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Public Act 102-0487


 

Public Act 0487 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
Public Act 102-0487
 
HB3582 EnrolledLRB102 15003 JLS 20358 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, 20, 25, 30, and 45 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.
        (2.5) "Crime of violence" means any conduct proscribed
    by Articles 9, 11, 12, 26.5, 29D, and 33A of the Criminal
    Code of 2012 or a similar provision of the Criminal Code of
    1961, in addition to conduct proscribed by Articles of the
    Criminal Code of 2012 referenced in other definitions in
    this Section.
        (3) "Department" means the Department of Labor.
        (4) "Director" means the Director of Labor.
        (5) "Domestic violence, sexual violence, or gender
    violence" means domestic violence, sexual assault, gender
    violence, 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, pager, online
    platform (including, but not limited to, any public-facing
    website, web application, digital application, or social
    network), 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.
        (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
    violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or any
    other crime of violence, means a spouse or party to a civil
    union, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, sibling, or
    any son, daughter, other person related by blood or by
    present or prior marriage or civil union, other person who
    shares a relationship through a child, or any other
    individual whose close association with the employee is
    the equivalent of a family relationship as determined by
    the employee son or daughter, and persons jointly residing
    in the same household.
    (12.5) "Gender violence" means:
        (A) one or more acts of violence or aggression
    satisfying the elements of any criminal offense under the
    laws of this State that are committed, at least in part, on
    the basis of a person's actual or perceived sex or gender,
    regardless of whether the acts resulted in criminal
    charges, prosecution, or conviction;
        (B) a physical intrusion or physical invasion of a
    sexual nature under coercive conditions satisfying the
    elements of any criminal offense under the laws of this
    State, regardless of whether the intrusion or invasion
    resulted in criminal charges, prosecution, or conviction;
    or
        (C) a threat of an act described in item (A) or (B)
    causing a realistic apprehension that the originator of
    the threat will commit the act.
        (13) (Blank). "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
    violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or any
    other crime of 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:
    (i) Article 11 of the Criminal Code of 2012 except
    Sections 11-35 and 11-45; (ii) Sections 12-13, 12-14,
    12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 2012; or
    (iii) a similar provision of the Criminal Code of 1961.
        (20.5) "Sexual violence" means sexual assault.
        (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 violence, sexual violence,
    or gender violence, or any other crime of violence.
    "Victim" also includes any person described as a victim,
    as defined under Section 2 of the Crime Victims
    Compensation Act.
        (23) "Victim services organization" means a nonprofit,
    nongovernmental organization that provides assistance to
    victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, or gender
    violence, or any other crime of 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. 101-221, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
    (820 ILCS 180/20)
    Sec. 20. Entitlement to leave due to domestic violence,
sexual violence, or gender violence, or any other crime of
violence.
    (a) Leave requirement.
        (1) Basis. An employee who is a victim of domestic
    violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or any
    other crime of violence or an employee who has a family or
    household member who is a victim of domestic violence,
    sexual violence, or gender violence, or any other crime of
    violence whose interests are not adverse to the employee
    as it relates to the domestic violence, sexual violence,
    or gender violence, or any other crime of violence may
    take unpaid leave from work if the employee or employee's
    family or household member is experiencing an incident of
    domestic violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or
    any other crime of violence or to address domestic
    violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or any
    other crime of violence by:
            (A) seeking medical attention for, or recovering
        from, physical or psychological injuries caused by
        domestic violence, sexual violence, or gender
        violence, or any other crime of 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
        violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or any
        other crime of 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 violence, sexual violence, or gender
        violence, or any other crime of 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 consecutively, 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 violence,
        sexual violence, or gender violence, or any other
        crime of 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 if the
    employee has possession of such document, the employee
    shall provide one of the following documents 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 violence, sexual violence, or
        gender violence, or any other crime of violence and
        the effects of the violence;
            (B) a police or court record; or
            (C) other corroborating evidence.
        The employee shall choose which document to submit,
    and the employer shall not request or require more than
    one document to be submitted during the same 12-month
    period leave is requested or taken if the reason for leave
    is related to the same incident or incidents of violence
    or the same perpetrator or perpetrators of the violence.
    (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 violence, sexual violence, or
                gender violence, or any other crime of
                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 violence, sexual
                violence, or gender violence, or any other
                crime of violence and the effects of that
                violence;
                    (III) a police or court record; or
                    (IV) other corroborating evidence.
        The employee shall choose which document to submit,
    and the employer shall not request or require more than
    one document to be submitted.
            (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. 101-221, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
    (820 ILCS 180/25)
    Sec. 25. Existing leave usable for addressing domestic
violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or any criminal
violence. An employee who is entitled to take paid or unpaid
leave (including family, medical, sick, annual, personal, or
similar leave) from employment, pursuant to federal, State, or
local law, a collective bargaining agreement, or an employment
benefits program or plan, may elect to substitute any period
of such leave for an equivalent period of leave provided under
Section 20. The employer may not require the employee to
substitute available paid or unpaid leave for leave provided
under Section 20.
(Source: P.A. 101-221, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
    (820 ILCS 180/30)
    Sec. 30. Victims' employment sustainability; prohibited
discriminatory acts.
    (a) An employer shall not fail to hire, refuse to hire,
discharge, constructively discharge, or harass any individual,
otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to
the compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of
employment of the individual, or retaliate against an
individual in any form or manner, and a public agency shall not
deny, reduce, or terminate the benefits of, otherwise
sanction, or harass any individual, otherwise discriminate
against any individual with respect to the amount, terms, or
conditions of public assistance of the individual, or
retaliate against an individual in any form or manner,
because:
        (1) the individual involved:
            (A) is or is perceived to be a victim of domestic
        violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or any
        criminal violence;
            (B) attended, participated in, prepared for, or
        requested leave to attend, participate in, or prepare
        for a criminal or civil court proceeding relating to
        an incident of domestic violence, sexual violence, or
        gender violence, or any criminal violence of which the
        individual or a family or household member of the
        individual was a victim, or requested or took leave
        for any other reason provided under Section 20;
            (C) requested an adjustment to a job structure,
        workplace facility, or work requirement, including a
        transfer, reassignment, or modified schedule, leave, a
        changed telephone number or seating assignment,
        installation of a lock, or implementation of a safety
        procedure in response to actual or threatened domestic
        violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or any
        other crime of violence, regardless of whether the
        request was granted; or
            (D) is an employee whose employer is subject to
        Section 21 of the Workplace Violence Prevention Act;
        or
        (2) the workplace is disrupted or threatened by the
    action of a person whom the individual states has
    committed or threatened to commit domestic violence,
    sexual violence, or gender violence, or any other crime of
    violence against the individual or the individual's family
    or household member.
    (b) In this Section:
        (1) "Discriminate", used with respect to the terms,
    conditions, or privileges of employment or with respect to
    the terms or conditions of public assistance, includes not
    making a reasonable accommodation to the known limitations
    resulting from circumstances relating to being a victim of
    domestic violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or
    any criminal violence or a family or household member
    being a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, or
    gender violence, or any other crime of violence of an
    otherwise qualified individual:
            (A) who is:
                (i) an applicant or employee of the employer
            (including a public agency); or
                (ii) an applicant for or recipient of public
            assistance from a public agency; and
            (B) who is:
                (i) or is perceived to be a victim of domestic
            violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or
            any other crime of violence; or
                (ii) with a family or household member who is
            or is perceived to be a victim of domestic
            violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or
            any other crime of violence whose interests are
            not adverse to the individual in subparagraph (A)
            as it relates to the domestic violence, sexual
            violence, or gender violence, or any other crime
            of violence;
    unless the employer or public agency can demonstrate that
    the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the
    operation of the employer or public agency.
        A reasonable accommodation must be made in a timely
    fashion. Any exigent circumstances or danger facing the
    employee or his or her family or household member shall be
    considered in determining whether the accommodation is
    reasonable.
        (2) "Qualified individual" means:
            (A) in the case of an applicant or employee
        described in paragraph (1)(A)(i), an individual who,
        but for being a victim of domestic violence, sexual
        violence, or gender violence, or any other crime of
        violence or with a family or household member who is a
        victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, or
        gender violence, or any other crime of violence, can
        perform the essential functions of the employment
        position that such individual holds or desires; or
            (B) in the case of an applicant or recipient
        described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), an individual who,
        but for being a victim of domestic violence, sexual
        violence, or gender violence, or any other crime of
        violence or with a family or household member who is a
        victim of domestic violence, sexual violence, or
        gender violence, or any other crime of violence, can
        satisfy the essential requirements of the program
        providing the public assistance that the individual
        receives or desires.
        (3) "Reasonable accommodation" may include an
    adjustment to a job structure, workplace facility, or work
    requirement, including a transfer, reassignment, or
    modified schedule, leave, a changed telephone number or
    seating assignment, installation of a lock, or
    implementation of a safety procedure, or assistance in
    documenting domestic violence, sexual violence, or gender
    violence, or any other crime of violence that occurs at
    the workplace or in work-related settings, or any other
    reasonable accommodation in response to actual or
    threatened domestic violence, sexual violence, or gender
    violence, or any other crime of violence.
        (4) Undue hardship.
            (A) In general. "Undue hardship" means an action
        requiring significant difficulty or expense, when
        considered in light of the factors set forth in
        subparagraph (B).
            (B) Factors to be considered. In determining
        whether a reasonable accommodation would impose an
        undue hardship on the operation of an employer or
        public agency, factors to be considered include:
                (i) the nature and cost of the reasonable
            accommodation needed under this Section;
                (ii) the overall financial resources of the
            facility involved in the provision of the
            reasonable accommodation, the number of persons
            employed at such facility, the effect on expenses
            and resources, or the impact otherwise of such
            accommodation on the operation of the facility;
                (iii) the overall financial resources of the
            employer or public agency, the overall size of the
            business of an employer or public agency with
            respect to the number of employees of the employer
            or public agency, and the number, type, and
            location of the facilities of an employer or
            public agency; and
                (iv) the type of operation of the employer or
            public agency, including the composition,
            structure, and functions of the workforce of the
            employer or public agency, the geographic
            separateness of the facility from the employer or
            public agency, and the administrative or fiscal
            relationship of the facility to the employer or
            public agency.
    (c) An employer subject to Section 21 of the Workplace
Violence Prevention Act shall not violate any provisions of
the Workplace Violence Prevention Act.
    (d) Confidentiality. All information provided to the
employer pursuant to this Section including a statement of the
employee or any other documentation, record, or corroborating
evidence, and the fact that the employee has requested or
obtained an accommodation 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.
(Source: P.A. 101-221, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
    (820 ILCS 180/45)
    Sec. 45. Effect on other laws and employment benefits.
    (a) More protective laws, agreements, programs, and plans.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to supersede any
provision of any federal, State, or local law, collective
bargaining agreement, or employment benefits program or plan
that provides:
        (1) greater leave benefits for victims of domestic
    violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or any
    other crime of violence than the rights established under
    this Act; or
        (2) leave benefits for a larger population of victims
    of domestic violence, sexual violence, or gender violence,
    or any other crime of violence (as defined in such law,
    agreement, program, or plan) than the victims of domestic
    violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or any
    other crime of violence covered under this Act.
    (b) Less protective laws, agreements, programs, and plans.
The rights established for employees who are victims of
domestic violence, sexual violence, or gender violence, or any
other crime of violence and employees with a family or
household member who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual
violence, or gender violence, or any other crime of violence
under this Act shall not be diminished by any federal, State or
local law, collective bargaining agreement, or employment
benefits program or plan.
(Source: P.A. 101-221, eff. 1-1-20.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2022