Equal Pay Fact Sheet_FARE Grant

Know Your Rights

YOU DESERVE FAIR PAY

What is pay discrimination?

Pay discrimination occurs when employers pay employees differently based on race, color, religion, sex,

national origin, disability, age, or genetic information.

Yes! Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law that prohibits job discrimination—including

pay discrimination—based on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin. It is also illegal under the

Illinois Equal Pay Act, which prohibits employers with four or more employees from paying unequal

wages to men and women, and to African-American and non-African-American employees, for doing

the same or substantially similar work, except if the difference is based on a seniority system, a merit

system, a system measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production, or factors other than

gender or race. It is illegal to pay women less than men for the same job. It is also illegal to pay

employees of one race less than employees of another race for the same job.

How do I know if I’m being paid fairly?

The U.S. Department of Labor has a resource about your federal rights to equal pay and pay

transparency, as well as your rights in each state. You can access that at dol.gov/agencies/wb/

equal-pay-protections. The Illinois Department of Labor also has a resource on your rights in Illinois at

https://www2.illinois.gov/idol/FAQs/Pages/equal-pay-faq.aspx.

You are protected by law if you talk to your coworkers about your pay. Under both Illinois and

federal law, it is illegal for employers to ban you from talking about your pay, beneﬁts, or other

compensation to other people—and if you’re comfortable, that can be a good way to ﬁnd out if

you’re being paid less than your coworkers.

When I’m applying for jobs, can employers

ask about my current or past wages?

Not in Illinois. Under the No Salary History Law, an

amendment to the Illinois Equal Pay Act, employers in Illinois

cannot ask you—or your current or previous employers—about

your pay history when you’re applying or interviewing for a job.

If you live outside of Illinois, check this list to see if there’s a

similar law in your area: aauw.org/resources/policy/state-and-

local-salary-history-bans/

Is pay discrimination illegal?

Illinois recently adopted a new section of the Illinois Equal Pay Act that allows employees of companies

with 100 or more employees to request certain anonymized data from IDOL regarding their employer

as it relates to other employees in their same job classiﬁcation and their pay.

You can learn more about these and other rights at womenemployed.org/FairPay

Created by Women Employed in partnership with the Illinois Department of Labor, Arise Chicago, Man-

Tra-Con Corporation, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, and YWCA Quad Cities as part of the Illinois FARE

Grant project, which raises awareness of pay equity and pay transparency standards among women

workers, particularly low-wage women of color.

This fact sheet was supported by the Fostering Access Rights and Equity Grant No. WB 36961-21-60-

A-17, awarded by Women’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor. The opinions, ﬁndings, conclusions, and

recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reﬂect

the views of the U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau.

What can I do if I think my equal pay rights were violated?

The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) enforces the Illinois Equal Pay Act. If you think your equal

pay rights were violated by your current or former employer in Illinois, you can call them at 1-866-372-

4365 or ﬁle a complaint online at www2.illinois.gov/idol/Pages/Complaints.aspx.

Both agencies have a time limit to ﬁle, so contact them as soon as possible.

Know Your Rights

YOU DESERVE FAIR PAY

You can also contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces the

Civil Rights Act of 1964. To reach the nearest ofﬁce, go to eeoc.gov/ﬁeld, or call 1-800-669-4000. The

TTY number is 1-800-669-6820.

Even if you’re not ready to ﬁle a complaint, you should take steps to protect your rights:

Keep copies of your records related to pay—offer letters, pay

stubs, and any other wage-related information.

Keep records of your performance at work. Continue doing a

good job at work, and print and save copies of job evaluations,

emails or letters, or any other documentation that shows you

are performing well.

Seek support from your loved ones. Being treated unfairly is

stressful and difﬁcult, especially if you’re dealing with it on

your own.