NEWSFLASH! Evolving Restrictions and Requirements on Illinois Employers

Author: Audrey E. Gamble, Esquire

Senate Bill 1480 (“SB 1480”), which was signed into law on March 23, 2021, aims to provide individuals with a criminal history a fair chance to obtain employment by restricting employers ability to consider an applicant’s or employee’s criminal history when making adverse employment decisions. SB 1480 amended the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Illinois Business Corporation Act, and the Illinois Equal Pay Act.

Effective immediately upon SB 1480’s enactment, employers are prohibited from using criminal conviction records as a basis to disqualify or take adverse action against an applicant or employee unless (i) there is a substantial relationship between the criminal offense and the employment position; or (ii) there would be an unreasonable safety risk to any person or property. In making this determination, employers are also required to consider mitigating factors such as the length of time since the conviction, the number of convictions on the record, the circumstances surrounding the conviction, and rehabilitation efforts.

If an employer does disqualify an individual based upon a conviction, the employer is required to provide written notice of the basis, and the disqualified individual is given five business days to respond. If, after considering the response, an employer does disqualify the individual, the employer must notify the individual in writing of the basis for the final decision, and inform the individual of the right to file a charge with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. 

SB 1480 also amended the Illinois Business Corporation Act to require corporations that do business in Illinois to report its employment data to the Illinois Secretary of State with the corporation’s annual report filed on or after January 1, 2023. The Secretary of State will publish the data on the gender, race, and ethnicity of each corporation’s employees.

Finally, SB 1480, as well as SB 1847 which was enacted on June 25, 2021, amended the Equal Pay Act of 2003 by requiring private-sector employers with over 100 employees in Illinois to obtain an “equal pay registration certificate” from the IDOL within three years after the effective date of SB 1480, and obtain a recertification every two years thereafter. The certificate requires employers to provide a copy of EEO-1 reports to prove total wages paid to each employee during the prior calendar year.

Employers who fail to comply may be subject to audits and penalties. To ensure compliance with the amendments in SB 1480, employers should examine their hiring procedures and be sure to implement the new reporting requirements in its procedures.

CONTACT:

Audrey E. Gamble, Esquire
agamble@satclaw.com
Direct: (312) 554-3128

Andrew J. Annes, Esquire
aannes@satclaw.com
Direct: (312) 554-3110

Websites:
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