove questions about salary or wage history from their employment applications as well as their interview questions.

However, Illinois employees now have the right to disclose or discuss their own salary, benefits, and other compensation with their co-workers and colleagues.

The last change under the Act is that employers may not pay African American employees less than what non-African American employees are paid, as stated in the Equal Pay Act FAQ, “for substantially similar work that is performed for the same employer in the same county.”

We Make Compliance Easy!

If you have not already done so, we encourage you to order our 1-Year Compliance Plan, so that you will automatically receive the updated Illinois poster. And because we provide free poster updates for mandatory changes, no matter how many occur during the plan year, you can always count on Poster Compliance Center to keep your business in compliance!