Committee on Workforce Development and Audit
March 28, 2018
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, On June 10, 1963 the Equal Pay Act was passed, addressing wage discrimination based on gender. Over fifty years later, equal pay is the law of the land and a woman still makes only 79 cents for every dollar a man earns. The numbers are even more dismal for women of color; and
WHEREAS, In many situations an employee's salary is based on past salary information he or she has provided on a job application, which can perpetuate the unequal pay between men and women; and
WHEREAS, In an effort to give women more bargaining power when negotiating their salaries, State Representative Moeller introduced HB 4163 that would amend the Equal Pay Act of 2003 by prohibiting an employer from: (i) screening job applicants based on their wage or salary history, (ii) requiring that an applicant's prior wages satisfy minimum or maximum criteria, and (iii) requesting or requiring as a condition of being interviewed or as a condition of continuing to be considered for an offer of employment that an applicant disclose prior wages or salary; and
WHEREAS, HB 4163 prohibits an employer from seeking the salary, including benefits or other compensation or salary history, of a job applicant from any current or former employer; and
WHEREAS, in further support of a change to the State law regarding salary history information, the City of Chicago should determine the feasibility of prohibiting all employers within the City and those outside the City who do business within the City limits from seeking salary history information from their applicants; and
WHEREAS, the City should strive to empower women to negotiate a fair salary and move closer to achieving equal pay in Illinois; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that we the Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled on this 28th day of March, 2018, do hereby affirm our commitment to a woman's right to equal pay and call on the Illinois State Senate and Governor Bruce Raunerto promptly pass this important legislation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City Council instruct the Department of Human Resource, and any other pertinent City departments, to report on the feasibility of prohibiting all employers within the City and those outside the City who do business within the City limits from seeking salary history information from their applicants; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that suitable copies of this Resolution be delivered to the Governor of the State-ot Illinois and the President ofthe Illinois Senate.
