In 2024, the Illinois Legislature passed several significant employment laws, with many of them making changes to protect employees. Here’s what the changes are and what they might mean for you:

1. Illinois Personnel Record Review Act (IPRRA) Changes

  • Pay Stubs: Starting January 1, 2025, employers must keep employee pay stubs for at least three years and provide them upon request within 21 days. Employers also need to offer separated employees access to their pay stubs for the past year. Noncompliance can result in penalties.
  • Additional Documents: The IPRRA now requires employers to provide more documents upon request, including contracts, employee handbooks, and any policies tied to employment decisions. Employees should be aware of documents they can request. 

2. Worker Freedom of Speech Act

  • A new law going into effect January 1, 2025 prohibits mandatory employer-sponsored meetings on political or religious topics, including discussions about unions and organizing. Employers must avoid making such meetings compulsory and ensure they don’t retaliate against employees for refusing to participate. 

3. Pay Transparency in Job Postings

  • Effective January 1, 2025, employers with 15+ employees must include pay scales and benefits in job postings for positions that will be performed, at least partially, in Illinois. This includes remote positions supervised in Illinois. Employers must also announce internal promotion opportunities within 14 days of posting externally. This increased transparency will help employees (particularly women) ensure they are paid in line with their male counterparts.

4. Expansion of Illinois Whistleblower Act

  • Starting January 1, 2025, employees can file retaliation claims under the Whistleblower Act for reporting violations internally, not just to external authorities. Penalties for retaliation are expanded to include significant financial damages, including civil penalties up to $10,000. 

5. Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) Updates

  • Statute of Limitations: The time to file discrimination claims under the IHRA is extended to two years (effective January 1, 2025).
  • Family Responsibilities and Reproductive Health: The IHRA now protects employees from discrimination based on family responsibilities (such as caring for a family member) and reproductive health decisions, including contraception, pregnancy-related care, fertility treatments, and abortion.

Many of these changes ensure that employees will have protections against employer misconduct. Keep in mind that these new rules are subject to change, and that if you have questions you should consult directly with an attorney.

Hat tip to our clerk, Margaret DeFer for researching and drafting this post!