"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.