---
type: "Bill"
title: "EQUAL PAY ACT - CIVIL PENALTY"
description: "Amends the Equal Pay Act of 2003. Provides for a civil penalty of up to $5,000 when any employer or person violates sections of the Act prohibiting an employer or person from interfering or discouraging another from exercising his or her rights under the Act."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "97th"
identifier: "SB 115"
citation: "Illinois SB 115 (97th)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 30
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2011-01-27"
last_action: "2011-08-23"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ca8e4b5b-9074-44f1-be5f-277fa4d6db11"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=115&GAID=11&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=54879&SessionID=84&GA=97"
source_hash: "171b6f0493f56337f13bf9a629f36bd610177d583b95a76084f784fe22176a72"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-il"]
---

# Illinois SB 115 (97th) — EQUAL PAY ACT - CIVIL PENALTY

Amends the Equal Pay Act of 2003. Provides for a civil penalty of up to $5,000 when any employer or person violates sections of the Act prohibiting an employer or person from interfering or discouraging another from exercising his or her rights under the Act.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700SB0115&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=54879&DocNum=115&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700SB0115eng&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=54879&DocNum=115&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700SB0115enr&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=54879&DocNum=115&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **71–45** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **36–18** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Martin A. Sandoval — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2011-01-27** Filed with Secretary by Sen. Martin A. Sandoval `filing`
- **2011-01-27** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2011-01-27** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2011-01-27** Assigned to Labor `referral-committee`
- **2011-02-16** Do Pass Labor; 006-003-000 `committee-passage`
- **2011-02-16** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading February 17, 2011
- **2011-04-11** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2011-04-11** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading April 12, 2011
- **2011-04-15** Third Reading - Passed; 036-018-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2011-04-15** Arrived in House `introduction`
- **2011-05-05** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading `reading-1`
- **2011-05-05** Chief House Sponsor Rep. Maria Antonia Berrios
- **2011-05-05** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2011-05-05** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2011-05-09** Assigned to Judiciary I - Civil Law Committee `referral-committee`
- **2011-05-12** Added Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Derrick Smith
- **2011-05-13** Committee Deadline Extended-Rule 9(b) May 20, 2011
- **2011-05-20** Final Action Deadline Extended-9(b) May 27, 2011
- **2011-05-26** Do Pass / Short Debate Judiciary I - Civil Law Committee; 007-004-000 `committee-passage`
- **2011-05-26** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2011-05-26** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2011-05-26** Held on Calendar Order of Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2011-05-27** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2011-05-27** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2011-05-27** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 071-045-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2011-05-27** Passed Both Houses
- **2011-06-24** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2011-08-23** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2011-08-23** Effective Date January 1, 2012
- **2011-08-23** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 97-0512 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/ca8e4b5b-9074-44f1-be5f-277fa4d6db11`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).