HB2440 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB094 06092 WGH 36155 b

94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB2440

Introduced 02/17/05, by Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

820 ILCS 405/502 new
820 ILCS 405/601	from Ch. 48, par. 431
820 ILCS 405/603	from Ch. 48, par. 433
820 ILCS 405/604	from Ch. 48, par. 434

Amends the Unemployment Insurance Act. Provides that an individual is not ineligible for benefits solely because his or her unemployment is due to a stoppage of work because of a labor dispute where he or she is or was last employed. Provides that the disqualifications based on voluntary leaving and refusal of work do not apply to an individual whose unemployment is due to a stoppage of work because of a labor dispute where he or she is or was last employed.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning employment.

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

Section 5. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by adding Section 502 and changing Sections 601, 603, and 604 as follows:

(820 ILCS 405/502 new)

Sec. 502. Labor dispute. With respect to any week beginning on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, an individual is not ineligible for benefits solely because his or her unemployment is due to a stoppage of work because of a labor dispute at the factory, establishment, or other premises at which he or she is or was last employed.

(820 ILCS 405/601) (from Ch. 48, par. 431)

Sec. 601. Voluntary leaving.

A. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits for the week in which he has left work voluntarily without good cause attributable to the employing unit and, thereafter, until he has become reemployed and has had earnings equal to or in excess of his current weekly benefit amount in each of four calendar weeks which are either for services in employment, or have been or will be reported pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act by each employing unit for which such services are performed and which submits a statement certifying to that fact.

B. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to an individual who has left work voluntarily:

1. Because he is deemed physically unable to perform his work by a licensed and practicing physician, or has left work voluntarily upon the advice of a licensed and practicing physician that assistance is necessary for the purpose of caring for his spouse, child, or parent who is in poor physical health and such assistance will not allow him to perform the usual and customary duties of his employment, and he has notified the employing unit of the reasons for his absence;

2. To accept other bona fide work and, after such acceptance, the individual is either not unemployed in each of 2 weeks, or earns remuneration for such work equal to at least twice his current weekly benefit amount;

3. In lieu of accepting a transfer to other work offered to the individual by the employing unit under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or pursuant to an established employer plan, program, or policy, if the acceptance of such other work by the individual would require the separation from that work of another individual currently performing it;

4. Solely because of the sexual harassment of the individual by another employee. Sexual harassment means (1) unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated physical contact or other conduct or communication which is made a term or condition of the employment or (2) the employee's submission to or rejection of such conduct or communication which is the basis for decisions affecting employment, or (3) when such conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment and the employer knows or should know of the existence of the harassment and fails to take timely and appropriate action;

5. Which he had accepted after separation from other work, and the work which he left voluntarily would be deemed unsuitable under the provisions of Section 603;

6. (a) Because the individual left work due to circumstances resulting from the individual being a victim of domestic violence as defined in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986; and provided, such individual has made reasonable efforts to preserve the employment.

For the purposes of this paragraph 6, the individual shall be treated as being a victim of domestic violence if the individual provides the following:

(i) written notice to the employing unit of the reason for the individual's voluntarily leaving; and

(ii) to the Department provides:

(A) an order of protection or other documentation of equitable relief issued by a court of competent jurisdiction; or

(B) a police report or criminal charges documenting the domestic violence; or

(C) medical documentation of the domestic violence; or

(D) evidence of domestic violence from a counselor, social worker, health worker or domestic violence shelter worker.

(b) If the individual does not meet the provisions of subparagraph (a), the individual shall be held to have voluntarily terminated employment for the purpose of determining the individual's eligibility for benefits pursuant to subsection A.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, evidence of domestic violence experienced by an individual, including the individual's statement and corroborating evidence, shall not be disclosed by the Department unless consent for disclosure is given by the individual.

C. With respect to any week beginning on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, subsection A does not apply to an individual whose unemployment is due to a stoppage of work because of a labor dispute at the factory, establishment, or other premises at which he or she is or was last employed.

(Source: P.A. 93-634, eff. 1-1-04.)

(820 ILCS 405/603) (from Ch. 48, par. 433)

Sec. 603. Refusal of work.

A. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits if he has failed, without good cause, either to apply for available, suitable work when so directed by the employment office or the Director, or to accept suitable work when offered him by the employment office or an employing unit, or to return to his customary self-employment (if any) when so directed by the employment office or the Director. Such ineligibility shall continue for the week in which such failure occurred and, thereafter, until he has become reemployed and has had earnings equal to or in excess of his current weekly benefit amount in each of four calendar weeks which are either for services in employment, or have been or will be reported pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act by each employing unit for which such services are performed and which submits a statement certifying to that fact.

In determining whether or not any work is suitable for an individual, consideration shall be given to the degree of risk involved to his health, safety, and morals, his physical fitness and prior training, his experience and prior earnings, his length of unemployment and prospects for securing local work in his customary occupation, and the distance of the available work from his residence.

B. With respect to any week beginning on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, subsection A does not apply to an individual whose unemployment is due to a stoppage of work because of a labor dispute at the factory, establishment, or other premises at which he or she is or was last employed.

C. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, no work shall be deemed suitable and benefits shall not be denied under this Act to any otherwise eligible individual for refusing to accept new work under any of the following conditions:

If the position offered is vacant due directly to a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute; if the wages, hours, or other conditions of the work offered are substantially less favorable to the individual than those prevailing for similar work in the locality; if, as a condition of being employed, the individual would be required to join a company union or to resign from or refrain from joining any bona fide labor organization; if the position offered is a transfer to other work offered to the individual by the employing unit under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or pursuant to an established employer plan, program, or policy, when the acceptance of such other work by the individual would require the separation from that work of another individual currently performing it.

(Source: P.A. 82-22.)

(820 ILCS 405/604) (from Ch. 48, par. 434)

Sec. 604. Labor dispute. This Section applies only with respect to weeks beginning before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.

An individual shall be ineligible for benefits for any week with respect to which it is found that his total or partial unemployment is due to a stoppage of work which exists because of a labor dispute at the factory, establishment, or other premises at which he is or was last employed. The term "labor dispute" does not include an individual's refusal to work because of his employer's failure to pay accrued earned wages within 10 working days from the date due, or to pay any other uncontested accrued obligation arising out of his employment within 10 working days from the date due.

For the purpose of disqualification under this Section the term "labor dispute" does not include a lockout by an employer for any week during which (1) the employer refuses to meet under reasonable conditions with the recognized or certified collective bargaining representative of the locked out employees to discuss the issues giving rise to the lockout or (2) there is a final adjudication under the National Labor Relations Act that during the period of the lockout the employer has refused to bargain in good faith with the recognized or certified collective bargaining representative of the locked-out employees over issues giving rise to the lockout, or (3) the lockout violates the provisions of an existing collective bargaining agreement. An individual's total or partial unemployment resulting from any reduction in operations or reduction of force or layoff of employees by an employer made in the course of or in anticipation of collective bargaining negotiations between a labor organization and such employer, is not due to a stoppage of work which exists because of a labor dispute until the date of actual commencement of a strike or lockout.

This Section shall not apply if it is shown that (A) the individual is not participating in or financing or directly interested in the labor dispute which caused the stoppage of work and (B) he does not belong to a grade or class of workers of which immediately before the commencement of the stoppage there were members employed at the premises at which the stoppage occurs, any of whom are participating in or financing or directly interested in the dispute; provided, that a lockout by the employer or an individual's failure to cross a picket line at such factory, establishment, or other premises shall not, in itself, be deemed to be participation by him in the labor dispute. If in any case, separate branches of work which are commonly conducted as separate businesses in separate premises are conducted in separate departments of the same premises, each such department shall, for the purpose of this Section, be deemed to be a separate factory, establishment, or other premises.

Whenever any claim involves the provisions of this Section, the claims adjudicator referred to in Section 702 shall make a separate determination as to the eligibility or ineligibility of the claimant with respect to the provisions of this Section. This separate determination may be appealed to the Director in the manner prescribed by Section 800.

(Source: P.A. 85-956.)