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ARTICLE · 30 OCTOBER 2026

Illinois Updates EPRC Demographic Reporting For 2027

Jackson Lewis P.C.
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Illinois employers face new requirements for Equal Pay Registration Certificate submissions as the state Department of Labor eliminates the "prefers not to identify" option for employee demographic data. Starting January 1, 2027, businesses must report definitive sex and race information for all employees, raising questions about data collection methods and compliance strategies.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Laura A. Mitchell
Laura A. Mitchell

Employers preparing an Illinois Equal Pay Registration Certificate (EPRC) submission should prepare for changes to the state’s employee data reporting requirements. Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) will no longer accept submissions that report an employee’s sex or race as “prefers not to identify.”

This is a change to IDOL’s EPRC submission process, rather than a new statutory or regulatory amendment. The Illinois Equal Pay Act requires covered businesses to report employee wage data separated by gender, race, and ethnicity and authorizes IDOL to require other information needed to evaluate pay equity. The implementing regulations similarly require employers to submit that information in a format specified by IDOL, which has been via a text-searchable, sortable Microsoft Excel file (a template of which is provided on the IDOL’s website).

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