Public Act 099-0765
 
HB4036 EnrolledLRB099 09474 JLS 29682 b

    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Victims' Economic Security and Safety Act is
amended by changing Sections 10 and 20 as follows:
 
    (820 ILCS 180/10)
    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act, except as otherwise
expressly provided:
        (1) "Commerce" includes trade, traffic, commerce,
    transportation, or communication; and "industry or
    activity affecting commerce" means any activity, business,
    or industry in commerce or in which a labor dispute would
    hinder or obstruct commerce or the free flow of commerce,
    and includes "commerce" and any "industry affecting
    commerce".
        (2) "Course of conduct" means a course of repeatedly
    maintaining a visual or physical proximity to a person or
    conveying oral or written threats, including threats
    conveyed through electronic communications, or threats
    implied by conduct.
        (3) "Department" means the Department of Labor.
        (4) "Director" means the Director of Labor.
        (5) "Domestic or sexual violence" means domestic
    violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
        (6) "Domestic violence" means abuse, as defined in
    Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986,
    by a family or household member, as defined in Section 103
    of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986.
        (7) "Electronic communications" includes
    communications via telephone, mobile phone, computer,
    e-mail, video recorder, fax machine, telex, or pager, or
    any other electronic communication, as defined in Section
    12-7.5 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
        (8) "Employ" includes to suffer or permit to work.
        (9) Employee.
            (A) In general. "Employee" means any person
        employed by an employer.
            (B) Basis. "Employee" includes a person employed
        as described in subparagraph (A) on a full or part-time
        basis, or as a participant in a work assignment as a
        condition of receipt of federal or State income-based
        public assistance.
        (10) "Employer" means any of the following: (A) the
    State or any agency of the State; (B) any unit of local
    government or school district; or (C) any person that
    employs at least one employee 15 employees.
        (11) "Employment benefits" means all benefits provided
    or made available to employees by an employer, including
    group life insurance, health insurance, disability
    insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational benefits,
    pensions, and profit-sharing, regardless of whether such
    benefits are provided by a practice or written policy of an
    employer or through an "employee benefit plan". "Employee
    benefit plan" or "plan" means an employee welfare benefit
    plan or an employee pension benefit plan or a plan which is
    both an employee welfare benefit plan and an employee
    pension benefit plan.
        (12) "Family or household member", for employees with a
    family or household member who is a victim of domestic or
    sexual violence, means a spouse, parent, son, daughter,
    other person related by blood or by present or prior
    marriage, other person who shares a relationship through a
    son or daughter, and persons jointly residing in the same
    household.
        (13) "Parent" means the biological parent of an
    employee or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an
    employee when the employee was a son or daughter. "Son or
    daughter" means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a
    stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in
    loco parentis, who is under 18 years of age, or is 18 years
    of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a
    mental or physical disability.
        (14) "Perpetrator" means an individual who commits or
    is alleged to have committed any act or threat of domestic
    or sexual violence.
        (15) "Person" means an individual, partnership,
    association, corporation, business trust, legal
    representative, or any organized group of persons.
        (16) "Public agency" means the Government of the State
    or political subdivision thereof; any agency of the State,
    or of a political subdivision of the State; or any
    governmental agency.
        (17) "Public assistance" includes cash, food stamps,
    medical assistance, housing assistance, and other benefits
    provided on the basis of income by a public agency or
    public employer.
        (18) "Reduced work schedule" means a work schedule that
    reduces the usual number of hours per workweek, or hours
    per workday, of an employee.
        (19) "Repeatedly" means on 2 or more occasions.
        (20) "Sexual assault" means any conduct proscribed by
    the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 in
    Sections 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60,
    12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16.
        (21) "Stalking" means any conduct proscribed by the
    Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 in
    Sections 12-7.3, 12-7.4, and 12-7.5.
        (22) "Victim" or "survivor" means an individual who has
    been subjected to domestic or sexual violence.
        (23) "Victim services organization" means a nonprofit,
    nongovernmental organization that provides assistance to
    victims of domestic or sexual violence or to advocates for
    such victims, including a rape crisis center, an
    organization carrying out a domestic violence program, an
    organization operating a shelter or providing counseling
    services, or a legal services organization or other
    organization providing assistance through the legal
    process.
(Source: P.A. 96-635, eff. 8-24-09; 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11;
97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)
 
    (820 ILCS 180/20)
    Sec. 20. Entitlement to leave due to domestic or sexual
violence.
    (a) Leave requirement.
        (1) Basis. An employee who is a victim of domestic or
    sexual violence or an employee who has a family or
    household member who is a victim of domestic or sexual
    violence whose interests are not adverse to the employee as
    it relates to the domestic or sexual violence may take
    unpaid leave from work if the employee or employee's family
    or household member is experiencing an incident of domestic
    or sexual violence or to address domestic or sexual
    violence by:
            (A) seeking medical attention for, or recovering
        from, physical or psychological injuries caused by
        domestic or sexual violence to the employee or the
        employee's family or household member;
            (B) obtaining services from a victim services
        organization for the employee or the employee's family
        or household member;
            (C) obtaining psychological or other counseling
        for the employee or the employee's family or household
        member;
            (D) participating in safety planning, temporarily
        or permanently relocating, or taking other actions to
        increase the safety of the employee or the employee's
        family or household member from future domestic or
        sexual violence or ensure economic security; or
            (E) seeking legal assistance or remedies to ensure
        the health and safety of the employee or the employee's
        family or household member, including preparing for or
        participating in any civil or criminal legal
        proceeding related to or derived from domestic or
        sexual violence.
        (2) Period. Subject to subsection (c), an employee
    working for an employer that employs at least 50 employees
    shall be entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of leave
    during any 12-month period. Subject to subsection (c), an
    employee working for an employer that employs at least 15
    but not more than 49 employees shall be entitled to a total
    of 8 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period. Subject
    to subsection (c), an employee working for an employer that
    employs at least one but not more than 14 employees shall
    be entitled to a total of 4 workweeks of leave during any
    12-month period. The total number of workweeks to which an
    employee is entitled shall not decrease during the relevant
    12-month period. This Act does not create a right for an
    employee to take unpaid leave that exceeds the unpaid leave
    time allowed under, or is in addition to the unpaid leave
    time permitted by, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act
    of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).
        (3) Schedule. Leave described in paragraph (1) may be
    taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule.
    (b) Notice. The employee shall provide the employer with at
least 48 hours' advance notice of the employee's intention to
take the leave, unless providing such notice is not
practicable. When an unscheduled absence occurs, the employer
may not take any action against the employee if the employee,
upon request of the employer and within a reasonable period
after the absence, provides certification under subsection
(c).
    (c) Certification.
        (1) In general. The employer may require the employee
    to provide certification to the employer that:
            (A) the employee or the employee's family or
        household member is a victim of domestic or sexual
        violence; and
            (B) the leave is for one of the purposes enumerated
        in paragraph (a)(1).
        The employee shall provide such certification to the
    employer within a reasonable period after the employer
    requests certification.
        (2) Contents. An employee may satisfy the
    certification requirement of paragraph (1) by providing to
    the employer a sworn statement of the employee, and upon
    obtaining such documents the employee shall provide:
            (A) documentation from an employee, agent, or
        volunteer of a victim services organization, an
        attorney, a member of the clergy, or a medical or other
        professional from whom the employee or the employee's
        family or household member has sought assistance in
        addressing domestic or sexual violence and the effects
        of the violence;
            (B) a police or court record; or
            (C) other corroborating evidence.
    (d) Confidentiality. All information provided to the
employer pursuant to subsection (b) or (c), including a
statement of the employee or any other documentation, record,
or corroborating evidence, and the fact that the employee has
requested or obtained leave pursuant to this Section, shall be
retained in the strictest confidence by the employer, except to
the extent that disclosure is:
        (1) requested or consented to in writing by the
    employee; or
        (2) otherwise required by applicable federal or State
    law.
    (e) Employment and benefits.
        (1) Restoration to position.
            (A) In general. Any employee who takes leave under
        this Section for the intended purpose of the leave
        shall be entitled, on return from such leave:
                (i) to be restored by the employer to the
            position of employment held by the employee when
            the leave commenced; or
                (ii) to be restored to an equivalent position
            with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and
            other terms and conditions of employment.
            (B) Loss of benefits. The taking of leave under
        this Section shall not result in the loss of any
        employment benefit accrued prior to the date on which
        the leave commenced.
            (C) Limitations. Nothing in this subsection shall
        be construed to entitle any restored employee to:
                (i) the accrual of any seniority or employment
            benefits during any period of leave; or
                (ii) any right, benefit, or position of
            employment other than any right, benefit, or
            position to which the employee would have been
            entitled had the employee not taken the leave.
            (D) Construction. Nothing in this paragraph shall
        be construed to prohibit an employer from requiring an
        employee on leave under this Section to report
        periodically to the employer on the status and
        intention of the employee to return to work.
        (2) Maintenance of health benefits.
            (A) Coverage. Except as provided in subparagraph
        (B), during any period that an employee takes leave
        under this Section, the employer shall maintain
        coverage for the employee and any family or household
        member under any group health plan for the duration of
        such leave at the level and under the conditions
        coverage would have been provided if the employee had
        continued in employment continuously for the duration
        of such leave.
            (B) Failure to return from leave. The employer may
        recover the premium that the employer paid for
        maintaining coverage for the employee and the
        employee's family or household member under such group
        health plan during any period of leave under this
        Section if:
                (i) the employee fails to return from leave
            under this Section after the period of leave to
            which the employee is entitled has expired; and
                (ii) the employee fails to return to work for a
            reason other than:
                    (I) the continuation, recurrence, or onset
                of domestic or sexual violence that entitles
                the employee to leave pursuant to this Section;
                or
                    (II) other circumstances beyond the
                control of the employee.
            (C) Certification.
                (i) Issuance. An employer may require an
            employee who claims that the employee is unable to
            return to work because of a reason described in
            subclause (I) or (II) of subparagraph (B)(ii) to
            provide, within a reasonable period after making
            the claim, certification to the employer that the
            employee is unable to return to work because of
            that reason.
                (ii) Contents. An employee may satisfy the
            certification requirement of clause (i) by
            providing to the employer:
                    (I) a sworn statement of the employee;
                    (II) documentation from an employee,
                agent, or volunteer of a victim services
                organization, an attorney, a member of the
                clergy, or a medical or other professional from
                whom the employee has sought assistance in
                addressing domestic or sexual violence and the
                effects of that violence;
                    (III) a police or court record; or
                    (IV) other corroborating evidence.
            (D) Confidentiality. All information provided to
        the employer pursuant to subparagraph (C), including a
        statement of the employee or any other documentation,
        record, or corroborating evidence, and the fact that
        the employee is not returning to work because of a
        reason described in subclause (I) or (II) of
        subparagraph (B)(ii) shall be retained in the
        strictest confidence by the employer, except to the
        extent that disclosure is:
                (i) requested or consented to in writing by the
            employee; or
                (ii) otherwise required by applicable federal
            or State law.
    (f) Prohibited acts.
        (1) Interference with rights.
            (A) Exercise of rights. It shall be unlawful for
        any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the
        exercise of or the attempt to exercise any right
        provided under this Section.
            (B) Employer discrimination. It shall be unlawful
        for any employer to discharge or harass any individual,
        or otherwise discriminate against any individual with
        respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or
        privileges of employment of the individual (including
        retaliation in any form or manner) because the
        individual:
                (i) exercised any right provided under this
            Section; or
                (ii) opposed any practice made unlawful by
            this Section.
            (C) Public agency sanctions. It shall be unlawful
        for any public agency to deny, reduce, or terminate the
        benefits of, otherwise sanction, or harass any
        individual, or otherwise discriminate against any
        individual with respect to the amount, terms, or
        conditions of public assistance of the individual
        (including retaliation in any form or manner) because
        the individual:
                (i) exercised any right provided under this
            Section; or
                (ii) opposed any practice made unlawful by
            this Section.
        (2) Interference with proceedings or inquiries. It
    shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or in any
    other manner discriminate (as described in subparagraph
    (B) or (C) of paragraph (1)) against any individual because
    such individual:
            (A) has filed any charge, or has instituted or
        caused to be instituted any proceeding, under or
        related to this Section;
            (B) has given, or is about to give, any information
        in connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating
        to any right provided under this Section; or
            (C) has testified, or is about to testify, in any
        inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided
        under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 96-635, eff. 8-24-09.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2017.

Effective Date: 1/1/2017