New HR Laws

By: Thomas C. Pavlik, Jr.

Starting in 2025, there will be quite a few new laws that will affect Illinois employers.  Changes include wage transparency obligations in job postings, inclusion of "Family Responsibilities" and "Reproductive Health Decisions" as protected categories under the Illinois Human Rights Act, stricter recordkeeping and access requirements under the Personnel Records Review Act, and additional employer responsibilities when employing minors.

As a result, employers may need to amend employee handbooks, employment contracts, hiring guidelines, and other employment policies and practices.  Here are some of the highlights:

Salary Transparency in Job Postings

Recent amendments to the Equal Pay Act provide that employers with 15 or more Illinois employees must now include salary and benefit information in job postings for covered positions. This law will apply only to jobs that "will be physically performed, at least in part, in Illinois," or will be performed outside Illinois that report "to a supervisor, office, or other worksite in Illinois." Job postings must include a pay scale that "the employer reasonably expects in good faith to offer for the position" and a general description of employee benefits. Posting a link to a general description of benefits on the employer’s website will satisfy this new law.  And, if you use third-party sites to post positions, they will also be subject to these requirements. Finally, the amendment mandates that employers notify current employees of externally posted promotional opportunities within 14 days of posting.

Human Rights Act

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on protected classes.  These classes include, among others, sex, race, marital status, disability, and citizenship.  Beginning in 2025, amendments to the Act will extend its protections to two new categories - "Family Responsibilities" and "Reproductive Health Decisions”:

● Illinois employers will now be prohibited from discriminating against employees or prospective employees based on "Reproductive Health Decisions." "Reproductive Health Decisions" are defined as "a person's decisions regarding the person's use of contraception; fertility or sterilization care; assisted reproductive technologies; miscarriage management care; healthcare related to the continuation or termination of pregnancy; or prenatal, intranatal, or postnatal care." Under this amendment, employers cannot terminate an employee for using fertility treatments, having an abortion, or accessing in-vitro fertilization assistance.

● Similarly, Illinois employers may not take adverse action against employees or prospective employees based on their "Family Responsibilities." "Family Responsibilities" is defined as an employee's "actual or perceived provision of care to a family member, whether in the past, present, or future." Employers who, for example, "refuse to hire, … engage in harassment," or "discharge" an employee based on "family responsibility" will be committing a civil rights violation. While the law prohibits employer bias against family caretakers in important employment decisions, it does not prohibit employers from requiring employees to fulfill their employment duties.

Personnel Records Review Act

The Illinois Personnel Records Review Act provides employees with the right to inspect their employee file.  Recent amendments to this Act have expanded the types of documents an employee may inspect:

● Current and former employees now have the right to inspect their pay stubs.  Employers must comply with written requests within 21 calendar days.  Employers must retain pay stubs for a minimum of three years after payment.

● Employees now have the right to access more categories of documents, including records relating to employee benefits, handbooks, policies, procedures, and agreements. The information must be provided within 7 days.  In some cases, employers may take an additional 7 working days to comply.

Worker Freedom of Speech Act

Another new law bans mandatory employer-sponsored meetings that are "designed to communicate an employer's position on religious or political matters." "Voluntary" meetings that communicate such content are still allowed.  In this context, "voluntary" is defined as not being "incentivized by a positive change in any employment condition," such as "compensation" and "benefits," nor compelled by "threat of a negative change for non-attendance," such as demotion or termination.  Employers are barred from retaliating against employees for failing to attend such meetings or exercising their rights under the new law.  Additionally, and of some significance, employers are required to post a notice detailing employee rights under this act.

Child Labor Law

If you employ someone under the age of 16, there are a host of new requirements.  As a threshold matter, employers must provide the minor with a "letter of intent to hire," which, along with an application for an employment certificate, must be submitted to the minor's school.  Employers are also responsible for maintaining certain records, including the "name, date of birth, and place of residence of every minor who works for that employer, notice of intention to employ the minor, and the minor's employment certificate." These records must be kept for at least three years after employment termination.   In addition, an employee over 20 must supervise the minor at all times and the minor must be given a 30-minute meal break for every five hours of work. 

Minors may not work in certain industries such as food processing, manufacturing, and construction.  Further, during the school year, a minor may not work more than 18 hours a week.  Outside of that the limit is 40 hours a week.  In no instance may a minor work more than 8 hours during any 24-hour period.  

SPECIAL INSERT

 As we have written previously (https://www.springfieldbusinessjournal.com/columns/new-laws-15107745), the Corporate Transparency Act requires all corporations, limited liability companies and other entities to provide information about those that own or control the entity to the federal government.  That information includes the owners’ full names, dates of birth, address, a unique identifying number and issuing jurisdiction from a current photo identification document issued by the U.S. government, or a non-expired foreign passport, and an image of the same identification document.  However, on December 4, a Federal Court entered an injunction that blocks enforcement of the Act on a nationwide basis.  This means that, as of now, there is no requirement to comply with the Act.  That could change quickly, so stay informed – as this is only a preliminary injunction.  It’s also possible that the incoming Trump administration may not choose to pursue an appeal.