In recent years, there have been several state-specific pay reporting requirements taking effect after the recission of the nationwide EEO-1 Component 2 pay data collection. One such reporting requirement has been the bi-annual Illinois Equal Pay Reporting Certificate (EPRC). This reporting began for some employers in 2022. It is meant to ensure compliance with the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003. 

Employers covered by the law must submit their applications for the EPRC on a portal housed within the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL)’s website.  Organizations were required to file their initial EPRC applications by March 23 of 2024 if they had not done so already.  

As it has now been two years since the first EPRC filings occurred, some employers are beginning to submit their second round of applications for an EPRC. Unfortunately, these returning filers have been experiencing hiccups in IDOL’s system. 

One notable issue involves the job classification categories used in the pay data file that must be submitted to IDOL. These job classification categories match the federal EEO-1 job categories. It appears that, upon a company’s upload of the pay data file, the Illinois system compares the job classification categories associated with each unique job title to what they were in the company’s prior EPRC submission. If there are any discrepancies between filings, the company will receive an error preventing them from progressing through the filing process. For instance, an error will occur if an Account Manager title that was tied to the “Sales Worker” category in a company’s 2022 EPRC application is now tied to the “Professionals” category. 

Unfortunately, there is no way that EEO-1 categories can be updated in the system during a filing. Instead, the IDOL HelpDesk has stated that employers will need to submit a screenshot with a summarized list of errors, which will then be forwarded to IDOL’s IT Department. If the same title is listed more than once on IDOL’s error list, we recommend that the summarized list omits such duplicate entries, to ensure a concise request. The IDOL IT Department can then override the previous category assignments to allow updated EEO-1 categories to be submitted upon a re-upload of the data file.  

If an employer receives an error upon filing, DCI recommends the following actions.  

• The company should ensure the categories being reported are indeed accurate and should make updates if necessary.  

• If the categories are deemed accurate as of the reporting period, and the discrepancies are due to a reclassification or data update that has been implemented since the last filing, the company should contact the EPRC’s HelpDesk as soon as possible. 

It appears that IDOL is willing to work with organizations to rectify category discrepancies. DCI has been informed IDOL will not consider a filing late if an active HelpDesk matter is open as of the filing deadline. However, filers should be aware of this sensitivity in the system and work to ensure a timely filing to the extent possible. 

Filers can contact the IDOL HelpDesk at (312) 793-6797 and/or DOL.EPRC@Illinois.gov.  

DCI will continue to provide updates on the EPRC as they become available.