New Year Imposes New Laws on Employers
- James G. Fahey

The General Assembly significantly altered Illinois’ employment law landscape for 2004, causing employers to ring in the new year with additional regulations, burdens, and responsibilities. Some of the new laws that have a direct and immediate impact on employers include the Victims’ Economic Security & Safety Act and the Illinois Whistle Blower Act, as well as amendments to Illinois’ Criminal Identification Act, Equal Pay Act, Minimum Wage Act, and Human Rights Act. A brief description of each new statute is provided below. 1. Victims’ Economic Security & Safety Act (Public Act 93-591, eff. 8-25-03); 820 ILCS 180/40 The Victims’ Economic Security & Safety Act (“VESSA”) went into effect on August 25, 2003, and applies to employers with at least 15 employees. The Act prohibits employers from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee who is the victim of domestic or sexual violence when the employee takes time off from work to seek help, medical attention, or counseling. VESSA mimics the Family Medical Leave Act in many respects because it provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for employees when they or their family or household members are victims of domestic or sexual violence. The Illinois Department of Labor is charged with VESSA’s enforcement, and violations may give rise to a wide range of remedies including damages, attorneys’ fees, expert fees, reinstatement, promotion, and imposition of “reasonable accommodations.” 2. Illinois Whistle Blower Act (Public Act 93-0544, eff. 1-1-04); 740 ILCS 174 et. seq. The Illinois Whistle Blower Act went into effect on January 1, 2004, and applies to any employer with at least one employee. The Act prohibits employers from making, adopting, enforcing, or preventing an employee from disclosing information to a government or enforcement agency if the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of a state or federal law, rule, or regulation. The Act also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who disclose the information. Violations can result in employee reinstatement and damages, including back pay, litigation costs, and attorneys’ fees. Punitive damages are not available under the Act. 3. Illinois Criminal Identification Act (Public Act 93-0211, eff. 1-1-04); 20 ILCS 2630/12 The Criminal Identification Act has been amended to prohibit all public and private employers in Illinois, except for law enforcement agencies, from inquiring into the applicant’s expunged or sealed criminal record. In addition, effective January 1, 2004, employment applications must contain specific language stating the applicant is not obligated to disclose sealed or expunged records of a conviction or arrest. 4. Equal Pay Act (Public Act 93-6, eff. 1-1-04); 820 ILCS 112 et. seq. Amendments to Illinois’ Equal Pay Act became effective January 1, 2004, and apply to all employers with four or more employees. Similar to its federal counterpart, the Act prohibits gender-based discrimination in pay rates. The amendment also prohibits workplace rules that forbid employees to compare their wages and imposes new record keeping requirements. Violations could result in an employee recovering underpaid wages, interest, fines, and attorneys’ fees. 5. Minimum Wage Law (Public Act 93-0581, eff. 1-1-04); 820 ILCS 105/4 Amendments to Illinois’ Minimum Wage Act increased the minimum wage in this State from $5.15 to $5.50 per hour on January 1, 2004, and then to $6.50 per hour on January 1, 2005. Exemptions exist, however, for employers with less than four full-time employees and other specified types of employers. The federal minimum wage has remained at $5.15 per hour since 1997. 6. Illinois Human Rights Act (Public Act 93-0217, eff. 1-1-04); 775 ILCS 5/2-102 Amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act, effective January 1, 2004, expressly bar restrictions on the language used by employees in communications unrelated to employees’ duties. The statute not only defines “language” as “a person’s native tongue,” it also expressly excludes slang, jargon, profanity, and vulgarity from protection. Violating this statute would subject an employer to a discrimination claim. CONCLUSION The preceding review of some of Illinois’ recently implemented employment statutes evidences a new willingness on the part of the General Assembly to increase protections afforded to Illinois’ workforce. Although future editions of this newsletter will highlight the implications of some of these new laws in more detail, should you need immediate assistance, please contact our office. For more information regarding this article, please contact the author or any Sorling attorney who practices labor and employment law by clicking: James G. Fahey www.sorlinglaw.com/practice-labor.htm Click here to review the Sorling disclaimer: http://www.sorlinglaw.com/About-Disclaimers.htm

<< Back to Sorling Client Alert