Lilly Votes to Strengthen Equal Pay Laws

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  – State Rep. Camille Y. Lilly, D- Chicago, voted to prohibit an unfair practice that companies use to lock women into a lifetime of unfair pay, joining a bipartisan majority to toughen the state’s equal pay laws.

“Women and men work equally hard and women deserve to be compensated equally to their male coworkers for performing the same work,” Lilly said. “It is unacceptable in 2019 that women, particularly women of color, make just fractions of every dollar earned by a man.”

Lilly sponsored House Bill 834, which prohibits the discriminatory practice of requiring prospective employees to submit their salary history, a practice that has historically been used to continue pay discrimination against women. Barring corporations and employers from requiring salary histories helps break this cycle and prevents companies from locking women into a lifetime of unequal and unfair pay.

“Since a gender wage gap still exists, House Bill 834 will strengthen the Illinois Equal Pay Act by making it a violation for employers to ask job applicants about their prior salary or to confirm it with their employer, in order to stop perpetuating unequal pay,” said Melissa Josephs, Director of Equal Opportunity Policy with Women Employed. “Instead, employers should hire employees based on their skills and experience, and pay them based on their budget and the going rate for the job.”

The House approved the bill, which is backed by the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, the Illinois AFL-CIO, and Illinois NOW, with bipartisan support and the measure awaits consideration in the Senate.