HB5294eng 103RD 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 Family
5Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Child" means an employee's son or daughter who is a
8biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal
9ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis.
10    "Department" means the Department of Labor.
11    "Employee" has the meaning ascribed to that term in
12Section 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and
13also includes any employee of the State of Illinois.
14    "Employer" has the meaning ascribed to that term in
15Section 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and
16also includes the State of Illinois.
17    "Neonatal intensive care unit" or "NICU" means a special
18care unit that provides medical treatment to premature and
19critically ill infants.
 
20    Section 10. Neonatal intensive care family leave.
21    (a) An employee of an employer with 16 or more employees
22and no more than 50 employees shall be entitled to use a

 

 

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1maximum of 10 days of unpaid neonatal intensive care leave
2while any child of the employee is a patient in a neonatal
3intensive care unit. An employee of an employer with 51 or more
4employees shall be entitled to use 20 days of unpaid neonatal
5intensive care leave while a child of the employee is a patient
6in a neonatal intensive care unit. Leave may be taken
7continually or intermittently at the employee's selection. An
8employer may require that leave be taken in minimum increments
9of not less than 2 hours in duration.
10    (b) An employee who is entitled to leave under the Family
11and Medical Leave Act and takes leave under this Act shall be
12granted, upon completion of and in addition to any leave taken
13under the Family and Medical Leave Act, any leave available
14under this Act. An employee shall be entitled to leave for the
15maximum number of days specified in subsection (a) or the
16length of time the employee's child was a patient in a neonatal
17intensive care unit, whichever is less. An employer shall not
18require that an employee use any paid leave available to the
19employee for any reason instead of leave the employee is
20entitled to under this Act. An employee who is entitled to take
21paid or unpaid leave, including family, medical, sick, annual,
22personal, or similar leave, from employment, under federal,
23State, or local law, a collective bargaining agreement, or an
24employment benefits program or plan, may elect to substitute
25any period of leave for an equivalent period of leave provided
26under this Act.

 

 

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1    (c) Upon the conclusion of leave taken under this Act, an
2employee shall be reinstated to his or her former position or a
3substantially equivalent one with no loss of benefits held or
4accrued prior to taking leave. During the period of leave, any
5health insurance benefits shall be maintained by an employer
6as if an employee had not taken leave. An employer shall not
7require an employee who uses unpaid neonatal intensive care
8leave to provide a replacement worker.
9    (d) If an employee takes unpaid neonatal intensive care
10leave under this Section, an employer may require reasonable
11verification of the employee's child's length of stay in a
12neonatal intensive care unit. As part of a reasonable
13verification, an employer shall not request any confidential
14information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and
15Accountability Act of 1996 or other law.
 
16    Section 15. Unlawful employer practices.
17    (a) It is unlawful for any employer to take any adverse
18action against an employee because the employee:
19        (1) exercises rights or attempts to exercise rights
20    under this Act;
21        (2) opposes practices which such employee believes to
22    be in violation of this Act; or
23        (3) supports the exercise of rights of another under
24    this Act.
25    (b) Exercising rights under this Act includes, but is not

 

 

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1limited to, filing an action or instituting or causing to be
2instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act,
3providing or agreeing to provide any information in connection
4with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided
5under this Act, or testifying to or agreeing to testify in any
6inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under
7this Act.
 
8    Section 20. Department responsibilities.
9    (a) The Department shall administer and enforce this Act
10and adopt rules under the Illinois Administrative Procedure
11Act for the purpose of this Act. The Department shall have the
12powers and the parties shall have the rights provided in the
13Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for contested cases. The
14Department shall have the power to conduct investigations in
15connection with the administration and enforcement of this
16Act, including the power to conduct depositions and discovery
17and to issue subpoenas. If the Department finds cause to
18believe that this Act has been violated, the Department shall
19notify the parties in writing and the matter shall be referred
20to an administrative law judge to schedule a formal hearing in
21accordance with hearing procedures established by rule.
22    (b) The Department is authorized to impose civil penalties
23prescribed in Section 25 in administrative proceedings that
24comply with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and to
25supervise the payment of the unpaid wages and damages owing to

 

 

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1the employee or employees under this Act. The Department may
2bring any legal action necessary to recover the amount of
3unpaid wages, damages, and penalties, and the employer shall
4be required to pay the costs. Any sums recovered by the
5Department on behalf of an employee under this Act shall be
6paid to the employee or employees affected. However, 20% of
7any penalty collected from the employer for a violation of
8this Act shall be deposited into the Neonatal Intensive Care
9Leave Fund, a special fund created in the State treasury, and
10used for the enforcement of this Act.
11    (c) The Attorney General may bring an action to enforce
12the collection of any civil penalty imposed under this Act.
 
13    Section 25. Enforcement.
14    (a) An employee who believes his or her rights under this
15Act or any rule adopted under this Act have been violated may,
16within 60 days after the date of the last event constituting
17the alleged violation for which the action is brought, file a
18complaint with the Department or file a civil action.
19    (b) An employer that violates any provision of this Act or
20any rule adopted under this Act is subject to a civil penalty
21for each employee affected not to exceed $5,000. Any
22continuous period of time that any child of an employee is a
23patient in a neonatal intensive care unit, during which time
24the employer is found to have violated the employee's rights
25under this Act, shall constitute a single violation.

 

 

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1    (c) A civil action may be brought in the circuit court by
2an employee to enforce this Act. The circuit court may enjoin
3any act or practice that violates or may violate this Act and
4may order any other equitable relief that is necessary and
5appropriate to redress the violation or to enforce the Act.
 
6    Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
7Section 5.1015 as follows:
 
8    (30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new)
9    Sec. 5.1015. The Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Fund.