HB4036 EngrossedLRB099 09474 JLS 29682 b

1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Victims' Economic Security and Safety Act is
5amended by changing Sections 10 and 20 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 180/10)
7    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act, except as otherwise
8expressly provided:
9        (1) "Commerce" includes trade, traffic, commerce,
10    transportation, or communication; and "industry or
11    activity affecting commerce" means any activity, business,
12    or industry in commerce or in which a labor dispute would
13    hinder or obstruct commerce or the free flow of commerce,
14    and includes "commerce" and any "industry affecting
15    commerce".
16        (2) "Course of conduct" means a course of repeatedly
17    maintaining a visual or physical proximity to a person or
18    conveying oral or written threats, including threats
19    conveyed through electronic communications, or threats
20    implied by conduct.
21        (3) "Department" means the Department of Labor.
22        (4) "Director" means the Director of Labor.
23        (5) "Domestic or sexual violence" means domestic

 

 

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1    violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
2        (6) "Domestic violence" means abuse, as defined in
3    Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986,
4    by a family or household member, as defined in Section 103
5    of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986.
6        (7) "Electronic communications" includes
7    communications via telephone, mobile phone, computer,
8    e-mail, video recorder, fax machine, telex, or pager, or
9    any other electronic communication, as defined in Section
10    12-7.5 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
11        (8) "Employ" includes to suffer or permit to work.
12        (9) Employee.
13            (A) In general. "Employee" means any person
14        employed by an employer.
15            (B) Basis. "Employee" includes a person employed
16        as described in subparagraph (A) on a full or part-time
17        basis, or as a participant in a work assignment as a
18        condition of receipt of federal or State income-based
19        public assistance.
20        (10) "Employer" means any of the following: (A) the
21    State or any agency of the State; (B) any unit of local
22    government or school district; or (C) any person that
23    employs at least one employee 15 employees.
24        (11) "Employment benefits" means all benefits provided
25    or made available to employees by an employer, including
26    group life insurance, health insurance, disability

 

 

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1    insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational benefits,
2    pensions, and profit-sharing, regardless of whether such
3    benefits are provided by a practice or written policy of an
4    employer or through an "employee benefit plan". "Employee
5    benefit plan" or "plan" means an employee welfare benefit
6    plan or an employee pension benefit plan or a plan which is
7    both an employee welfare benefit plan and an employee
8    pension benefit plan.
9        (12) "Family or household member", for employees with a
10    family or household member who is a victim of domestic or
11    sexual violence, means a spouse, parent, son, daughter,
12    other person related by blood or by present or prior
13    marriage, other person who shares a relationship through a
14    son or daughter, and persons jointly residing in the same
15    household.
16        (13) "Parent" means the biological parent of an
17    employee or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an
18    employee when the employee was a son or daughter. "Son or
19    daughter" means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a
20    stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in
21    loco parentis, who is under 18 years of age, or is 18 years
22    of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a
23    mental or physical disability.
24        (14) "Perpetrator" means an individual who commits or
25    is alleged to have committed any act or threat of domestic
26    or sexual violence.

 

 

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1        (15) "Person" means an individual, partnership,
2    association, corporation, business trust, legal
3    representative, or any organized group of persons.
4        (16) "Public agency" means the Government of the State
5    or political subdivision thereof; any agency of the State,
6    or of a political subdivision of the State; or any
7    governmental agency.
8        (17) "Public assistance" includes cash, food stamps,
9    medical assistance, housing assistance, and other benefits
10    provided on the basis of income by a public agency or
11    public employer.
12        (18) "Reduced work schedule" means a work schedule that
13    reduces the usual number of hours per workweek, or hours
14    per workday, of an employee.
15        (19) "Repeatedly" means on 2 or more occasions.
16        (20) "Sexual assault" means any conduct proscribed by
17    the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 in
18    Sections 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60,
19    12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16.
20        (21) "Stalking" means any conduct proscribed by the
21    Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 in
22    Sections 12-7.3, 12-7.4, and 12-7.5.
23        (22) "Victim" or "survivor" means an individual who has
24    been subjected to domestic or sexual violence.
25        (23) "Victim services organization" means a nonprofit,
26    nongovernmental organization that provides assistance to

 

 

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1    victims of domestic or sexual violence or to advocates for
2    such victims, including a rape crisis center, an
3    organization carrying out a domestic violence program, an
4    organization operating a shelter or providing counseling
5    services, or a legal services organization or other
6    organization providing assistance through the legal
7    process.
8(Source: P.A. 96-635, eff. 8-24-09; 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11;
997-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)
 
10    (820 ILCS 180/20)
11    Sec. 20. Entitlement to leave due to domestic or sexual
12violence.
13    (a) Leave requirement.
14        (1) Basis. An employee who is a victim of domestic or
15    sexual violence or has a family or household member who is
16    a victim of domestic or sexual violence whose interests are
17    not adverse to the employee as it relates to the domestic
18    or sexual violence may take unpaid leave from work to
19    address domestic or sexual violence by:
20            (A) seeking medical attention for, or recovering
21        from, physical or psychological injuries caused by
22        domestic or sexual violence to the employee or the
23        employee's family or household member;
24            (B) obtaining services from a victim services
25        organization for the employee or the employee's family

 

 

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1        or household member;
2            (C) obtaining psychological or other counseling
3        for the employee or the employee's family or household
4        member;
5            (D) participating in safety planning, temporarily
6        or permanently relocating, or taking other actions to
7        increase the safety of the employee or the employee's
8        family or household member from future domestic or
9        sexual violence or ensure economic security; or
10            (E) seeking legal assistance or remedies to ensure
11        the health and safety of the employee or the employee's
12        family or household member, including preparing for or
13        participating in any civil or criminal legal
14        proceeding related to or derived from domestic or
15        sexual violence.
16        (2) Period. Subject to subsection (c), an employee
17    working for an employer that employs at least 50 employees
18    shall be entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of leave
19    during any 12-month period. Subject to subsection (c), an
20    employee working for an employer that employs at least 15
21    but not more than 49 employees shall be entitled to a total
22    of 8 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period. The
23    total number of workweeks to which an employee is entitled
24    shall not decrease during the relevant 12-month period.
25    This Act does not create a right for an employee to take
26    unpaid leave that exceeds the unpaid leave time allowed

 

 

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1    under, or is in addition to the unpaid leave time permitted
2    by, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29
3    U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).
4        (3) Schedule. Leave described in paragraph (1) may be
5    taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule.
6    (b) Notice. The employee shall provide the employer with at
7least 48 hours' advance notice of the employee's intention to
8take the leave, unless providing such notice is not
9practicable. When an unscheduled absence occurs, the employer
10may not take any action against the employee if the employee,
11upon request of the employer and within a reasonable period
12after the absence, provides certification under subsection
13(c).
14    (c) Certification.
15        (1) In general. The employer may require the employee
16    to provide certification to the employer that:
17            (A) the employee or the employee's family or
18        household member is a victim of domestic or sexual
19        violence; and
20            (B) the leave is for one of the purposes enumerated
21        in paragraph (a)(1).
22        The employee shall provide such certification to the
23    employer within a reasonable period after the employer
24    requests certification.
25        (2) Contents. An employee may satisfy the
26    certification requirement of paragraph (1) by providing to

 

 

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1    the employer a sworn statement of the employee, and upon
2    obtaining such documents the employee shall provide:
3            (A) documentation from an employee, agent, or
4        volunteer of a victim services organization, an
5        attorney, a member of the clergy, or a medical or other
6        professional from whom the employee or the employee's
7        family or household member has sought assistance in
8        addressing domestic or sexual violence and the effects
9        of the violence;
10            (B) a police or court record; or
11            (C) other corroborating evidence.
12    (d) Confidentiality. All information provided to the
13employer pursuant to subsection (b) or (c), including a
14statement of the employee or any other documentation, record,
15or corroborating evidence, and the fact that the employee has
16requested or obtained leave pursuant to this Section, shall be
17retained in the strictest confidence by the employer, except to
18the extent that disclosure is:
19        (1) requested or consented to in writing by the
20    employee; or
21        (2) otherwise required by applicable federal or State
22    law.
23    (e) Employment and benefits.
24        (1) Restoration to position.
25            (A) In general. Any employee who takes leave under
26        this Section for the intended purpose of the leave

 

 

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1        shall be entitled, on return from such leave:
2                (i) to be restored by the employer to the
3            position of employment held by the employee when
4            the leave commenced; or
5                (ii) to be restored to an equivalent position
6            with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and
7            other terms and conditions of employment.
8            (B) Loss of benefits. The taking of leave under
9        this Section shall not result in the loss of any
10        employment benefit accrued prior to the date on which
11        the leave commenced.
12            (C) Limitations. Nothing in this subsection shall
13        be construed to entitle any restored employee to:
14                (i) the accrual of any seniority or employment
15            benefits during any period of leave; or
16                (ii) any right, benefit, or position of
17            employment other than any right, benefit, or
18            position to which the employee would have been
19            entitled had the employee not taken the leave.
20            (D) Construction. Nothing in this paragraph shall
21        be construed to prohibit an employer from requiring an
22        employee on leave under this Section to report
23        periodically to the employer on the status and
24        intention of the employee to return to work.
25        (2) Maintenance of health benefits.
26            (A) Coverage. Except as provided in subparagraph

 

 

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1        (B), during any period that an employee takes leave
2        under this Section, the employer shall maintain
3        coverage for the employee and any family or household
4        member under any group health plan for the duration of
5        such leave at the level and under the conditions
6        coverage would have been provided if the employee had
7        continued in employment continuously for the duration
8        of such leave.
9            (B) Failure to return from leave. The employer may
10        recover the premium that the employer paid for
11        maintaining coverage for the employee and the
12        employee's family or household member under such group
13        health plan during any period of leave under this
14        Section if:
15                (i) the employee fails to return from leave
16            under this Section after the period of leave to
17            which the employee is entitled has expired; and
18                (ii) the employee fails to return to work for a
19            reason other than:
20                    (I) the continuation, recurrence, or onset
21                of domestic or sexual violence that entitles
22                the employee to leave pursuant to this Section;
23                or
24                    (II) other circumstances beyond the
25                control of the employee.
26            (C) Certification.

 

 

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1                (i) Issuance. An employer may require an
2            employee who claims that the employee is unable to
3            return to work because of a reason described in
4            subclause (I) or (II) of subparagraph (B)(ii) to
5            provide, within a reasonable period after making
6            the claim, certification to the employer that the
7            employee is unable to return to work because of
8            that reason.
9                (ii) Contents. An employee may satisfy the
10            certification requirement of clause (i) by
11            providing to the employer:
12                    (I) a sworn statement of the employee;
13                    (II) documentation from an employee,
14                agent, or volunteer of a victim services
15                organization, an attorney, a member of the
16                clergy, or a medical or other professional from
17                whom the employee has sought assistance in
18                addressing domestic or sexual violence and the
19                effects of that violence;
20                    (III) a police or court record; or
21                    (IV) other corroborating evidence.
22            (D) Confidentiality. All information provided to
23        the employer pursuant to subparagraph (C), including a
24        statement of the employee or any other documentation,
25        record, or corroborating evidence, and the fact that
26        the employee is not returning to work because of a

 

 

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1        reason described in subclause (I) or (II) of
2        subparagraph (B)(ii) shall be retained in the
3        strictest confidence by the employer, except to the
4        extent that disclosure is:
5                (i) requested or consented to in writing by the
6            employee; or
7                (ii) otherwise required by applicable federal
8            or State law.
9    (f) Prohibited acts.
10        (1) Interference with rights.
11            (A) Exercise of rights. It shall be unlawful for
12        any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the
13        exercise of or the attempt to exercise any right
14        provided under this Section.
15            (B) Employer discrimination. It shall be unlawful
16        for any employer to discharge or harass any individual,
17        or otherwise discriminate against any individual with
18        respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or
19        privileges of employment of the individual (including
20        retaliation in any form or manner) because the
21        individual:
22                (i) exercised any right provided under this
23            Section; or
24                (ii) opposed any practice made unlawful by
25            this Section.
26            (C) Public agency sanctions. It shall be unlawful

 

 

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1        for any public agency to deny, reduce, or terminate the
2        benefits of, otherwise sanction, or harass any
3        individual, or otherwise discriminate against any
4        individual with respect to the amount, terms, or
5        conditions of public assistance of the individual
6        (including retaliation in any form or manner) because
7        the individual:
8                (i) exercised any right provided under this
9            Section; or
10                (ii) opposed any practice made unlawful by
11            this Section.
12        (2) Interference with proceedings or inquiries. It
13    shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or in any
14    other manner discriminate (as described in subparagraph
15    (B) or (C) of paragraph (1)) against any individual because
16    such individual:
17            (A) has filed any charge, or has instituted or
18        caused to be instituted any proceeding, under or
19        related to this Section;
20            (B) has given, or is about to give, any information
21        in connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating
22        to any right provided under this Section; or
23            (C) has testified, or is about to testify, in any
24        inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided
25        under this Section.
26(Source: P.A. 96-635, eff. 8-24-09.)