Castro bill would ban employers from asking applicants their salary histories

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate Labor Committee voted to approve Senator Cristina Castro’s (D-Elgin) legislation strengthening the Illinois Equal Pay Act.

House Bill 834 would prohibit employers from asking about salary histories when interviewing job applicants. The measure would reduce the effects of pay discrimination from past jobs.

“This legislation addresses a wide range of people” said Castro. “Men and women of all ages and backgrounds should have an equal chance to succeed, and that is what I will continue to fight for as a member of this General Assembly.”

Employers can currently consider salary history when making hiring decisions and salary offers. This perpetuates wage inequality, especially since women, on average, earn less than men for similar work. It has also been found that women of color earn even less than white women when compared to men.

“I don’t believe that all employers consciously discriminate, but they need to become aware of this issue,” said Castro. “Many employers tend to set salaries for new hires using their previous salary rather than basing it off of the applicant’s worth to the company. Businesses shouldn’t see this legislation as a threat; it is the right thing to do.”

House Bill 834 passed the Senate Labor Committee and will now move to the Senate for a final vote.

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Castro fighting to improve health care for new mothers

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) is leading the fight to ensure that mothers across Illinois are taken care during their pregnancy and after.

Castro is sponsoring a measure that will create the Improving Healthcare for Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals Act, which will outline a series of provisions to help combat the state’s maternal morbidity and mortality rate.

“We live in a time where women should not be dying from preventable causes after giving birth,” Castro said. “We need to ensure that we are monitoring new mothers for more than just a couple days or even weeks postpartum.”  

The Illinois Department of Public Health released a report in October 2018 after reviewing maternal deaths in the state and found that 72 percent of pregnancy-related deaths and 93 percent of violent pregnant-associated deaths were deemed preventable.

“Just because the pregnancy goes smoothly doesn’t mean the mother won’t have complications afterward,” Castro said. “We are careful to examine newborns and their progress after birth, so why shouldn’t we do the same for mothers?”

Senate Bill 1909 passed the Illinois State Senate with unanimous bipartisan support and will move to the House for consideration.

Castro protects Illinois consumers from rebate fraud

SPRINGFIELD– Illinois consumers will hopefully have an added protection thanks to Elgin Democrat State Senator Cristina Castro.

Under Castro’s legislation, consumers would be protected from misleading practices, especially seniors and working families. The measure would make it an unlawful practice to offer consumers a rebate card that charges dormancy fees or other post-issuance fee.

“If a consumer is owed money from a rebate, they shouldn’t be hindered by dormancy fees,” said Castro. “It is unfair to the consumer. Consumers shouldn’t be at risk of being charged for getting a rebate. That is their money.”

This measure was an initiative from the Illinois State Treasurer to prevent banks from taking unclaimed property on rebate cards. The State Treasurer and the Attorney General have worked together to protect Illinois consumers who have money owed to them from rebates.  

Senate Bill 222 passed the Illinois State Senate and will now move to the House for consideration.