HB2771eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
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1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Healthy Workplace Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings and purpose.
7    (a) The General Assembly finds:
8        (1) Nearly every worker in the State is likely to need
9    time off to attend to his or her own illness or that of a
10    family member. More than 40% of all private sector workers
11    in Illinois (over 2,500,000 people) have no right to a paid
12    sick day. Over three-fourths of the lowest-wage workers do
13    not receive paid sick days and cannot forfeit a day's work,
14    so they often come into work sick.
15        (2) Preventive and routine medical care helps avoid
16    illness and injury by detecting illnesses early on and
17    shortening the duration of illnesses. Providing employees
18    with time off to attend to their own health care needs
19    ensures that they will be healthier and more efficient
20    employees. It will also reduce the spread of disease within
21    workplaces and to the public, such as customers, when
22    employees go to work sick, a practice known as
23    "presenteeism". Routine medical care results in savings by

 

 

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1    detecting and treating illness and injury early and
2    decreasing the need for emergency care. These savings
3    benefit public and private payers of health insurance.
4        (3) When the school of a worker's child is closed
5    because of extreme weather, it is often at the last minute
6    and workers cannot find someone to babysit so they are
7    forced to stay at home to take care of their children.
8        (4) Nearly one-quarter of American women report
9    domestic violence and nearly one in 5 women report
10    experiencing rape at some time during their lives. Many
11    workers, men and women, need time off to care for their
12    health after these incidents or to take legal action.
13    Without paid time off, victims are in danger of losing
14    their jobs.
15        (5) Employers that provide paid sick days see better
16    productivity, reduced flu contagion, and lower turnover,
17    which saves them the costs of replacing and training
18    workers.
19    (b) This Act is enacted to establish the Healthy Workplace
20Act to provide at least a minimum time-off standard of paid
21sick days for all workers.
 
22    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
23    "Child" means a son or daughter who is a biological,
24adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child
25of a person standing in loco parentis.

 

 

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1    "Construction industry" means any constructing, altering,
2reconstructing, repairing, rehabilitating, refinishing,
3refurbishing, remodeling, remediating, renovating, custom
4fabricating, maintenance, landscaping, improving, wrecking,
5painting, decorating, demolishing, or adding to or subtracting
6from any building, structure, highway, roadway, street,
7bridge, alley, sewer, ditch, sewage disposal plant,
8waterworks, parking facility, railroad, excavation or other
9structure, project, development, real property, or
10improvement, or to do any part thereof, whether or not the
11performance of the work herein described involves the addition
12to or fabrication into, any structure, project, development,
13real property, or improvement herein described of any material
14or article of merchandise. "Construction industry" also
15includes moving construction related materials on the job site
16or to or from the job site, snow plowing, snow removal, and
17refuse collection.
18    "Department" means the Illinois Department of Labor.
19    "Employee" means any person who performs services for an
20employer for wage, remuneration, or other compensation. This
21includes persons working any number of hours, including a
22full-time or part-time status.
23    "Employer" means one who employs at least one employee,
24including, but not limited to, this State and its political
25subdivisions, a temporary services agency, an employment
26agency, or an employee organization. "Employer" does not

 

 

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1include school districts organized under the School Code, park
2districts organized under the Park District Code, or any City
3of Chicago Sister Agency under the Chicago Minimum Wage and
4Paid Sick Leave Ordinance as of the effective date of this Act.
5    "Family member" means a child, spouse, parent, the child or
6parent of an employee's spouse, a sibling, grandparent,
7grandchild, or any other individual related by blood or whose
8close association with the employee is the equivalent of a
9family relationship.
10    "Healthcare provider" means a person:
11        (1) who is: (i) licensed to practice medicine in all of
12    its branches in Illinois and possesses the degree of doctor
13    of medicine; (ii) licensed to practice medicine in all of
14    its branches in Illinois and possesses the degree of doctor
15    of osteopathy or osteopathic medicine; (iii) licensed to
16    practice medicine in all of its branches or as an
17    osteopathic physician in another state or jurisdiction; or
18    (iv) any other person determined by final rule under the
19    Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993; and
20        (2) who is not employed by an employer to whom the
21    provider issues certifications under this Act.
22    "Paid sick day" means a portion of or a regular workday
23when an employee is unable to report to work because of a
24reason described in subsection (b) of Section 15.
25    "Parent" means a biological or adoptive parent, a foster or
26stepparent, a parent of a legal ward, or a person who stands in

 

 

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1loco parentis to an employee or an employee's spouse.
2    "Spouse" means a party to a marriage or a party to a civil
3union as defined by Illinois statute.
 
4    Section 15. Provision of paid sick days.
5    (a) All employees who work in Illinois who are absent from
6work for a reason set forth in subsection (b) shall be entitled
7to earn and use a minimum of 5 paid sick days during a 12-month
8period or a pro rata number of paid sick days or hours under
9the provisions of subsection (c). The 12-month period for an
10employee shall be calculated from the date of hire or
11subsequent anniversary date.
12    (b) Paid sick days shall be provided to an employee by an
13employer to:
14        (1) care for the employee's own physical or mental
15    illness, injury, or health condition, or seek medical
16    diagnosis or care;
17        (2) care for the employee's family member who is
18    suffering from a physical or mental illness, injury, or
19    health condition, or seek medical diagnosis or care; or
20        (3) attend a medical appointment for himself or herself
21    or a medical appointment of the employee's family member;
22        (4) care for a child whose school or place of care has
23    been closed by order of a public official due to a public
24    health emergency or to not go in to work because of the
25    closure of the employee's place of business by order of a

 

 

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1    public health official due to a public health emergency; or
2        (5) be off from work because he or she or the
3    employee's family member is the victim of domestic violence
4    as defined in Section 103(3) of the Illinois Domestic
5    Violence Act of 1986 or sexual violence as defined under
6    Article 11 and Sections 12-7.3, 12-7.4, and 12-7.5 of the
7    Illinois Criminal Code of 2012.
8    (c) Paid sick days shall accrue at the rate of one hour of
9paid sick time for every 40 hours worked up to a minimum of 40
10hours of paid sick time unless the employer selects a higher
11limit. Employees who are exempt from the overtime requirements
12of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1))
13shall be deemed to work 40 hours in each work week for purposes
14of paid sick day accrual unless their normal work week is less
15than 40 hours, in which case paid sick days accrue based on
16that normal work week. Employees shall determine how much paid
17sick days they need to use, provided that employers may set a
18reasonable minimum increment for the use of a paid sick day not
19to exceed 4 hours per day.
20    (d) Employees shall be paid their regular rate of pay for a
21paid sick day. However, an employee engaged in an occupation in
22which gratuities have customarily and usually constituted and
23have been recognized as part of the remuneration for hire
24purposes shall be paid by his or her employer at least the full
25Illinois minimum wage for a paid sick day taken. Paid sick days
26under this Act shall not be charged or otherwise credited to

 

 

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1employee vacation accounts.
2    (e) Paid sick days shall begin to accrue at the
3commencement of employment or on the effective date of this
4Act, whichever is later. An employee shall be entitled to begin
5using a sick day 180 days following commencement of his or her
6employment or 180 days following the effective date of this
7Act, whichever is later. Nothing in this Section shall be
8construed to discourage or prohibit an employer from allowing
9the use of paid sick days at an earlier date than this Section
10requires. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage
11employers from adopting or retaining paid sick day policies
12more generous than policies that comply with the requirements
13of this Act.
14    (f) An employer may require certification of the qualifying
15illness, injury, or health condition when paid sick days cover
16more than 3 consecutive workdays. Any reasonable documentation
17signed by a healthcare provider involved in following or
18treating the illness, injury, or health condition, and
19indicating the need for the amount of sick days taken, shall be
20deemed acceptable certification. Nothing in this Act shall be
21construed to require an employee to provide as certification
22any information from a healthcare provider that would be in
23violation of Section 1177 of the Social Security Act or the
24regulations promulgated pursuant to the federal Health
25Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. If an
26employer possesses health information about an employee or

 

 

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1employee's family member, such information shall be treated as
2confidential and not disclosed except with the permission of
3the affected employee. For time used pursuant to subdivision
4(b)(5), any one of the following is acceptable documentation,
5and only one of the following shall be required: a police
6report, court document, or signed statement from an attorney, a
7member of the clergy, or a victim services advocate. It is up
8to the employee to determine which documentation to submit.
9    The employer shall not delay the commencement of leave
10taken for purposes of subsection (b) of this Section nor delay
11pay for this period on the basis that the employer has not yet
12received the certification.
13    (g) Paid sick days shall be provided upon the oral request
14of an employee. If the necessity for paid sick days under this
15Act is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer
16with not less than 7 days' notice before the date the leave is
17to begin. If the necessity for leave is not foreseeable, the
18employee shall provide such notice as soon as is practicable
19after the employee is aware of the necessity of such leave. An
20employer may not require, as a condition of providing paid sick
21days under this Act, that the employee search for or find a
22replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee
23is on paid sick days leave.
24    (h) Paid sick days shall carry over annually to the extent
25not used by the employee, provided that nothing in this Act
26shall be construed to require an employer to allow use of more

 

 

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1than 5 paid sick days for an employee unless an employer agrees
2to do so.
3    (i) It shall be unlawful for an employer to interfere with,
4restrain, deny, change work days or hours scheduled to avoid
5paying sick days, or discipline an employee for the exercise
6of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under or in
7connection with this Act, including considering the use of paid
8sick days as a negative factor in an employment action that
9involves hiring, terminating, evaluating, promoting,
10disciplining, or counting the paid sick days under a no-fault
11attendance policy.
12    (j) During any period an employee takes leave under this
13Act, the employer shall maintain coverage for the employee and
14any family member under any group health plan for the duration
15of such leave at at least the level and conditions of coverage
16as would have been provided if the employee had not taken the
17leave.
18    (k) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as requiring
19financial or other reimbursement to an employee from an
20employer upon the employee's termination, resignation,
21retirement, or other separation from employment for accrued
22paid sick days that have not been used.
23    (l) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit
24an employer from taking disciplinary action, up to and
25including termination, against an employee who uses paid sick
26days provided pursuant to this Act for purposes other than

 

 

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1those described in this Section.
2    (m) If an employee is transferred to a separate division,
3entity, or location, but remains employed by the same employer,
4the employee is entitled to all paid sick days accrued at the
5prior division, entity, or location and is entitled to use all
6paid sick days as provided in this Section. Where there is a
7separation from employment and the employee is rehired within
812 months of separation by the same employer, previously
9accrued paid sick days that had not been used shall be
10reinstated. Such employee shall be entitled to use accrued paid
11sick days at the commencement of employment following a
12separation from employment of 12 months or less.
13    (n) Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to interfere
14with, impede, or in any way diminish the right of employees to
15bargain collectively with their employers through
16representatives of their own choosing in order to establish
17wages or other conditions of work in excess of the applicable
18minimum standards of the provisions of this Act. Nothing in
19this Section shall be deemed to affect the validity or change
20the terms of bona fide collective bargaining agreements in
21force on the effective date of this Act. After the effective
22date of this Act, requirements of this Section may be waived in
23a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, but only if the
24waiver is set forth explicitly in such agreement in clear and
25unambiguous terms. In no event shall this Section apply to any
26employee working in the construction industry who is covered by

 

 

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1a bona fide collective bargaining agreement.
 
2    Section 20. Related employer responsibilities.
3    (a) An employer subject to any provision of this Act shall
4make and preserve records documenting hours worked by employees
5and the amount of paid sick days taken by employees for a
6period of not less than 3 years and shall allow the Department
7access to such records, with appropriate notice and a mutually
8agreeable time, to monitor compliance with the requirements of
9this Section.
10    (b) An agreement by an employee to waive his or her right
11under this Act, except as allowed under subsection (n) of
12Section 15, is void as against public policy.
13    (c) Employers who have a paid time off policy that complies
14with at least the minimum requirements of this Act shall not be
15required to modify such a policy if such policy offers an
16employee the option, at the employee's discretion, to take paid
17sick days that are at least equivalent to the paid sick days
18described in this Act.
19    (d) Employers shall post and keep posted in a conspicuous
20place on the premises of the employer where notices to
21employees are customarily posted, or include in an employee
22manual or policy, a notice, to be prepared by the Department,
23summarizing the requirements of this Act and information
24pertaining to the filing of a charge. If an employer's
25workforce is comprised of a significant portion of workers who

 

 

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1are not literate in English, the employer is responsible for
2providing the notice in a language in which the employees are
3literate. An employer who willfully violates the notice and
4posting requirements of this Section shall be subject to a
5civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $100 for each separate
6offense.
 
7    Section 25. Unlawful employer practices. It is unlawful for
8any employer to take any adverse action against an employee
9because the employee (1) exercises rights or attempts to
10exercise rights under this Act, (2) opposes practices which
11such employee believes to be in violation of this Act, or (3)
12supports the exercise of rights of another under this Act.
13    Exercising rights under this Act includes filing an action
14or instituting or causing to be instituted any proceeding under
15or related to this Act; providing or agreeing to provide any
16information in connection with any inquiry or proceeding
17relating to any right provided under this Act; or testifying to
18or agreeing to testify in any inquiry or proceeding relating to
19any right provided under this Act.
 
20    Section 30. Department responsibilities.
21    (a) The Department shall administer and enforce this Act
22and adopt rules under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act
23for the purpose of this Act. The Department shall have the
24powers and the parties shall have the rights provided in the

 

 

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1Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for contested cases. The
2Department shall have the power to conduct investigations in
3connection with the administration and enforcement of this Act,
4including the power to conduct depositions and discovery and to
5issue subpoenas. If the Department finds cause to believe that
6this Act has been violated, the Department shall notify the
7parties in writing and the matter shall be referred to an
8Administrative Law Judge to schedule a formal hearing in
9accordance with hearing procedures established by rule.
10    (b) The Department is authorized to impose civil penalties
11prescribed in Section 35 in administrative proceedings that
12comply with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and to
13supervise the payment of the unpaid wages and damages owing to
14the employee or employees under this Act. The Department may
15bring any legal action necessary to recover the amount of
16unpaid wages, damages, and penalties, and the employer shall be
17required to pay the costs. Any sums recovered by the Department
18on behalf of an employee under this Act shall be paid to the
19employee or employees affected. However, 20% of any penalty
20collected from the employer for a violation of this Act shall
21be deposited into the Healthy Workplace Fund, a special fund
22created in the State treasury that is dedicated to enforcing
23this Act.
24    (c) The Attorney General may bring an action to enforce the
25collection of any civil penalty imposed under this Act.
 

 

 

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1    Section 35. Enforcement.
2    (a) An employee who believes his or her rights under this
3Act or any rule adopted under this Act have been violated may,
4within 3 years after the date of the last event constituting
5the alleged violation for which the action is brought, file a
6complaint with the Department or file a civil action.
7    (b) Any employer that violates this Act is liable in a
8claim filed with the Department or in a civil action in circuit
9court to any affected individuals for actual and compensatory
10damages, with interest at the prevailing rate, punitive
11damages, and such equitable relief as may be appropriate, in
12addition to reasonable attorney's fees, reasonable expert
13witness fees, and other costs of the action to be paid by the
14defendant. A civil action may be brought without first filing
15an administrative complaint.
16    (c) Any employer that the Department or a court finds by a
17preponderance of the evidence to have knowingly, repeatedly, or
18with reckless disregard violated any provision of this Act or
19any rule adopted under this Act is subject to a civil money
20penalty not to exceed $2,500 for each separate offense.
 
21    Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
22Section 5.878 as follows:
 
23    (30 ILCS 105/5.878 new)
24    Sec. 5.878. The Healthy Workplace Fund.
 

 

 

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1    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
2severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4becoming law.