When searching for qualified candidates, posting the details of your position can help you attract job seekers who align with what you’re offering. But are you providing all the details required by law? While talking about work culture and duties are important, Illinois employers must also include certain compensation details in a job posting to provide more clarity to potential applicants. Learn more about the Pay Transparency Amendment can help employees gain better insight into open positions — and help employers find more qualified candidates.
What Is Pay Transparency?
The Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 prohibits employers from paying workers differently based on protected classes of employees, as defined by the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). In January 2025, the state of Illinois issued an amendment to the Pay Transparency Act that imposes new responsibilities for most employers when publishing job postings.
What Are Employers’ Responsibilities?
Under the Pay Transparency Amendment, employers with 15 or more employees must include pay scale and benefits information to all public job postings when the work is either physically performed in Illinois or reportable to a supervisor or worksite in Illinois. Additionally, employers are required to track and store job postings to ensure compliance with pay transparency and must notify employees about any job postings, so they have a chance to apply as well. While there are some exemptions from certain provisions for certain employers, the Act generally has broad application.
How Does This Affect Recruiting & Retention?
Providing details for a job opening up front allows job seekers a more transparent look at compensation and benefits, helping them determine if a position is right for them. This also shows whether employers are paying the market rate for a specified position. Alerting current employees about the job posting can incentivize talent you’ve already been developing to move upward within the organization.
What Are Some Challenges Employers Face?
Employers may have trouble adjusting internal pay ranges per department and position to align with the job market, making it more challenging for them to remain competitive in their region. For example, if two local hospitals post full-time nursing positions at the same time — one paying $32-$35 per hour, and the other at $35-$40 per hour with the same responsibilities — candidates will be more likely to apply for the position paying more.
Of course, current employees may learn from the posting how another position in their organization is compensated and may have strong feelings. If that position makes as much or more than the current employee, that person may feel they aren’t being compensated fairly. This can have tremendous employee relation and retention impacts. An employer will need to ensure its compensation is equitable throughout the organization. Though this isn’t required by the Act, it is the ultimate effect of posting the pay of all positions.
While pay transparency can affect the volume and quality of candidates employers receive, HR Fit can assist with compensation setting and job market analysis. Our professionals research specified positions and pay ranges, analyzing that data to get the market rate per job. We can help employers determine the market rate for each position, dissect each position within the organization, and analyze the pay for those positions within the market. We’ll recommend pay changes and help implement those changes.
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