| Fair Employment Practices | The Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) forbids private employers with one or more employees from discriminating based on certain protected characteristics, such as gender, age, race, color, religion, arrest record, expunged and concealed convictions, marital status, housing status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, national origin, ancestry, military status, unfavorable military discharge, disability, and protective order status. |
| Equal Pay | In addition, Illinois has several statutes that protect equal pay.
The Illinois Equal Pay Act (EPA) generally states that an employer may not discriminate against employees by paying wages to be female or African-American employees at a rate lower than the rate at which the employer pays wages to another employee who is neither female nor African-American and who performs the same work under similar working conditions.
The Illinois EPA and the Minimum Wage Law both offer similar safeguards, but the Minimum Wage Law forbids wage discrimination based on gender and physical or mental disability. |
| Discussion of Wages | Employers who use six or more workers to produce any item are subject to the Equal Wage Act. The law forbids paying different wages for the same labor unless the difference in compensation is caused by seniority, experience, training, skill, different duties, or any other legitimate classification other than gender.
According to the Wages of Women and Minorities Act, no woman or minor may be paid an oppressive, unfair, or less than the fair and reasonable value of the services provided and less than what is required to maintain a healthy standard of living.
According to the Illinois EPA, an employer is not allowed to fire or mistreat anyone for asking about, disclosing, comparing, or otherwise talking about their pay or the pay of another employee or for encouraging someone to exercise their legal rights. |
| Pregnancy Accommodation | According to the IHRA, employers must make reasonable accommodations for pregnant women giving birth or having a connected medical condition. |
| Religious Accommodation | Under the IHRA, a covered employer must reasonably accommodate a worker whose honestly held religious beliefs clash with a job requirement. A person may not be required to violate or forego an honestly held religious practice as a condition of gaining or maintaining employment by an employer. |
| Access to Personnel Files | According to the Personnel Record Review Act, companies with five or more workers must permit current and former employees to view any personnel records that will, have, or have been used to evaluate an employee's suitability for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, termination, or other disciplinary action. |
| Credit Checks | Employers are typically prohibited from accessing or using an applicant's credit history for hiring decisions in Illinois under the Employee Credit Privacy Act (ECPA). |
| Criminal Checks | The Illinois Human Rights Act forbids employers from asking job applicants about their arrest records. |
| Ban the Box | Employers with 15 or more employees are not permitted to inquire about a job applicant's criminal background under the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act. |
| Minimum Wage | The state's hourly minimum wage is $13.00. |
| Overtime | If non-exempt employees work more than 40 hours per workweek, they are entitled to compensation at 1.5 times their ordinary pay rate. |
| Meal Breaks | Employees must be given a 20-minute meal break if they are scheduled to work more than seven and a half hours straight. The employee should be given a meal break no later than five hours after starting work. |
| Breastfeeding Breaks | According to the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act, a company with more than five employees must give a worker who needs to express breast milk for her infant child a fair paid break each day unless doing so would put an undue burden on the employer. |
| Child Labor | Illinois's child labor laws include limitations on the types of jobs children can hold and the hours and days they can work. Several jobs are off-limits to minors under the age of sixteen.
A break of less than 30 minutes is not considered to interrupt a "continuous" work period for minors under 16, entitled to a 30-minute meal break after no more than five hours of continuous work. |
| Health Care Continuation | If coverage expires due to the employee's reduction in hours or termination of work, the employee and any covered dependents are eligible for up to 12 months of health care continuation coverage.
The employee's spouse and dependent children are entitled to up to two years of continuation coverage in the case of the employee's death, retirement, or divorce. The spouse's coverage continues if they are above 55 until they become eligible for Medicare.
When an employee dies or a dependent reaches the policy's age restriction, dependent children may be entitled to up to two years of continuation coverage. |
| Wage Notices | Employers in Illinois are required to disclose the rate of pay, as well as the date, time, and location of payments, to new hires. |
| Wage Deductions | Deductions may be made for reasons such as taxes, health insurance premiums, union dues, satisfying a legitimate wage assignment or wage deduction order (such as child support), or with the express written approval of the employee. |
| Leaves of Absence | Illinois has several regulations governing mandated vacation time and employee leaves of absence. These laws cover things like family military leave, kin care leave, family bereavement leave, school visitation leave, blood donor leave, domestic violence leave, jury duty leave, witness leave, voting leave, official election leave, emergency responder leave, military leave, civil Air Patrol leave, and day of rest requirements. |
| Smoke-Free Workplace | Illinois forbids smoking inside workplaces and within 15 feet of any entry. |
| Weapons in the Workplace | Illinois law allows employers to forbid guns in the office if the appropriate signs are up. |
| Safe Driving Practices | Texting or using a portable phone while driving in Illinois is illegal. Additionally, it is against the law for drivers to watch or stream videos while operating a motor vehicle. |
| Final Pay | All final remuneration shall be paid by resignation or termination on the following regularly scheduled payday. |
