A number of changes to laws affecting Illinois employers took effect January 1, including increased penalties for violations of the state’s Equal Pay and Prevailing Wage acts.

Senate Bill 115, signed into law as Public Act (PA) 97-512, increased penalties for employers who violate the state’s Equal Pay Act from $2,500 to $5,000. The Act prohibits employers with four or more employees from paying unequal wages to men and women for doing the same or substantially similar work. Employers who interfere with employees’ rights under the Act or discriminate against employees who exercise their rights are subject to the penalties.

House Bill (HB) 3237 (PA 97-0571) amended the Prevailing Wage Act to increase the penalty for willfully failing to file a certified payroll or filing a false certified payroll from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor. The Prevailing Wage Act requires contractors and subcontractors to pay workers employed on public works construction projects no less than the general prevailing wage rate. HB 3237 also gives federal, state or local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors access to certified payroll records. In addition, HB 3237 provides that any contractor or subcontractor convicted of a violation is subject to an automatic and immediate debarment from participating in any public work project for 4 years, with no right to a hearing.

Also effective January 1, HB 1513 (PA 97-0120) allows employers to deduct wages without an employee’s consent in order to collect a debt owed to a municipality or to recoup excess money that was paid by a municipality in error.

Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno recently published a list of all 214 laws that went into effect in Illinois on January 1. The list is available on her Radogno's website.