Illinois Legislative Updates - August 2023

At A Glance

Illinois Governor Pritzker signed multiple bills into law that provide employment related rights for employees within the state.

Effective July 1, 2023

• Day and Temporary Labor Services Act Amendments

Effective January 1, 2024

• Work Related Labor Notices
• Equal Pay Act Amendments
• Personnel Records Review Act Amendments
• VESSA Amendments
• Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act
• Employee Organ Donor Leave Amendments
• Transportation Benefit Program

Effective January 1, 2025

• Equal Pay Act Amendments – Pay Scale

HB 3733 Work Related Labor Notices

Effective January 1, 2024, Illinois bill HB 3733 makes amends to multiple wage and hour acts, requiring that employers notify employees who do not typically report to a physical workplace via email, by a company website, or by company intranet of the notices required under the following Illinois acts:

• Minimum Wage Act
• Equal Pay Act
• Wage Payment and Collection Act
• Day and Temporary Laborer Act
• Child Labor Act

In addition to the notice requirements, the bill includes additional amendments below.

Equal Pay Act Amendments

Effective January 1, 2024, Illinois bill HB 3733 amends the Illinois Equal Pay Act by:

• Eliminating the requirement that employers submit EEO-1 during the equal pay certification process.
• Changing the definition of "compensation" as used in the employer's compliance statement in regard to the pay practices of female and minority employees. Compensation means remuneration or compensation an employee receives in return for services rendered to an employer, including hourly wages, overtime wages, commissions, piece rate work, salary, bonuses, or any other basis of calculation for services performed.

Personnel Record Review Act Amendments

Effective January 1, 2024, employers must accept requests to email copies of requested records to the employee, instead of mailing requested copies. Employers may charge a fee for the cost of providing the records, but the fee cannot exceed the actual cost of duplicating the record.

HB 2493 Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act Amendments

Effective January 1, 2024, HB 2493 amends the Victims Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA) to allow employees to take a total of up to two workweeks (10 workdays) of unpaid leave for specified reasons relating to a family or household member who is killed in a crime of violence. The leave must be completed within 60 days after the date on which the employee receives notice of the death of the victim.

The specified reasons for leave are as follows:

• To attend the funeral (or alternative to a funeral) or wake of a family or household member killed in a crime of violence,
• To make arrangements necessary for the death of a family or household member killed in a crime of violence, or
• To grieve the death of a family or household member killed in a crime of violence.

SB 2034 Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act (CEBLA)

Effective January 1, 2024, SB 2034 will require that employers with 250 or more full-time employees must provide a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave if the employee experiences the loss of a child by suicide or homicide.

Employers with at least 50 but fewer than 250 full-time employees are required to provide a maximum of 6 weeks of unpaid leave if the employee experiences the loss of a child by suicide or homicide.

The leave may be taken in a single continuous period or intermittently in increments of no less than 4 hours, but leave must be completed within one year after the employee notifies the employer of the loss.

HB 3516 Employee Organ Donor Leave Amendments

Effective January 1, 2024, HB 3516 will require employers with 51 or more employees who have been employed full-time for a period of 6 months to provide up to 10 days of paid time off in any 12-month period to serve as an organ donor or bone marrow donor.

HB 2068 Transportation Benefit Program

Effective January 1, 2024, HB 2068 creates the Transportation Benefits Program Act (TBPA). The TBPA provides that covered employers must provide a pre-tax commuter benefit to covered employees which must allow employees to use pre-tax dollars to purchase a transit pass on public transit via a payroll deduction, such that the costs for such purchases may be excluded from the employee’s taxable wages and compensation up the maximum amount permitted by federal law.

The TBPA defines a “covered employer” as one with 50 or more covered employees, if the employer is located in a specified geographic area. The geographic area includes all of Cook County, and within one mile of fixed-route transit service in various townships in surrounding counties. The TBPA defines a “covered employee” as a person who performs at least 35 hours of work per week for compensation on a full-time basis. The benefit must become available no later than the first regular pay period after 120 days of employment. Under the Act, “public transit” is either the Chicago Transit Authority or the Regional Transportation Authority.

HB 2862 Day and Temporary Labor Services Act Amendments

Effective July 1, 2023, HB 2862 amends the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act retro actively. These amendments apply to both day and temporary labor services organizations and their third-party clients. These are significant changes in the state-mandated protections and rights of day and temporary workers. These include:

• Equal Pay for Equal Work Provisions
• Workplace Safety and Training Requirements
• Right to Refuse Assignment During a Labor Dispute
• Expanded Legal Actions and Civil Penalties

The agency still needs to provide further guidance. We will provide additional information to Paylocity clients in PEAK as it is available.

HB 3129 Equal Pay Act: Pay Scale Amendments

Effective January 1, 2025, Illinois Bill HB 3129 goes into effect, amending the Illinois Equal Pay act. Illinois employers with 15 or more employees must provide the pay scale for a position in any job posting. The bill clarifies that it is permissible for employers to include a publicly accessible hyperlink to the pay scale and benefit information in the job posting. The requirements apply to employers with employees located in Illinois, or remotely reporting to an Illinois based supervisor, office, or other worksite.

The pay scale and benefits includes:

• The wage or salary, or the wage or salary range.
• A general description of benefits and other compensation such as bonuses, stock options, or other incentives that the employer reasonably expects to offer with the position based on the pay scale or range, and actual range of others holding the position.

Employers must also notify current employees within 14 days of posting an external job posting for a position that would be an opportunity for promotion.

Employers who fail to comply may be assessed a penalty ranging from $500 to $10,000.

For more information on Illinois wage and payroll tax laws, check out our Illinois Wage and Payroll Tax Facts page.

Next Steps

As the effective dates near, we expect the Illinois Department of Labor to provide more guidance or resources on their website. We will provide any additional updates for Paylocity clients in the Paylocity Knowledge Base, PEAK.

Thank you for choosing Paylocity as your Payroll Tax and HCM partner. This information is provided as a courtesy, may change and is not intended as legal or tax guidance. Employers with questions or concerns outside the scope of a Payroll Service Provider are encouraged to seek the advice of a qualified CPA, Tax Attorney or Advisor.