Public Act 099-0830
 
HB4259 EnrolledLRB099 13021 RPS 36896 b

    AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing
Sections 7-109, 15-106, 15-107, and 16-106 as follows:
 
    (40 ILCS 5/7-109)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-109)
    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 98-599,
which has been held unconstitutional)
    Sec. 7-109. Employee.
    (1) "Employee" means any person who:
        (a) 1. Receives earnings as payment for the performance
        of personal services or official duties out of the
        general fund of a municipality, or out of any special
        fund or funds controlled by a municipality, or by an
        instrumentality thereof, or a participating
        instrumentality, including, in counties, the fees or
        earnings of any county fee office; and
            2. Under the usual common law rules applicable in
        determining the employer-employee relationship, has
        the status of an employee with a municipality, or any
        instrumentality thereof, or a participating
        instrumentality, including aldermen, county
        supervisors and other persons (excepting those
        employed as independent contractors) who are paid
        compensation, fees, allowances or other emolument for
        official duties, and, in counties, the several county
        fee offices.
        (b) Serves as a township treasurer appointed under the
    School Code, as heretofore or hereafter amended, and who
    receives for such services regular compensation as
    distinguished from per diem compensation, and any regular
    employee in the office of any township treasurer whether or
    not his earnings are paid from the income of the permanent
    township fund or from funds subject to distribution to the
    several school districts and parts of school districts as
    provided in the School Code, or from both such sources; or
    is the chief executive officer, chief educational officer,
    chief fiscal officer, or other employee of a Financial
    Oversight Panel established pursuant to Article 1H of the
    School Code, other than a superintendent or certified
    school business official, except that such person shall not
    be treated as an employee under this Section if that person
    has negotiated with the Financial Oversight Panel, in
    conjunction with the school district, a contractual
    agreement for exclusion from this Section.
        (c) Holds an elective office in a municipality,
    instrumentality thereof or participating instrumentality.
    (2) "Employee" does not include persons who:
        (a) Are eligible for inclusion under any of the
    following laws:
            1. "An Act in relation to an Illinois State
        Teachers' Pension and Retirement Fund", approved May
        27, 1915, as amended;
            2. Articles 15 and 16 of this Code.
        However, such persons shall be included as employees to
    the extent of earnings that are not eligible for inclusion
    under the foregoing laws for services not of an
    instructional nature of any kind.
        However, any member of the armed forces who is employed
    as a teacher of subjects in the Reserve Officers Training
    Corps of any school and who is not certified under the law
    governing the certification of teachers shall be included
    as an employee.
        (b) Are designated by the governing body of a
    municipality in which a pension fund is required by law to
    be established for policemen or firemen, respectively, as
    performing police or fire protection duties, except that
    when such persons are the heads of the police or fire
    department and are not eligible to be included within any
    such pension fund, they shall be included within this
    Article; provided, that such persons shall not be excluded
    to the extent of concurrent service and earnings not
    designated as being for police or fire protection duties.
    However, (i) any head of a police department who was a
    participant under this Article immediately before October
    1, 1977 and did not elect, under Section 3-109 of this Act,
    to participate in a police pension fund shall be an
    "employee", and (ii) any chief of police who elects to
    participate in this Fund under Section 3-109.1 of this
    Code, regardless of whether such person continues to be
    employed as chief of police or is employed in some other
    rank or capacity within the police department, shall be an
    employee under this Article for so long as such person is
    employed to perform police duties by a participating
    municipality and has not lawfully rescinded that election.
        (c) Are contributors to or eligible to contribute to a
    Taft-Hartley pension plan to which the participating
    municipality is required to contribute as the person's
    employer based on earnings from the municipality. Nothing
    in this paragraph shall affect service credit or creditable
    service for any period of service prior to the effective
    date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly,
    and this paragraph shall not apply to individuals who are
    participating in the Fund prior to the effective date of
    this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly.
        (d) Become an employee of any of the following
    participating instrumentalities on or after the effective
    date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly:
    the Illinois Municipal League; the Illinois Association of
    Park Districts; the Illinois Supervisors, County
    Commissioners and Superintendents of Highways Association;
    an association, or not-for-profit corporation, membership
    in which is authorized under Section 85-15 of the Township
    Code; the United Counties Council; or the Will County
    Governmental League.
    (3) All persons, including, without limitation, public
defenders and probation officers, who receive earnings from
general or special funds of a county for performance of
personal services or official duties within the territorial
limits of the county, are employees of the county (unless
excluded by subsection (2) of this Section) notwithstanding
that they may be appointed by and are subject to the direction
of a person or persons other than a county board or a county
officer. It is hereby established that an employer-employee
relationship under the usual common law rules exists between
such employees and the county paying their salaries by reason
of the fact that the county boards fix their rates of
compensation, appropriate funds for payment of their earnings
and otherwise exercise control over them. This finding and this
amendatory Act shall apply to all such employees from the date
of appointment whether such date is prior to or after the
effective date of this amendatory Act and is intended to
clarify existing law pertaining to their status as
participating employees in the Fund.
(Source: P.A. 97-429, eff. 8-16-11; 97-609, eff. 8-26-11;
97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-712, eff. 7-16-14.)
 
    (40 ILCS 5/15-106)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-106)
    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 98-599,
which has been held unconstitutional)
    Sec. 15-106. Employer. "Employer": The University of
Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago State
University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State
University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois
University, Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois
University, the State Board of Higher Education, the Illinois
Mathematics and Science Academy, the University Civil Service
Merit Board, the Board of Trustees of the State Universities
Retirement System, the Illinois Community College Board,
community college boards, any association of community college
boards organized under Section 3-55 of the Public Community
College Act, the Board of Examiners established under the
Illinois Public Accounting Act, and, only during the period for
which employer contributions required under Section 15-155 are
paid, the following organizations: the alumni associations,
the foundations and the athletic associations which are
affiliated with the universities and colleges included in this
Section as employers. An individual who begins employment on or
after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th
General Assembly with any association of community college
boards organized under Section 3-55 of the Public Community
College Act, the Association of Illinois Middle-Grade Schools,
the Illinois Association of School Administrators, the
Illinois Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, the Illinois Principals Association, the Illinois
Association of School Business Officials, the Illinois Special
Olympics, or an entity not defined as an employer in this
Section shall not be deemed an employee for the purposes of
this Article with respect to that employment and shall not be
eligible to participate in the System with respect to that
employment; provided, however, that those individuals who are
both employed by such an entity and are participating in the
System with respect to that employment on the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly shall be
allowed to continue as participants in the System for the
duration of that employment.
    A department as defined in Section 14-103.04 is an employer
for any person appointed by the Governor under the Civil
Administrative Code of Illinois who is a participating employee
as defined in Section 15-109. The Department of Central
Management Services is an employer with respect to persons
employed by the State Board of Higher Education in positions
with the Illinois Century Network as of June 30, 2004 who
remain continuously employed after that date by the Department
of Central Management Services in positions with the Illinois
Century Network, the Bureau of Communication and Computer
Services, or, if applicable, any successor bureau.
    The cities of Champaign and Urbana shall be considered
employers, but only during the period for which contributions
are required to be made under subsection (b-1) of Section
15-155 and only with respect to individuals described in
subsection (h) of Section 15-107.
(Source: P.A. 95-369, eff. 8-23-07; 95-728, eff. 7-1-08 - See
Sec. 999.)
 
    (40 ILCS 5/15-107)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-107)
    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 98-599,
which has been held unconstitutional)
    Sec. 15-107. Employee.
    (a) "Employee" means any member of the educational,
administrative, secretarial, clerical, mechanical, labor or
other staff of an employer whose employment is permanent and
continuous or who is employed in a position in which services
are expected to be rendered on a continuous basis for at least
4 months or one academic term, whichever is less, who (A)
receives payment for personal services on a warrant issued
pursuant to a payroll voucher certified by an employer and
drawn by the State Comptroller upon the State Treasurer or by
an employer upon trust, federal or other funds, or (B) is on a
leave of absence without pay. Employment which is irregular,
intermittent or temporary shall not be considered continuous
for purposes of this paragraph.
    However, a person is not an "employee" if he or she:
        (1) is a student enrolled in and regularly attending
    classes in a college or university which is an employer,
    and is employed on a temporary basis at less than full
    time;
        (2) is currently receiving a retirement annuity or a
    disability retirement annuity under Section 15-153.2 from
    this System;
        (3) is on a military leave of absence;
        (4) is eligible to participate in the Federal Civil
    Service Retirement System and is currently making
    contributions to that system based upon earnings paid by an
    employer;
        (5) is on leave of absence without pay for more than 60
    days immediately following termination of disability
    benefits under this Article;
        (6) is hired after June 30, 1979 as a public service
    employment program participant under the Federal
    Comprehensive Employment and Training Act and receives
    earnings in whole or in part from funds provided under that
    Act; or
        (7) is employed on or after July 1, 1991 to perform
    services that are excluded by subdivision (a)(7)(f) or
    (a)(19) of Section 210 of the federal Social Security Act
    from the definition of employment given in that Section (42
    U.S.C. 410).
    (b) Any employer may, by filing a written notice with the
board, exclude from the definition of "employee" all persons
employed pursuant to a federally funded contract entered into
after July 1, 1982 with a federal military department in a
program providing training in military courses to federal
military personnel on a military site owned by the United
States Government, if this exclusion is not prohibited by the
federally funded contract or federal laws or rules governing
the administration of the contract.
    (c) Any person appointed by the Governor under the Civil
Administrative Code of the State is an employee, if he or she
is a participant in this system on the effective date of the
appointment.
    (d) A participant on lay-off status under civil service
rules is considered an employee for not more than 120 days from
the date of the lay-off.
    (e) A participant is considered an employee during (1) the
first 60 days of disability leave, (2) the period, not to
exceed one year, in which his or her eligibility for disability
benefits is being considered by the board or reviewed by the
courts, and (3) the period he or she receives disability
benefits under the provisions of Section 15-152, workers'
compensation or occupational disease benefits, or disability
income under an insurance contract financed wholly or partially
by the employer.
    (f) Absences without pay, other than formal leaves of
absence, of less than 30 calendar days, are not considered as
an interruption of a person's status as an employee. If such
absences during any period of 12 months exceed 30 work days,
the employee status of the person is considered as interrupted
as of the 31st work day.
    (g) A staff member whose employment contract requires
services during an academic term is to be considered an
employee during the summer and other vacation periods, unless
he or she declines an employment contract for the succeeding
academic term or his or her employment status is otherwise
terminated, and he or she receives no earnings during these
periods.
    (h) An individual who was a participating employee employed
in the fire department of the University of Illinois's
Champaign-Urbana campus immediately prior to the elimination
of that fire department and who immediately after the
elimination of that fire department became employed by the fire
department of the City of Urbana or the City of Champaign shall
continue to be considered as an employee for purposes of this
Article for so long as the individual remains employed as a
firefighter by the City of Urbana or the City of Champaign. The
individual shall cease to be considered an employee under this
subsection (h) upon the first termination of the individual's
employment as a firefighter by the City of Urbana or the City
of Champaign.
    (i) An individual who is employed on a full-time basis as
an officer or employee of a statewide teacher organization that
serves System participants or an officer of a national teacher
organization that serves System participants may participate
in the System and shall be deemed an employee, provided that
(1) the individual has previously earned creditable service
under this Article, (2) the individual files with the System an
irrevocable election to become a participant before the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General
Assembly, (3) the individual does not receive credit for that
employment under any other Article of this Code, and (4) the
individual first became a full-time employee of the teacher
organization and becomes a participant before the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly. An
employee under this subsection (i) is responsible for paying to
the System both (A) employee contributions based on the actual
compensation received for service with the teacher
organization and (B) employer contributions equal to the normal
costs (as defined in Section 15-155) resulting from that
service; all or any part of these contributions may be paid on
the employee's behalf or picked up for tax purposes (if
authorized under federal law) by the teacher organization.
    A person who is an employee as defined in this subsection
(i) may establish service credit for similar employment prior
to becoming an employee under this subsection by paying to the
System for that employment the contributions specified in this
subsection, plus interest at the effective rate from the date
of service to the date of payment. However, credit shall not be
granted under this subsection for any such prior employment for
which the applicant received credit under any other provision
of this Code, or during which the applicant was on a leave of
absence under Section 15-113.2.
    (j) A person employed by the State Board of Higher
Education in a position with the Illinois Century Network as of
June 30, 2004 shall be considered to be an employee for so long
as he or she remains continuously employed after that date by
the Department of Central Management Services in a position
with the Illinois Century Network, the Bureau of Communication
and Computer Services, or, if applicable, any successor bureau
and meets the requirements of subsection (a).
    (k) In the case of doubt as to whether any person is an
employee within the meaning of this Section or any rule adopted
by the Board, the decision of the Board shall be final.
(Source: P.A. 97-651, eff. 1-5-12.)
 
    (40 ILCS 5/16-106)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 16-106)
    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 98-599,
which has been held unconstitutional)
    Sec. 16-106. Teacher. "Teacher": The following
individuals, provided that, for employment prior to July 1,
1990, they are employed on a full-time basis, or if not
full-time, on a permanent and continuous basis in a position in
which services are expected to be rendered for at least one
school term:
        (1) Any educational, administrative, professional or
    other staff employed in the public common schools included
    within this system in a position requiring certification
    under the law governing the certification of teachers;
        (2) Any educational, administrative, professional or
    other staff employed in any facility of the Department of
    Children and Family Services or the Department of Human
    Services, in a position requiring certification under the
    law governing the certification of teachers, and any person
    who (i) works in such a position for the Department of
    Corrections, (ii) was a member of this System on May 31,
    1987, and (iii) did not elect to become a member of the
    State Employees' Retirement System pursuant to Section
    14-108.2 of this Code; except that "teacher" does not
    include any person who (A) becomes a security employee of
    the Department of Human Services, as defined in Section
    14-110, after June 28, 2001 (the effective date of Public
    Act 92-14), or (B) becomes a member of the State Employees'
    Retirement System pursuant to Section 14-108.2c of this
    Code;
        (3) Any regional superintendent of schools, assistant
    regional superintendent of schools, State Superintendent
    of Education; any person employed by the State Board of
    Education as an executive; any executive of the boards
    engaged in the service of public common school education in
    school districts covered under this system of which the
    State Superintendent of Education is an ex-officio member;
        (4) Any employee of a school board association
    operating in compliance with Article 23 of the School Code
    who is certificated under the law governing the
    certification of teachers, provided that he or she becomes
    such an employee before the effective date of this
    amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly;
        (5) Any person employed by the retirement system who:
            (i) was an employee of and a participant in the
        system on August 17, 2001 (the effective date of Public
        Act 92-416), or
            (ii) becomes an employee of the system on or after
        August 17, 2001;
        (6) Any educational, administrative, professional or
    other staff employed by and under the supervision and
    control of a regional superintendent of schools, provided
    such employment position requires the person to be
    certificated under the law governing the certification of
    teachers and is in an educational program serving 2 or more
    districts in accordance with a joint agreement authorized
    by the School Code or by federal legislation;
        (7) Any educational, administrative, professional or
    other staff employed in an educational program serving 2 or
    more school districts in accordance with a joint agreement
    authorized by the School Code or by federal legislation and
    in a position requiring certification under the laws
    governing the certification of teachers;
        (8) Any officer or employee of a statewide teacher
    organization or officer of a national teacher organization
    who is certified under the law governing certification of
    teachers, provided: (i) the individual had previously
    established creditable service under this Article, (ii)
    the individual files with the system an irrevocable
    election to become a member before the effective date of
    this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, (iii) the
    individual does not receive credit for such service under
    any other Article of this Code, and (iv) the individual
    first became an officer or employee of the teacher
    organization and becomes a member before the effective date
    of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly;
        (9) Any educational, administrative, professional, or
    other staff employed in a charter school operating in
    compliance with the Charter Schools Law who is certificated
    under the law governing the certification of teachers;
        (10) Any person employed, on the effective date of this
    amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, by the
    Macon-Piatt Regional Office of Education in a
    birth-through-age-three pilot program receiving funds
    under Section 2-389 of the School Code who is required by
    the Macon-Piatt Regional Office of Education to hold a
    teaching certificate, provided that the Macon-Piatt
    Regional Office of Education makes an election, within 6
    months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
    the 94th General Assembly, to have the person participate
    in the system. Any service established prior to the
    effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
    Assembly for service as an employee of the Macon-Piatt
    Regional Office of Education in a birth-through-age-three
    pilot program receiving funds under Section 2-389 of the
    School Code shall be considered service as a teacher if
    employee and employer contributions have been received by
    the system and the system has not refunded those
    contributions.
    An annuitant receiving a retirement annuity under this
Article or under Article 17 of this Code who is employed by a
board of education or other employer as permitted under Section
16-118 or 16-150.1 is not a "teacher" for purposes of this
Article. A person who has received a single-sum retirement
benefit under Section 16-136.4 of this Article is not a
"teacher" for purposes of this Article.
(Source: P.A. 97-651, eff. 1-5-12; 98-463, eff. 8-16-13.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2017