Public Act 095-0455
 
SB1249 Enrolled LRB095 10038 JAM 30252 b

    AN ACT concerning employment benefits.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Illinois Fringe Benefit Portability and Continuity Act.
 
    Section 5. Public policy. It is the purpose of this Act
that temporary or short-term employees employed by the State of
Illinois and its political subdivisions or other public
employers shall have continuity of health and welfare
insurance, pension, and other fringe benefits for work
performed for the State of Illinois, its political
subdivisions, and other public employers, and that the State of
Illinois and its political subdivisions and other public
employers shall have the contractual authority to execute
written agreements with employee benefit plans and labor
organizations to ensure that temporary and short-term
employees have continuity of health and welfare insurance,
pension, and other fringe benefits for work performed for the
State of Illinois and its political subdivisions or other
public employers.
 
    Section 10. Application. This Act applies to the State of
Illinois and its political subdivisions and other public
employers that employ temporary or short-term employees who are
not covered by an employment contract or collective bargaining
agreement but who are referred from labor organizations and are
receiving a fringe benefit allowance directly and in the form
of wages from the State of Illinois and its political
subdivisions and other public employers.
 
    Section 15. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires:
    "Employee benefit plan" shall mean an employee benefit plan
as defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act,
29 U.S.C. 1001, et seq.
    "Temporary or short-term employee" shall mean an employee
who is not covered by a collective bargaining agreement or an
employment contract.
    "Written agreement" shall mean a participation agreement
or other agreement prescribed by the employee benefit plan or
labor organization but shall not be construed as a collective
bargaining agreement, except as permitted under the Illinois
Public Labor Relations Act.
 
    Section 20. Fringe benefit portability and continuity.
    (a) If the State of Illinois, its political subdivisions, or
other public employers procure short-term or temporary
employees from a labor organization, then the State of
Illinois, its political subdivisions, or other public
employers shall enter into written agreements with employee
benefit plans and labor organizations providing that the State
of Illinois, its political subdivisions, or other public
employers shall make an employer contribution of the benefit
allowance of the applicable wage package to the applicable
employee benefit plans for the temporary or short-term
employees who are referred from labor organizations, provided
that:
        (1) The employee benefit plans are employee pension
    benefit plans or employee welfare benefit plans under the
    Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
        (2) The referred employee, as a condition of referral
    to the State of Illinois and its political subdivisions or
    other public employers as a temporary or short-term
    employee, has entered into an agreement or authorization
    with a labor organization to have the fringe benefit
    allowance of the applicable wage rate remitted directly to
    an employee benefit plan.
        (3) The fringe benefit allowance of the applicable wage
    package shall be an employer contribution and not an
    employee wage deduction.
        (4) The State of Illinois and its political
    subdivisions and other public employers agree, in writing,
    to make contributions subject to the same rules and
    policies generally applicable to private employers who are
    making contributions to that employee benefit plan.
    (b) The written agreement specified in subsection (a) shall
not be construed as a collective bargaining agreement, contract
for employment, or an agreement that otherwise guarantees the
employment of the temporary or short-term employees used by the
State of Illinois and its political subdivisions and other
public employers. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
afford temporary or short-term employees the right to organize
or collectively bargain pursuant to the Illinois Public Labor
Relations Act, except as specifically provided by the
provisions of that Act. Nothing in this Act shall be construed
to afford temporary or short-term employees any benefit or the
right to participate in any retirement system of the State of
Illinois, except as specifically provided by the provisions of
the Illinois Pension Code.
 
    Section 25. Construction of Act. This Act shall be
liberally construed to effect the purposes of the Act. By
virtue of this Act, the State of Illinois and its political
subdivisions or other public employers shall not be considered
to be maintaining or administering an employee benefit plan.
 
    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/27/2007