Q. Has the penalty for employer violations of the Illinois Equal Pay Act recently increased?
A. The state Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying unequal wages to men and women for doing the same or substantially similar work, requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility, under similar working conditions for the same employer in the same county (with certain exceptions).
Effective Jan. 1, the Equal Pay Act was amended to increase the maximum penalty for violations from $2,500 to $5,000.