SB0075eng 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0075 Engrossed LRB101 04852 TAE 49861 b

AN ACT concerning employment.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Hotel and Casino Employee Safety Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Casino" has the meaning ascribed to the term "riverboat" under the Riverboat Gambling Act.

"Casino employer" means any person, business, or organization that holds an owners license pursuant to the Riverboat Gambling Act that operates a casino and either directly employs or through a subcontractor, including through the services of a temporary staffing agency, exercises direction and control over any natural person who is working on the casino premises.

"Complaining employee" means an employee who has alleged an instance of sexual assault or sexual harassment by a guest.

"Employee" means any natural person who works full-time or part-time for a hotel employer or casino employer for or under the direction of the hotel employer or casino employer or any subcontractor of the hotel employer or casino employer for wages or salary or remuneration of any type under a contract or subcontract of employment.

"Guest" means any invitee to a hotel or casino, including a registered guest, person occupying a guest room with a registered guest or other occupant of a guest room, person patronizing food or beverage facilities provided by the hotel or casino, or any other person whose presence at the hotel or casino is permitted by the hotel or casino. "Guest" does not include an employee.

"Guest room" means any room made available by a hotel for overnight occupancy by guests.

"Hotel" means any building or buildings maintained, advertised, and held out to the public to be a place where lodging is offered for consideration to travelers and guests. "Hotel" includes an inn, motel, tourist home or court, and lodging house.

"Hotel employer" means any person, business entity, or organization that operates a hotel and either directly employs or through a subcontractor, including through the services of a temporary staffing agency, exercises direction and control over any natural person who is working on the hotel premises and employed in furtherance of the hotel's provision of lodging to travelers and guests.

"Notification device" or "safety device" means a portable emergency contact device, supplied by the hotel employer or casino employer, that utilizes technology that the hotel employer or casino employer deems appropriate for the hotel's or casino's size, physical layout, and technological capabilities and that is designed so that an employee can quickly and easily activate the device to alert a hotel or casino security officer, manager, or other appropriate hotel or casino staff member designated by the hotel or casino and effectively summon to the employee's location prompt assistance by a hotel or casino security officer, manager, or other appropriate hotel or casino staff member designated by the hotel or casino.

"Offending guest" means a guest a complaining employee has alleged sexually assaulted or sexually harassed the complaining employee.

"Restroom" means any room equipped with toilets or urinals.

"Sexual assault" means: (1) an act of sexual conduct, as defined in Section 11-0.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012; or (2) any act of sexual penetration, as defined in Section 11-0.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012 and includes, without limitation, acts prohibited under Sections 11-1.20 through 11-1.60 of the Criminal Code of 2012.

"Sexual harassment" means any harassment or discrimination on the basis of an individual's actual or perceived sex or gender, including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

Section 10. Hotels and casinos; safety devices; anti-sexual harassment policies.

(a) Each hotel and casino shall equip an employee who is assigned to work in a guest room, restroom, or casino floor, under circumstances where no other employee is present in the room or area, with a safety device or notification device. The employee may use the safety device or notification device to summon help if the employee reasonably believes that an ongoing crime, sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other emergency is occurring in the employee's presence. The safety device or notification device shall be provided by the hotel or casino at no cost to the employee.

(b) Each hotel employer and casino employer shall develop, maintain, and comply with a written anti-sexual harassment policy to protect employees against sexual assault and sexual harassment by guests. This policy shall:

(1) encourage an employee to immediately report to the hotel employer or casino employer any instance of alleged sexual assault or sexual harassment by a guest;

(2) describe the procedures that the complaining employee and hotel employer or casino employer shall follow in cases under paragraph (1);

(3) instruct the complaining employee to cease work and to leave the immediate area where danger is perceived until hotel or casino security personnel or police arrive to provide assistance;

(4) offer temporary work assignments to the complaining employee during the duration of the offending guest's stay at the hotel or casino, which may include assigning the complaining employee to work on a different floor or at a different station or work area away from the offending guest;

(5) provide the complaining employee with necessary paid time off to:

(A) file a police report or criminal complaint with the appropriate local authorities against the offending guest; and

(B) if so required, testify as a witness at any legal proceeding that may ensue as a result of the criminal complaint filed against the offending guest, if the complaining employee is still in the employ of the hotel or casino at the time the legal proceeding occurs;

(6) inform the complaining employee that the Illinois Human Rights Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provide additional protections against sexual harassment in the workplace; and

(7) inform the complaining employee that Section 15 makes it illegal for an employer to retaliate against any employee who: reasonably uses a safety device or notification device; in good faith avails himself or herself of the requirements set forth in paragraph (3), (4), or (5); or discloses, reports, or testifies about any violation of this Act or rules adopted under this Act.

Each hotel employer and casino employer shall provide all employees with a current copy in English and Spanish of the hotel employer's or casino employer's anti-sexual harassment policy and post the policy in English and Spanish in conspicuous places in areas of the hotel or casino, such as supply rooms or employee lunch rooms, where employees can reasonably be expected to see it. Each hotel employer and casino employer shall also make all reasonable efforts to provide employees with a current copy of its written anti-sexual harassment policy in any language other than English and Spanish that, in its sole discretion, is spoken by a predominant portion of its employees.

Section 15. Retaliation prohibited. It is unlawful for a hotel employer or casino employer to retaliate against an employee for:

(1) reasonably using a safety device or notification device;

(2) availing himself or herself of the provisions of paragraph (3), (4), or (5) of subsection (b) of Section 10; or

(3) disclosing, reporting, or testifying about any violation of this Act or any rule adopted under this Act.

Section 20. Violations. An employee or representative of employees claiming a violation of this Act may bring an action against the hotel employer or casino employer in the circuit court of the county in which the hotel or casino is located and is entitled to all remedies available under the law or in equity appropriate to remedy any such violation, including, but not limited to, injunctive relief or other equitable relief including reinstatement and compensatory damages. Before a representative of employees may bring a claim under this Act, the representative must first notify the hotel employer or casino employer in writing of the alleged violation under this Act and allow the hotel employer or casino employer 15 calendar days to remedy the alleged violation. An employee or representative of employees that successfully brings a claim under this Act shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees and costs. An award of economic damages shall not exceed $350 for each violation. Each day that a violation continues constitutes a separate violation.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2020.