From salary and benefits, to the hiring process, to non-compete agreements, an array of new state legislation that affects small businesses in one way or another has taken effect as of the first of the new year, 2022.
The legislation focused non-compete agreements (SB 6
72), which amends the Illinois Freedom to Work Act, holds that employers cannot enforce such agreements with regard to employees who earn $75,000 or less per year in salary, a figure that will rise every five years and eventually reach $90,000 in 2037. Previously this applied to workers making less than $13 per hour or minimum wage, whichever was higher.
Job Interviews: Other new laws pertain to the job interviewing process. One of them (HB 1207) prohibits employers from asking about an applicant’s salary history, although they are permitted to ask about the applicant’s salary and benefits expectations, as well as to discuss the potential compensation for the position the applicant seeks.
Another newly minted piece of legislation (HB 53) impacts employers who rely entirely on artificial intelligence and robotics in narrowing down the applicant pool to those who will receive an in-person interview. They are now required to collect and report data about how the breakdown in terms of race and ethnicity of those interviewed in-person (and those who are not) as well as those who are hired.
Employee Benefits: Some of the other new laws govern aspects of employee benefits. One of them (SB 258) enables employers...
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