Home » HR practices » Professional development » Legal developments » National legislation » United States : Illinois prohibits employers from asking for past salary information during recruitment United States : Illinois prohibits employers from asking for past salary information during recruitment Through . Published on 04 October 2019 à 16h07 - Update on 04 October 2019 à 16h21 Resources Under an amendment to the Equal Pay Act of 2003 in the US state of Illinois, which came into force on 29 September, employers and recruitment firms are now forbidden from asking for the salary history of job candidates. In a statement from 13 August, issued when the amendment was passed, the state’s governor, of the Democratic Party, said: “The idea behind the new prohibition is to help break a cycle where predominantly female and minority workers have received lower pay for performing the same or similar work as male and non-minority workers. Employers are more likely to perpetuate this situation if they base the new employees’ pay on what they had previously earned.” The prohibition applies at each stage of the recruitment process and if this information is disclosed by a candidate, the recruiter must not take this into account when making their decision. Under the amendment, a violation could entitle an employer or a candidate to special damages of up to $10,000. Meanwhile sanctions will be heavier if the principle of equal pay is flouted. Punishments will now include compensatory damages “if the employee proves that the employer acted with malice or reckless indifference”, in addition to damages for the breach of their legal obligation. A similar law was passed by the governor of the state of New York on 10 July (see article n°11199). Need more info ? Contact mind's on-demand study service Which service do you want to contact :WritingCommercial serviceTechnical SupportFirst name Last name Organization Function email* Object of the message Your messageRGPD J’accepte la politique de confidentialité.CommentsThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Essentials Les dernières publications Supporting parenthood in the workplace: a win-win strategy Supporting employee carers: a CSR challenge Analyzes Les dernières publications Paternity leave: data observations from 41 countries EU: during H1 2022 five EU Member States have raised their minimum salary levels