Beginning this week, Illinois employers and employment agencies are prohibited from asking about job applicants’ past wage and compensation histories or using such information to screen candidates for a position. The idea behind the wage history ban is to help break a cycle where predominantly women and people of color have received lower pay for performing the same or similar work as male and non-minority workers. Employers are more likely to perpetuate this situation if they base the new employees’ pay on what they had previously earned. IDOL is tasked with enforcing the new amendment to the Equal Pay Act. Employers can be penalized for asking the applicant or the applicant’s current or former employers for wage or salary history.  However, Department of Labor Director Michael Kleinik said the hope is to gain compliance through outreach and educational efforts. The prohibition does not apply if a job applicant’s salary history is a matter of public record or if the applicant is a current employee applying with the same employer. Department of Labor staff also are available to answer questions from both employers and employees on the new law and can be reached on DOL’s Equal Pay Act Hotline: 866-372-4365.