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1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Healthy Workplace Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings and purpose.
7    (a) The General Assembly finds:
8        (1) Nearly every worker in the State is likely to need
9    time off to attend to his or her own illness or that of a
10    family member. More than 30% of all private sector workers
11    in Illinois (almost 2,000,000 people) have no right to a
12    paid sick day. Over three-fourths of the lowest-wage
13    workers do not receive paid sick time and cannot forfeit a
14    day's work, so they often come into work sick.
15        (2) Preventive and routine medical care helps avoid
16    illness and injury by detecting illnesses early on and
17    shortening the duration of illnesses. Providing employees
18    with time off to attend to their own health care needs
19    ensures that they will be healthier and more efficient
20    employees. It will also reduce the spread of disease within
21    workplaces and to the public, such as customers, when
22    employees go to work sick, a practice known as
23    "presenteeism". Routine medical care results in savings by

 

 

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1    detecting and treating illness and injury early and
2    decreasing the need for emergency care. These savings
3    benefit public and private payers of health insurance.
4        (3) When the school of a worker's child is closed
5    because of extreme weather, it is often at the last minute
6    and workers cannot find someone to babysit, so they are
7    forced to stay at home to take care of their children.
8        (4) Nearly one-quarter of American women report
9    domestic violence and nearly one in 5 women report
10    experiencing rape at some time during their lives. Many
11    workers, men and women, need time off to care for their
12    health after these incidents or to take legal action.
13    Without paid time off, victims are in danger of losing
14    their jobs.
15        (5) Employed individuals who have court appointments,
16    sentencing hearings, probation, conditional discharge,
17    parole, or mandatory supervised release requirements, or
18    are visiting a family member in jail or prison need paid
19    time off work so that their families do not fall further
20    into economic jeopardy and so that they are not further
21    penalized, as these court-related events are frequently
22    scheduled during work hours.
23        (6) Employers that provide paid sick time see better
24    productivity, reduced flu contagion, and lower turnover,
25    which saves them the costs of replacing and training
26    workers.

 

 

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1    (b) This Act is enacted to establish the Healthy Workplace
2Act to provide at least a minimum time-off standard of paid
3sick time for all workers.
 
4    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
5    "Child" means a son or daughter who is a biological,
6adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, a child of
7a person standing in loco parentis, or any other individual
8whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of
9a child.
10    "Construction industry" means any constructing, altering,
11reconstructing, repairing, rehabilitating, refinishing,
12refurbishing, remodeling, remediating, renovating, custom
13fabricating, maintenance, landscaping, improving, wrecking,
14painting, decorating, demolishing, or adding to or subtracting
15from any building, structure, highway, roadway, street,
16bridge, alley, sewer, ditch, sewage disposal plant,
17waterworks, parking facility, railroad, excavation or other
18structure, project, development, real property, or
19improvement, or to do any part thereof, whether or not the
20performance of the work herein described involves the addition
21to or fabrication into, any structure, project, development,
22real property, or improvement herein described of any material
23or article of merchandise.
24    "Construction industry" also includes moving construction
25related materials on the job site or to or from the job site,

 

 

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1snow plowing, snow removal, and refuse collection.
2    "Department" means the Illinois Department of Labor.
3    "Employ" means to suffer or permit to work.
4    "Employee" means any person who performs services for an
5employer for wage, remuneration, or other compensation. This
6includes persons working any number of hours, including a
7full-time or part-time status.
8    "Employee" does not include any person who the employer
9establishes:
10            (A) has been and will continue to be free from
11        control and direction over the performance of their
12        work, both under a contract of service and in fact;
13            (B) is engaged in an independently established
14        trade, occupation, profession or business; or
15            (C) is deemed a legitimate sole proprietor or
16        partnership.
17    A sole proprietor or partnership shall be deemed to be
18legitimate if the employer establishes that:
19        (1) the sole proprietor or partnership is performing
20    the service free from the direction or control over the
21    means and manner of providing the service, subject only to
22    the right of the employer for whom the service is provided
23    to specify the desired result;
24        (2) the sole proprietor or partnership is not subject
25    to cancellation or destruction upon severance of the
26    relationship with the employer;

 

 

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1        (3) the sole proprietor or partnership has a
2    substantial investment of capital in the sole
3    proprietorship or partnership beyond the ordinary tools
4    and equipment and a personal vehicle;
5        (4) the sole proprietor or partnership owns the capital
6    goods and gains the profits and bears the losses of the
7    sole proprietorship or partnership;
8        (5) the sole proprietor or partnership makes its
9    services available to the general public on a continuing
10    basis;
11        (6) the sole proprietor or partnership includes
12    services rendered on a Federal Income Tax Schedule as an
13    independent business or profession;
14        (7) the sole proprietor or partnership performs
15    services for the contractor under the sole proprietor's or
16    partnership's name;
17        (8) when the services being provided require a license
18    or permit, the sole proprietor or partnership obtains and
19    pays for the license or permit in the sole proprietorship's
20    or partnership's name;
21        (9) the sole proprietor or partnership furnishes the
22    tools and equipment necessary to provide the service;
23        (10) if necessary, the sole proprietor or partnership
24    hires its own employees without approval of the employer,
25    pays the employees without reimbursement from the employer
26    and reports the employees' income to the Internal Revenue

 

 

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1    Service;
2        (11) the employer does not represent the sole
3    proprietorship or partnership as an employee of the
4    employer to the public; and
5        (12) the sole proprietor or partnership has the right
6    to perform similar services for others on whatever basis
7    and whenever it chooses.
8    "Employee" does not include any employee of an employer
9subject to the Railway Labor Act.
10    Nothing in this Act shall hinder or prohibit the ability of
11an exempted employee from taking uncompensated time off due to
12any reason for leave allowable for paid sick time under Section
1315.
14    "Employer" means any individual; person; partnership;
15association; corporation; limited liability company; business
16trust; employment or labor placement agency or business where
17wages are made directly or indirectly by the agency or business
18for work undertaken by the employee under hire to a third party
19pursuant to a contact between the agency or business with the
20third party; the State of Illinois and local governments; or
21any political subdivision of the State or local government, or
22State or local government agency; for which one or more persons
23is gainfully employed, express or implied, whether lawfully or
24unlawfully employed, who employs a worker or who employs a
25worker not excluded as an employee pursuant to the definition
26of "employee" or, notwithstanding any other law, who is the

 

 

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1employer or joint employer for collective bargaining purposes
2of a bargaining unit of employees. "Employer" does not include
3school districts organized under the School Code, park
4districts organized under the Park District Code, or any City
5of Chicago Sister Agency under the Chicago Minimum Wage and
6Paid Sick Leave Ordinance as of the effective date of this Act.
7    "Family member" means a child, spouse, parent, child or
8parent of an employee's spouse, sibling, grandparent,
9grandchild, or any other individual related by blood or whose
10close association with the employee is the equivalent of a
11family relationship.
12    "Health care provider" means a person:
13        (1) who is:
14            (A) licensed to practice medicine in all of its
15        branches in Illinois and possesses the degree of doctor
16        of medicine;
17            (B) licensed to practice medicine in all of its
18        branches in Illinois and possesses the degree of doctor
19        of osteopathy or osteopathic medicine;
20            (C) licensed to practice medicine in all of its
21        branches or as an osteopathic physician in another
22        state or jurisdiction;
23            (D) a chiropractic physician licensed under the
24        Medical Practice Act of 1987; or
25            (E) any other person determined by final rule as of
26        the date this Act becomes law under the Family and

 

 

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1        Medical Leave Act of 1993; and
2        (2) who is not employed by an employer to whom the
3    provider issues certifications under this Act.
4    "Paid sick time" means a portion of or an entire scheduled
5or regular workday when an employee is unable to report to work
6because of a reason described in subsection (b) of Section 15.
7    "Parent" means a biological, adoptive, or foster parent, a
8stepparent, a parent of a legal ward, a person who stands in
9loco parentis to an employee or an employee's spouse, or any
10other individual whose close association with the employee is
11the equivalent of a parent.
12    "Spouse" means a party to a marriage or a party to a civil
13union as defined by law.
14    "Victim services organization" means a nonprofit,
15nongovernmental organization that provides assistance to
16victims of domestic or sexual violence, including rape crisis
17centers, organizations carrying out a domestic violence
18program, organizations operating a shelter or providing
19counseling services, and a legal services organization or other
20organization providing assistance through the legal process.
 
21    Section 15. Provision of paid sick time.
22    (a) An employee who works in Illinois who is absent from
23work for a reason set forth in subsection (b) is entitled to
24earn and use a minimum of 40 hours of paid sick time during a
2512-month period or a pro rata number of hours of paid sick time

 

 

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1under the provisions of subsection (c). The 12-month period for
2an employee shall be calculated annually from the date of hire
3or the effective date of this Act, whichever is later.
4    (b) Paid sick time shall be provided to an employee by an
5employer to:
6        (1) care for the employee's own physical or mental
7    illness, injury, or health condition, or seek medical
8    diagnosis or care, or attend a medical appointment;
9        (2) care for the employee's family member who is
10    suffering from a physical or mental illness, injury, or
11    health condition, or seek medical diagnosis or care, or
12    attend a medical appointment;
13        (3) care for a child whose school or place of care has
14    been closed by order of a public official due to a public
15    health emergency or to not go in to work because of the
16    closure of the employee's place of business by order of a
17    public official due to a public health emergency;
18        (4) be absent from work because the employee or the
19    employee's family member is the victim of:
20            (A) domestic violence as defined in Section 103(3)
21        of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986; or
22            (B) sexual violence, which means:
23                (i) any conduct proscribed by Article 11 of the
24            Criminal Code of 2012 except Sections 11-35 and
25            11-45;
26                (ii) Sections 12-7.3, 12-7.4, and 12-7.5 of

 

 

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1            the Criminal Code of 2012; or
2                (iii) a similar provision of the Criminal Code
3            of 1961; or
4        (5) be absent from work to visit the employee's family
5    member who is in jail or prison, for the employee to attend
6    his or her own or his or her family member's appointment
7    regarding court sentencing, probation, conditional
8    discharge, parole, or mandatory supervised release
9    requirements, or any other civil or criminal court hearing
10    or trial.
11    (c) Paid sick time shall accrue at the rate of one hour of
12paid sick time for every 40 hours worked up to a minimum of 40
13hours of paid sick time unless the employer selects a higher
14limit. Employees who are exempt from the overtime requirements
15of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1))
16shall be deemed to work 40 hours in each work week for purposes
17of paid sick time accrual unless their normal work week is less
18than 40 hours, in which case paid sick time accrues based on
19that normal work week. Employees shall determine how much paid
20sick time they need to use, provided that employers may set a
21reasonable minimum increment for the use of paid sick time not
22to exceed 4 hours per day.
23    (d) Employees shall be paid their regular rate of pay for
24paid sick time. However, employees engaged in an occupation in
25which gratuities or commissions have customarily and usually
26constituted and have been recognized as part of the

 

 

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1remuneration for hire purposes shall be paid by their employer
2at least the full minimum wage in the jurisdiction in which
3they are employed when paid sick time is taken. Paid sick time
4under this Act shall not be charged or otherwise credited to
5employee vacation accounts.
6    (e) Paid sick time shall begin to accrue at the
7commencement of employment or on the effective date of this
8Act, whichever is later. Employees shall be entitled to begin
9using paid sick time 180 days following commencement of their
10employment or 180 days following the effective date of this
11Act, whichever is later. Nothing in this Section shall be
12construed to discourage or prohibit an employer from allowing
13the use of paid sick time at an earlier date than this Section
14requires. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage
15employers from adopting or retaining paid sick time policies
16more generous than policies that comply with the requirements
17of this Act.
18    (f) An employer may require certification of the qualifying
19illness, injury, or health condition, or for time used pursuant
20to item (1) or (2) of subsection (b), when paid sick time used
21covers more than 3 consecutive workdays. Any reasonable
22documentation signed by a health care provider of the
23employee's choice involved in following or treating the
24illness, injury, or health condition, and indicating the need
25for the amount of sick time taken, shall be deemed acceptable
26certification. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to

 

 

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1require an employee to provide as certification any information
2from a health care provider that would be a disclosure in
3violation of Section 1177 of the Social Security Act or the
4regulations promulgated pursuant to the federal Health
5Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. If an
6employer possesses health information or any information
7related to domestic or sexual violence about an employee or
8employee's family member, the information shall be treated as
9confidential and not disclosed except with the permission of
10the affected employee. For paid sick time used pursuant to item
11(4) of subsection (b), any one of the following is acceptable
12documentation, and only one of the following shall be required:
13a police report, court document, any reasonable documentation
14signed by a health care provider, or signed statement from an
15attorney, a member of the clergy, a victim services
16organization or advocate, or the employee. It is up to the
17employee to determine which documentation to submit. If a
18document has been submitted, the employer shall not request or
19require any other document if the reason for the sick time is
20related to the same incident of violence or the same
21perpetrator of the violence. The employer shall not delay the
22commencement of leave taken for purposes of subsection (b) nor
23delay pay for this period on the basis that the employer has
24not yet received the certification.
25    (g) Paid sick time shall be provided upon the oral request
26of an employee. If the necessity for paid sick time under this

 

 

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1Act is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer
2with not less than 7 days' notice before the date the leave is
3to begin. If the necessity for leave is not foreseeable, the
4employee shall provide such notice as soon as is practical
5after the employee is aware of the necessity of the leave. An
6employer may not require, as a condition of providing paid sick
7time under this Act, that the employee search for or find a
8replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee
9is on paid sick time leave.
10    (h) Paid sick time shall carry over annually to the extent
11not used by the employee, provided that nothing in this Act
12shall be construed to require an employer to allow use of more
13than 40 hours of paid sick time for an employee unless the
14employer agrees to do so.
15    (i) It is unlawful for an employer to interfere with,
16restrain, deny, change work days or hours scheduled to avoid
17paying sick time, or discipline an employee for the exercise
18of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under or in
19connection with this Act, including considering the use of paid
20sick time as a negative factor in an employment action that
21involves hiring, terminating, evaluating, promoting,
22disciplining, or counting the paid sick time under a no-fault
23attendance policy.
24    (j) During any period an employee takes leave under this
25Act, the employer shall maintain coverage for the employee and
26any family member under any group health plan for the duration

 

 

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1of such leave at at least the level and conditions of coverage
2as would have been provided if the employee had not taken the
3leave.
4    (k) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as requiring
5financial or other payment to an employee from an employer upon
6the employee's termination, resignation, retirement, or other
7separation from employment for accrued paid sick time that has
8not been used.
9    (l) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit
10an employer from taking disciplinary action, up to and
11including termination, against an employee who uses paid sick
12time provided pursuant to this Act for purposes other than
13those described in this Section.
14    (m) If an employee is transferred to a separate division,
15entity, or location, but remains employed by the same employer,
16the employee is entitled to all paid sick time accrued at the
17prior division, entity, or location and is entitled to use all
18paid sick time as provided in this Section. If there is a
19separation from employment and the employee is rehired within
2012 months of separation by the same employer, previously
21accrued paid sick time that had not been used shall be
22reinstated. The employee shall be entitled to use accrued paid
23sick time at the commencement of employment following a
24separation from employment of 12 months or less.
25    (n) Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to interfere
26with, impede, or in any way diminish the right of employees to

 

 

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1bargain collectively with their employers through
2representatives of their own choosing in order to establish
3wages or other conditions of work in excess of the applicable
4minimum standards of the provisions of this Act. Nothing in
5this Section shall be deemed to affect the validity or change
6the terms of bona fide collective bargaining agreements in
7force on the effective date of this Act. After the effective
8date of this Act, requirements of this Section may be waived in
9a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, but only if the
10waiver is set forth explicitly in such agreement in clear and
11unambiguous terms. In no event shall this Section apply to any
12employee working in the construction industry who is covered by
13a bona fide collective bargaining agreement.
 
14    Section 20. Related employer responsibilities.
15    (a) An employer subject to any provision of this Act shall
16make and preserve records documenting hours worked by employees
17and the amount of paid sick time taken by employees for a
18period of not less than 3 years and shall allow the Department
19access to such records, with appropriate notice and a mutually
20agreeable time, to monitor compliance with the requirements of
21this Section. In addition, the records shall be preserved for
22the duration of any claim pending pursuant to Section 35.
23    (b) An agreement by employees to waive their rights under
24this Act, except as allowed under subsection (n) of Section 15,
25is void as against public policy.

 

 

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1    (c) Employers who have a paid time off policy that complies
2with the requirements of this Act are not required to modify
3the policy if such policy offers an employee the option, at the
4employee's discretion, to take paid sick time that is at least
5equivalent to the paid sick time described in this Act.
6    (d) An employer shall post and keep posted in a conspicuous
7place on the premises of the employer where notices to
8employees are customarily posted, and include in an employee
9manual or policy if the employer has one, a notice, to be
10prepared by the Department, summarizing the requirements of
11this Act and information pertaining to the filing of a charge.
12If an employer's workforce is comprised of a significant
13portion of workers who are not literate in English, the
14employer is responsible for providing the notice in a language
15in which the employees are literate. An employer who willfully
16violates the notice and posting requirements of this Section
17shall be subject to a civil penalty to be paid to the employee
18in an amount not to exceed $100 for each separate offense.
 
19    Section 25. Unlawful employer practices. It is unlawful for
20any employer to take any adverse action against an employee
21because the employee (1) exercises rights or attempts to
22exercise rights under this Act, (2) opposes practices which
23such employee believes to be in violation of this Act, or (3)
24supports the exercise of rights of another under this Act. Such
25unlawful employer practices include, but are not limited to,

 

 

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1any reference to the employee's or any of the employee's family
2members' citizenship or immigration status, or any threat to
3contact or actual contact with any local, State, or federal
4government entities regarding the employee's or any of the
5employee's family members' citizenship or immigration status,
6or sexual harassment. Exercising rights under this Act includes
7filing an action or instituting or causing to be instituted any
8proceeding under or related to this Act; providing or agreeing
9to provide any information in connection with any inquiry or
10proceeding relating to any right provided under this Act; or
11testifying to or agreeing to testify in any inquiry or
12proceeding relating to any right provided under this Act.
 
13    Section 30. Department responsibilities.
14    (a) The Department shall administer and enforce this Act
15and adopt rules under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act
16for the purpose of this Act. The Department shall have the
17powers and the parties shall have the rights provided in the
18Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for contested cases. The
19Department shall have the power to conduct investigations in
20connection with the administration and enforcement of this Act,
21including the power to conduct depositions and discovery and to
22issue subpoenas. If the Department finds cause to believe that
23this Act has been violated, the Department shall notify the
24parties in writing and the matter shall be referred to an
25Administrative Law Judge to schedule a formal hearing in

 

 

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1accordance with hearing procedures established by rule.
2Administrative decisions shall be reviewed under the
3Administrative Review Law.
4    (b) The Department is authorized to impose civil penalties
5prescribed in Section 35 in administrative proceedings that
6comply with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and to
7supervise the payment of the unpaid wages and damages owing to
8the employee or employees under this Act. The Department may
9bring any legal action necessary to recover the amount of
10unpaid wages, damages, and penalties, and the employer shall be
11required to pay the costs. Any sums recovered by the Department
12on behalf of an employee under this Act shall be paid to the
13employee or employees affected. However, 20% of any penalty
14collected from the employer for a violation of this Act shall
15be deposited into the Healthy Workplace Fund, a special fund
16created in the State treasury that is dedicated to enforcing
17this Act.
18    (c) The Attorney General may bring an action to enforce the
19collection of any civil penalty imposed under this Act.
 
20    Section 35. Enforcement.
21    (a) An employee who believes his or her rights under this
22Act or any rule adopted under this Act have been violated may,
23within 3 years after the date of the last event constituting
24the alleged violation for which the action is brought, file a
25complaint with the Department or file a civil action.

 

 

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1    (b) Any employer that violates this Act is liable in a
2claim filed with the Department or in a civil action in circuit
3court to any affected individuals for actual and compensatory
4damages, with interest at the prevailing rate, punitive
5damages, and such equitable relief as may be appropriate, in
6addition to reasonable attorney's fees, reasonable expert
7witness fees, and other costs of the action to be paid by the
8defendant. A civil action may be brought without first filing a
9complaint with the Department. Administrative decisions are
10reviewable under the Administrative Review Law.
11    (c) Any employer that the Department or a court finds by a
12preponderance of the evidence to have knowingly, repeatedly, or
13with reckless disregard violated any provision of this Act or
14any rule adopted under this Act is subject to a civil money
15penalty to be paid to the employee not to exceed $2,500 for
16each separate offense.
 
17    Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
18Section 5.891 as follows:
 
19    (30 ILCS 105/5.891 new)
20    Sec. 5.891. The Healthy Workplace Fund.
 
21    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
22severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
 
23    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1becoming law.