Illinois Administrative Code › Title 56 - LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT › Part 320 - EQUAL PAY IN EMPLOYMENT › Subpart A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 320.120 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
"Act" means the Equal Pay Act of 2003 [820 ILCS
				  112 ].
"Authorized agent" means an employee of a business with
				  knowledge of pay practices and who has been designated by the corporate
				  officers of the business to submit information to the Department as required by
				  the Act. Authorized agent does not include any outside or third-party
				  consultant or vendor who serves the business.
"Average compensation" means the average wages for a specific
				  occupation in the State of Illinois as determined by the most recent U.S.
				  Bureau of Labor Statistics State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
				  publication.
"Complaint" means an allegation of a violation of the Act
				  filed with or initiated by the Department.
"Complainant" means a person who files a complaint, including
				  the Department in cases initiated by the Department.
"Department" means the Illinois Department of
				  Labor
. [820 ILCS 112/5 ]
"Director" means the Director
of the
				  Illinois Department
of Labor
or a duly authorized
				  representative of the Director. [820 ILCS 112/5 ]
"Effort" means the physical or mental exertion needed for the
				  performance of a job. Job factors that cause mental fatigue and stress, as well
				  as those factors that alleviate fatigue, are to be considered in determining
				  the effort required for the job. Effort encompasses the total requirements of
				  the job. Occasional or sporadic performance of an activity that may require
				  extra physical or mental exertion is not alone sufficient to justify a finding
				  of unequal or equal effort.
"
Employee
"
means any individual
				  permitted to work by an employer.
[820 ILCS
				  112/5 ]
"
Employer
"
means an individual,
				  partnership, corporation, association, business, trust, person, or entity for
				  whom
4 or more
employees are gainfully employed in Illinois
				  and includes the State of Illinois, any State officer, department, or agency,
				  any unit of local government, and any school district
. [820 ILCS
				  112/5 ]
"Equal Pay Registration Certificate" means a certificate
				  issued by the Department to a business in accordance with the requirements of
				  Section 11 of the Act.
"Filing year" means any calendar year in which a business is
				  due to submit its Equal Pay Registration Certificate application, as determined
				  by the due date assigned to the business by the Department, whether the
				  business is applying for its initial certification or a recertification. The
				  filing year is the year immediately after the payroll year.
"Merit system" means an established, bona fide, uniform and
				  objective system that rewards an employee with promotion, bonus, increased pay
				  or other advantages based on competence, expertise, proficiency and human
				  relations.
"Minority" means a minority person as defined in the Business
				  Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act.
				  [30 ILCS
				  575 ]
"Payroll year" means the complete calendar year (January
				  1-December 31) upon which the payroll data in the business' Equal Pay
				  Registration Certificate application is based. The payroll year is the year
				  immediately preceding the filing year.
"Respondent" means an employer against whom a complaint is
				  filed.
"Responsibility" means the degree of accountability required
				  in the performance of a job. Minor or occasional responsibility added to an
				  employee's duties that are not of significant consequence or importance will
				  not justify a finding of unequal or equal responsibility.
"Seniority system" means a system that gives preference to
				  employees based on years of service.
"Similar working conditions" means the surroundings and
				  hazards, including the frequency and intensity of such conditions. Surroundings
				  measure the elements, such as toxic chemicals or fumes, regularly encountered
				  by an employee. Hazards take into account the physical hazards regularly
				  encountered by an employee. Slight or inconsequential differences in working
				  conditions that are not usually taken into account by employers or in
				  collective bargaining in setting wage rates do not justify a differential in
				  pay. The method used for testing this requirement is flexible. The mere fact
				  that jobs are in different departments of a workplace or performed in different
				  locations will not necessarily mean that the jobs are performed under
				  dissimilar working conditions.
"Skill" means experience, training, education and ability.
				  Possession of a skill not needed to meet the requirements of the job cannot be
				  considered in making a determination regarding equality of skill.
"Substantially similar work" means comparable work on jobs
				  with comparable requirements related to equal skill, effort and responsibility.
				  Substantially similar is not dependent on a job classification or title but
				  depends rather on actual job requirements and genuine differences in how work
				  is performed.
"Wages", means any compensation made to an employee as
				  remuneration for employment regardless of whether paid periodically or deferred
				  until a later date. Compensation includes but is not limited to: wages, salary,
				  vacation pay, sick leave, holiday pay, overtime pay, premium pay, and other
				  benefits such as health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance,
				  commission, draw payments, pension and profit sharing, expenses, bonus, uniform
				  cleaning allowance, hotel accommodations, use of vehicle, gasoline allowance,
				  cafeteria plan and educational benefits.
"Workplace" means a distinct physical place of business
				  rather than an entire business or enterprise that may include several separate
				  places of business.