Full Text of HB5294 103rd General Assembly
HB5294eng 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | HB5294 Engrossed | | LRB103 37634 SPS 67761 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning employment. | 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly: | 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Family | 5 | | Neonatal 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 | 8 | | biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal | 9 | | ward, 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 | 12 | | Section 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and | 13 | | also includes any employee of the State of Illinois. | 14 | | "Employer" has the meaning ascribed to that term in | 15 | | Section 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and | 16 | | also includes the State of Illinois. | 17 | | "Neonatal intensive care unit" or "NICU" means a special | 18 | | care unit that provides medical treatment to premature and | 19 | | critically ill infants. | 20 | | Section 10. Neonatal intensive care family leave. | 21 | | (a) An employee of an employer with 16 or more employees | 22 | | and no more than 50 employees shall be entitled to use a |
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| 1 | | maximum of 10 days of unpaid neonatal intensive care leave | 2 | | while any child of the employee is a patient in a neonatal | 3 | | intensive care unit. An employee of an employer with 51 or more | 4 | | employees shall be entitled to use 20 days of unpaid neonatal | 5 | | intensive care leave while a child of the employee is a patient | 6 | | in a neonatal intensive care unit. Leave may be taken | 7 | | continually or intermittently at the employee's selection. An | 8 | | employer may require that leave be taken in minimum increments | 9 | | of not less than 2 hours in duration. | 10 | | (b) An employee who is entitled to leave under the Family | 11 | | and Medical Leave Act and takes leave under this Act shall be | 12 | | granted, upon completion of and in addition to any leave taken | 13 | | under the Family and Medical Leave Act, any leave available | 14 | | under this Act. An employee shall be entitled to leave for the | 15 | | maximum number of days specified in subsection (a) or the | 16 | | length of time the employee's child was a patient in a neonatal | 17 | | intensive care unit, whichever is less. An employer shall not | 18 | | require that an employee use any paid leave available to the | 19 | | employee for any reason instead of leave the employee is | 20 | | entitled to under this Act. An employee who is entitled to take | 21 | | paid or unpaid leave, including family, medical, sick, annual, | 22 | | personal, or similar leave, from employment, under federal, | 23 | | State, or local law, a collective bargaining agreement, or an | 24 | | employment benefits program or plan, may elect to substitute | 25 | | any period of leave for an equivalent period of leave provided | 26 | | under this Act. |
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| 1 | | (c) Upon the conclusion of leave taken under this Act, an | 2 | | employee shall be reinstated to his or her former position or a | 3 | | substantially equivalent one with no loss of benefits held or | 4 | | accrued prior to taking leave. During the period of leave, any | 5 | | health insurance benefits shall be maintained by an employer | 6 | | as if an employee had not taken leave. An employer shall not | 7 | | require an employee who uses unpaid neonatal intensive care | 8 | | leave to provide a replacement worker. | 9 | | (d) If an employee takes unpaid neonatal intensive care | 10 | | leave under this Section, an employer may require reasonable | 11 | | verification of the employee's child's length of stay in a | 12 | | neonatal intensive care unit. As part of a reasonable | 13 | | verification, an employer shall not request any confidential | 14 | | information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and | 15 | | Accountability Act of 1996 or other law. | 16 | | Section 15. Unlawful employer practices. | 17 | | (a) It is unlawful for any employer to take any adverse | 18 | | action 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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| 1 | | limited to, filing an action or instituting or causing to be | 2 | | instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act, | 3 | | providing or agreeing to provide any information in connection | 4 | | with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided | 5 | | under this Act, or testifying to or agreeing to testify in any | 6 | | inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under | 7 | | this Act. | 8 | | Section 20. Department responsibilities. | 9 | | (a) The Department shall administer and enforce this Act | 10 | | and adopt rules under the Illinois Administrative Procedure | 11 | | Act for the purpose of this Act. The Department shall have the | 12 | | powers and the parties shall have the rights provided in the | 13 | | Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for contested cases. The | 14 | | Department shall have the power to conduct investigations in | 15 | | connection with the administration and enforcement of this | 16 | | Act, including the power to conduct depositions and discovery | 17 | | and to issue subpoenas. If the Department finds cause to | 18 | | believe that this Act has been violated, the Department shall | 19 | | notify the parties in writing and the matter shall be referred | 20 | | to an administrative law judge to schedule a formal hearing in | 21 | | accordance with hearing procedures established by rule. | 22 | | (b) The Department is authorized to impose civil penalties | 23 | | prescribed in Section 25 in administrative proceedings that | 24 | | comply with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and to | 25 | | supervise the payment of the unpaid wages and damages owing to |
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| 1 | | the employee or employees under this Act. The Department may | 2 | | bring any legal action necessary to recover the amount of | 3 | | unpaid wages, damages, and penalties, and the employer shall | 4 | | be required to pay the costs. Any sums recovered by the | 5 | | Department on behalf of an employee under this Act shall be | 6 | | paid to the employee or employees affected. However, 20% of | 7 | | any penalty collected from the employer for a violation of | 8 | | this Act shall be deposited into the Neonatal Intensive Care | 9 | | Leave Fund, a special fund created in the State treasury, and | 10 | | used for the enforcement of this Act. | 11 | | (c) The Attorney General may bring an action to enforce | 12 | | the 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 | 15 | | Act or any rule adopted under this Act have been violated may, | 16 | | within 60 days after the date of the last event constituting | 17 | | the alleged violation for which the action is brought, file a | 18 | | complaint with the Department or file a civil action. | 19 | | (b) An employer that violates any provision of this Act or | 20 | | any rule adopted under this Act is subject to a civil penalty | 21 | | for each employee affected not to exceed $5,000. Any | 22 | | continuous period of time that any child of an employee is a | 23 | | patient in a neonatal intensive care unit, during which time | 24 | | the employer is found to have violated the employee's rights | 25 | | under this Act, shall constitute a single violation. |
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| 1 | | (c) A civil action may be brought in the circuit court by | 2 | | an employee to enforce this Act. The circuit court may enjoin | 3 | | any act or practice that violates or may violate this Act and | 4 | | may order any other equitable relief that is necessary and | 5 | | appropriate to redress the violation or to enforce the Act. | 6 | | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 7 | | Section 5.1015 as follows: | 8 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new) | 9 | | Sec. 5.1015. The Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Fund. |
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