Rep. Kevin John Olickal

Filed: 3/21/2023

 

 


 

 


 
10300HB2547ham003LRB103 30799 RPS 59628 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2547

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2547 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Warehouse Worker Protection Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Aggregated work speed data" means a compilation of
8employee work speed data for multiple employees, in summary
9form, assembled in full or in another form such that the data
10cannot be identified with any individual.
11    "Controlled group of corporations" has the meaning given
12to that term under Section 1563 of the Internal Revenue Code,
1326 U.S.C. 1563, except that 50% shall be substituted for 80%
14where 80% is specified in that definition.
15    "Defined time period" means any unit of time measurement
16equal to or less than the duration of an employee's shift,

 

 

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1including hours, minutes, seconds, and any fraction thereof.
2    "Designated employee representative" means any employee
3representative, including, but not limited to, an authorized
4employee representative who has a collective bargaining
5relationship with the employer.
6    "Director" means the Director of Labor.
7    "Employee" means a nonadministrative employee who is not
8exempt from the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the
9federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, and who
10works at a warehouse distribution center and is subject to a
11quota as defined in this Section. "Employee" does not include
12a driver or courier to or from a warehouse distribution
13center.
14    "Employee work speed data" means information an employer
15collects, stores, analyzes, or interprets relating to an
16individual employee's performance of a quota, including, but
17not limited to, quantities of tasks performed, quantities of
18items or materials handled or produced, rates or speeds of
19tasks performed, measurements or metrics of employee
20performance in relation to a quota, and time categorized as
21performing tasks or not performing tasks. "Employee work speed
22data" does not include itemized wage statements or data that
23does not relate to the performance of a quota, except for any
24content of those records that includes employee work speed
25data.
26    "Employer" means a person who directly or indirectly, or

 

 

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1through an agent or any other person, including through the
2services of a third-party employer, temporary services or
3staffing agency, independent contractor, or any similar
4entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or
5working conditions of 100 or more employees at a single
6warehouse distribution center in the State or 1,000 or more
7employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the
8State. For the purposes of this definition, all employees of a
9controlled group of corporations shall be counted in
10determining the number of employees employed at a single
11warehouse distribution center or at one or more warehouse
12distribution centers in the State.
13    "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership,
14limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited
15liability company, business trust, estate, trust, association,
16joint venture, agency, instrumentality, or any other legal or
17commercial entity, whether domestic or foreign.
18    "Quota" means a work performance standard under which:
19        (1) an employee is assigned or required to perform at
20    a specified productivity speed or a quantified number of
21    tasks or to handle or produce a quantified amount of
22    material within a defined time period and under which the
23    employee may suffer an adverse employment action if the
24    employee fails to complete or meet the performance
25    standard; or
26        (2) categorizes and measures an employee's actions

 

 

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1    between time performing tasks and not performing tasks,
2    and the employee's failure to complete or meet a task
3    performance standard may lead to an adverse employment
4    action.
5    "Warehouse distribution center" means an establishment as
6defined by any of the following North American Industry
7Classification System (NAICS) codes, however such
8establishment is denominated:
9        (1) 493 for Warehousing and Storage, but does not
10    include 493130 for Farm Product Warehousing and Storage;
11        (2) 423 for Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods;
12        (3) 424 for Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods,
13    but does not include 424510 for Grain and Field Bean
14    Merchant Wholesalers, 424520 for Livestock Merchant
15    Wholesalers, and 424590 for Other Farm Product Raw
16    Material Wholesalers;
17        (4) 454110 for Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order
18    Houses; or
19        (5) 492110 for Couriers and Express Delivery Services.
 
20    Section 10. Disclosure of quotas. Each employer shall
21provide to each employee, upon hire or within 30 days after the
22effective date of this Act, whichever is later, a written
23description of each quota to which the employee is subject,
24including the quantified number of tasks to be performed or
25materials to be produced or handled within the defined time

 

 

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1period, and any potential adverse employment action that could
2result from failure to meet the quota. Each time the quota
3changes thereafter, the employer shall provide an updated
4written description of each quota to which the employee is
5subject within 2 business days of the quota change. If an
6employer takes an adverse employment action against an
7employee based on a quota, the employee has a right to request,
8and the employer shall provide, a written explanation
9regarding the manner in which the employee failed to perform,
10including the applicable quota and comparison of the
11employee's work performance in relation to that quota. If an
12employee requests a written description of the quotas to which
13the employee was subject and a copy of the employee's own
14personal work speed data pursuant to this Section, the
15employer shall comply with this request as soon as
16practicable, but no later than 3 calendar days after the date
17of the request.
 
18    Section 15. Protection from quotas. An employee shall not
19be required to meet a quota that prevents compliance with meal
20or rest periods or use of bathroom facilities, including
21reasonable travel time to and from bathroom facilities. An
22employer shall not take adverse employment action against an
23employee for failure to meet a quota that does not allow a
24worker to comply with meal and rest periods or for failure to
25meet a quota that has not been disclosed to the employee

 

 

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1pursuant to Section 10.
 
2    Section 20. Time on task. Consistent with existing law,
3paid and unpaid breaks shall not be considered productive time
4for the purpose of any quota or monitoring system unless the
5employee is required to remain on call.
 
6    Section 25. Recordkeeping. Each employer shall establish,
7maintain, and preserve for 3 years contemporaneous, true, and
8accurate records to ensure compliance with employee and
9Director requests for data. Nothing in this Section shall
10require an employer to keep such records if such employer does
11not use quotas or monitor work speed data as a performance
12standard that leads to an adverse employment action. An
13employer is not obligated to produce data that does not
14constitute employee work speed data.
 
15    Section 30. Employee's right to request records.
16    (a) A current employee has the right to request a written
17description of each quota to which the employee is subject. If
18a current or former employee believes that the current or
19former employee has received an adverse employment action as
20the result of failing to meet a quota, or that meeting a quota
21caused a violation of the employee's right to a meal or rest
22period or use of bathroom facilities, the current or former
23employee has the right to request, and the employer shall

 

 

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1provide, a written description of each quota to which the
2employee is subject, a copy of the most recent 90 days of the
3employee's own personal work speed data, and a copy of the
4aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same
5establishment for the same time period.
6    (b) Requested records under this Section shall be provided
7at no cost to the current or former employee.
8    (c) Nothing in this Section shall require an employer to
9use quotas or monitor work speed data. An employer that does
10not monitor this data has no obligation to provide it.
11    (d) The rights afforded under this Section are independent
12of any other right afforded to an employee or former employee
13under any State or federal law, including, but not limited to,
14the Personnel Records Review Act, to access documents
15maintained by an employer.
 
16    Section 35. Unlawful retaliation. For purposes of this
17Act, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful
18retaliation if an employer takes any adverse employment action
19against an employee within 90 days of the employee doing
20either of the following:
21        (1) Initiating the employee's first request in a
22    calendar year for information about a quota or personal
23    work speed data pursuant to Section 30 of this Act.
24        (2) Making a complaint related to a quota alleging any
25    violation of Sections 10, 15, or 20 of this Act,

 

 

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1    inclusive, to the Director, the Department, or the
2    employer.
 
3    Section 40. Notice to employees. Every employer covered by
4this Act shall post and keep posted, in conspicuous places on
5the premises of the employer where notices to employees are
6customarily posted, a notice, to be prepared or approved by
7the Director of Labor, regarding employees' rights under this
8Act, including what constitutes a permissible quota and
9employees' right to request quota and work speed data
10information, and making a complaint to various State
11authorities regarding a violation of an employee's quota
12rights under this Act.
 
13    Section 45. Enforcement. The Department of Labor shall
14adopt rules to implement and enforce this Act. The Director
15shall be authorized to enforce this Act and to assess damages
16payable to the employee and civil penalties.
 
17    Section 50. Workplace inspections. If a particular work
18site or employer that uses quotas as a performance standard to
19determine adverse employment actions and is subject to this
20Act is found to have an annual employee injury rate of at least
211.5 times as high as the warehousing industry's average annual
22injury rate as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics'
23most recent fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries and

 

 

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1illnesses data, the Director shall determine whether an
2investigation of violations pursuant to this Act, if relevant
3to the Director's authority, is appropriate.
 
4    Section 55. Private right of action. A current or former
5employee or his or her designated employee representative may
6bring an action for injunctive relief to obtain compliance
7with Sections 10, 15, 20, and 30 and may, upon prevailing in
8the action, recover costs and reasonable attorney's fees in
9such action. In any action involving a quota that prevented
10the compliance with applicable regulations on workplace safety
11and health or meal or rest break requirements, the injunctive
12relief shall be limited to suspension of the quota and any
13adverse action that resulted from its enforcement by the
14employer.
 
15    Section 60. Attorney General; powers. The Attorney
16General, pursuant to the authority under Section 6.3 of the
17Attorney General Act, may initiate or intervene in a civil
18action in the name of the People of the State in any circuit
19court to obtain all appropriate relief for violations
20established under this Act.
 
21    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
22severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
 

 

 

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1    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
21, 2024.".