Illinois Expands Pay Transparency Rules: New Definitions, Broader Reach, and Steeper Penalties for Employers

On June 18, 2026, the Illinois Department of Labor took a long-anticipated step by adopting comprehensive amendments to 56 Ill. Adm. Code Part 320, the administrative rules implementing the pay transparency requirements of the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 (820 ILCS 112, the Act).

Illinois’ existing pay transparency requirement

Effective January 1, 2025, Illinois joined a growing number of states enacting pay transparency legislation, amending the Act to require employers with 15 or more employees to disclose pay scale and benefits information in all job postings for positions performed at least in part in Illinois and to announce promotional opportunities to current employees within 14 days of externally publishing a posting. The pay transparency amendments, however, left key terms, such as “benefits” and “pay scale,” undefined, creating significant uncertainty for employers seeking to comply with the new requirements. The new comprehensive rulemaking amendments represent the Department’s effort to flesh out the Act’s pay transparency requirements, introducing significant changes across four areas: key definitions, recordkeeping requirements, jurisdictional reach, and the penalty structure.

New definitions expand pay transparency obligations

The amendments add definitions for “benefits,” “pay scale and benefits,” and “job posting,” which clarify the benefits and pay scale information that employers must include in job postings and when these requirements apply.

• “Pay scale and benefits” covers the wage or salary, or the wage or salary range, and a general description of the benefits and other compensation.
  • Other compensation may include anticipated or possible bonuses, stock options, or other incentives the employer reasonably expects in good faith to offer for a position.
  • “Benefits” includes health care benefits, retirement benefits, paid time off (including sick leave, parental leave, and vacation benefits), job-protected paid time off, and any other benefits that must be reported for federal tax purposes. This definition expressly excludes benefits in the form of minor privileges incidental to regular salary or wages. 
• “Job posting” as a written announcement that an employer is seeking to hire or is accepting applications for a specific position. Notably, this definition does not include general announcements that do not identify a specific job opportunity or position, such as “help wanted” signs.

Additional recordkeeping requirements

In addition to new definitions, the amendments also include additional recordkeeping requirements. Employers must now make and preserve records documenting the pay scale and benefits for each job posting, and the promotional opportunities communicated to current employees for at least five years — or longer if the records relate to an ongoing investigation or enforcement action. These records must accurately depict the content of the posting at the time of publication.

Expanded jurisdiction covers remote and hybrid roles reporting to Illinois

The amendments also clarify that the state’s enforcement jurisdiction covers remote and hybrid workers with some ties to the state. The Department’s pay transparency jurisdiction now extends to any employer with 15 or more employees (in any location) that posts a position to be performed at least in part in Illinois, or to be performed outside of Illinois but reporting to a supervisor, office, or work site in Illinois. 

The amendments establish a multifactor remote worker test that Illinois will apply to determine if a remote or hybrid worker is covered by this Act. These factors include: (a) the amount of work performed in Illinois compared to outside Illinois; (b) whether the Illinois-based work is isolated, temporary, or transitory; and (c) whether the work performed outside Illinois is of the same nature or duties as work performed in Illinois.  

Civil penalty structure becomes significantly more aggressive

The amendments also establish a tiered penalty framework for job posting violations. For active job posting violations, penalties escalate from $500 with a 14-day cure period for a first offense, to $2,500 with a seven-day cure period for a second offense, to $10,000 with no cure period for a third or subsequent offense. Following a third offense, an employer is subject to automatic penalties without any cure period for five years, and this period restarts upon any further notice of violation. For non-active job postings, no cure period is available at any offense level.

Strategies to ensure compliance.

In light of these significant regulatory developments, employers should take proactive steps to align their practices with the amended rules.

Employers with Illinois-based operations or employees should review their job posting practices, compensation disclosure procedures, and recordkeeping systems to ensure compliance with these new updates. Multistate employers with remote or hybrid workforces supervised from Illinois offices should assess whether their postings fall within the Act’s expanded jurisdictional reach, including by evaluating the multifactor remote worker test factors against their current workforce arrangements.

The Crowell & Moring Labor and Employment Group is available to advise employers on these issues.