Depending on when you read this, New Year’s Day is right around the corner or just happened. New Year’s is a time when many of us make resolutions for the coming year in the hopes of improving ourselves or our situation. If you own or manage a business, the State of Illinois has some “resolutions” for you that are more mandatory than your promise to get to the gym more often!
Illinois Minimum Wage
On January 1, the minimum wage will increase to $15 for regular workers, $9 for tipped workers, and $13 for workers under the age of 18 who work less than 650 hours per year. This is the final scheduled increase from the 2019 law.
Posting of salary and benefits on job listings
Starting January 1st, 2025, most employers in Illinois will have to disclose pay and benefits information on job postings, thanks to a new law. The law requires that all employers with 15 or more employees include the pay scale and benefits on job postings, both internal and external. It will apply to positions that are performed in Illinois, including remote work. Companies will have 14 days from the start of the year to add salary and benefit information to job postings or face a $500 fine.
Digital Driver’s Licenses
The law allows governmental agencies and businesses to accept either digital IDs or physical versions, but says “upon request by law enforcement, a credential holder must provide the credential holder’s physical credential.”
State Property Tax Study
A new law requires the Department of Revenue to conduct a study to evaluate Illinois’ property tax system to determine whether the existing property tax levy, assessment, appeal and collection process is reasonable and fair and may issue recommendations to improve that process.
Limits on AI in hiring practices
Employers will be restricted from considering an applicant’s race or zip code when using artificial intelligence-powered predictive analytics to reject an employee in its hiring or firing practices.
This is only a sampling of the hundreds of laws or regulations that go into effect in 2025. We are hosting an HR Roundtable on changes and additions to HR laws in 2025 on January 14 at noon. Please register here if you are interested in attending.
And Happy New Year!
Bill Clow is the Business Engagement Director for the Greater Freeport Partnership. He can be reached at bclow@greaterfreeport.com or 815-233-1353
