Sen. Ira I. Silverstein

Filed: 3/21/2014

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2943

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2943 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Workplace Bullying Prohibition Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that a
7safe work environment is beneficial for economic development in
8this State. The General Assembly further finds that bullying
9has been linked to other antisocial behavior such as
10absenteeism, drug and alcohol use, and sexual violence. The
11General Assembly finds that bullying reduces productivity,
12increases costs, and reduces competitiveness in the economic
13marketplace.
 
14    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
15    "Bullying" means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal

 

 

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1act or conduct, including communications made in writing or
2electronically, directed toward a person that has or can be
3reasonably predicted to have the effect or one or more of the
4following:
5        (1) placing the person in reasonable fear of harm to
6    the person or the person's property;
7        (2) causing a substantially detrimental effect on the
8    person's physical or mental health;
9        (3) substantially interfering with the person's
10    productivity; or
11        (4) substantially interfering with the person's
12    ability to participate in or benefit from the opportunities
13    offered by the employer.
14    "Department" means the Department of Labor.
15    "Director" means the Director of Labor.
16    "Employee" means an individual permitted to work by an
17employer.
18    "Employer" means any person or entity doing business in
19this State that employs 3 or more individuals; however,
20"employer" does not include any municipality as defined in
21Section 1 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
 
22    Section 15. Bullying prohibited.
23    (a) Bullying on the basis of actual or perceived race,
24color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital
25status, physical or mental disability, military status, sexual

 

 

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1orientation, gender-related identity or expression,
2unfavorable discharge from military service, association with
3a person or group with one or more of the aforementioned actual
4or perceived characteristics, or any other distinguishing
5characteristic is prohibited in all places of employment, and
6an employer shall prevent bullying in its place of employment.
7    (b) No person shall be subjected to bullying:
8        (1) during any period of employment activity;
9        (2) while working, on property of the employer, or at
10    employer-sponsored or employer-sanctioned events or
11    activities; or
12        (3) through the transmission of information from an
13    employment utilized computer, computer network, or other
14    similar electronic employer utilized equipment.
15    (c) Bullying that is prohibited by this Act may take
16various forms including, without limitation, one or more of the
17following: harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking,
18physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft,
19public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation
20for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. This list is
21meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive.
 
22    Section 20. Workplace bullying policy. An employer shall
23create and maintain a policy on workplace bullying. The policy
24must be filed electronically with the Department. An employer
25shall communicate the policy to its employees. The policy must

 

 

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1be reviewed and updated every 2 years and filed electronically
2with the Department.
 
3    Section 25. Interpretation. This Act shall not be
4interpreted to prevent a victim from seeking redress under any
5other available civil or criminal law. Nothing in this Act is
6intended to infringe upon any right to exercise free expression
7or the free exercise of religion or religiously based views
8protected under the First Amendment to the United States
9Constitution or under Section 3 or 4 of Article I of the
10Illinois Constitution.
 
11    Section 30. Violation. Any employer violating the
12provisions of this Act is guilty of a business offense and
13shall be fined not less than $1,000 and not more than $2,000
14for each violation. Each day of violation shall be considered a
15separate offense.".