102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB3616

 

Introduced 1/19/2022, by Sen. Mattie Hunter

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
775 ILCS 5/1-103  from Ch. 68, par. 1-103

    Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act. Provides that "race", as used in the Employment Article, includes traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists.


LRB102 24112 LNS 33338 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3616LRB102 24112 LNS 33338 b

1    AN ACT concerning human rights.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. References to Act. This Act may be referred to
5as the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for
6Natural Hair) Act.
 
7    Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by
8changing Section 1-103 as follows:
 
9    (775 ILCS 5/1-103)  (from Ch. 68, par. 1-103)
10    Sec. 1-103. General definitions. When used in this Act,
11unless the context requires otherwise, the term:
12    (A) Age. "Age" means the chronological age of a person who
13is at least 40 years old, except with regard to any practice
14described in Section 2-102, insofar as that practice concerns
15training or apprenticeship programs. In the case of training
16or apprenticeship programs, for the purposes of Section 2-102,
17"age" means the chronological age of a person who is 18 but not
18yet 40 years old.
19    (B) Aggrieved party. "Aggrieved party" means a person who
20is alleged or proved to have been injured by a civil rights
21violation or believes he or she will be injured by a civil
22rights violation under Article 3 that is about to occur.

 

 

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1    (B-5) Arrest record. "Arrest record" means:
2        (1) an arrest not leading to a conviction;
3        (2) a juvenile record; or
4        (3) criminal history record information ordered
5    expunged, sealed, or impounded under Section 5.2 of the
6    Criminal Identification Act.
7    (C) Charge. "Charge" means an allegation filed with the
8Department by an aggrieved party or initiated by the
9Department under its authority.
10    (D) Civil rights violation. "Civil rights violation"
11includes and shall be limited to only those specific acts set
12forth in Sections 2-102, 2-103, 2-105, 3-102, 3-102.1, 3-103,
133-102.10, 3-104.1, 3-105, 3-105.1, 4-102, 4-103, 5-102,
145A-102, 6-101, 6-101.5, and 6-102 of this Act.
15    (E) Commission. "Commission" means the Human Rights
16Commission created by this Act.
17    (F) Complaint. "Complaint" means the formal pleading filed
18by the Department with the Commission following an
19investigation and finding of substantial evidence of a civil
20rights violation.
21    (G) Complainant. "Complainant" means a person including
22the Department who files a charge of civil rights violation
23with the Department or the Commission.
24    (G-5) Conviction record. "Conviction record" means
25information indicating that a person has been convicted of a
26felony, misdemeanor or other criminal offense, placed on

 

 

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1probation, fined, imprisoned, or paroled pursuant to any law
2enforcement or military authority.
3    (H) Department. "Department" means the Department of Human
4Rights created by this Act.
5    (I) Disability.
6    (1) "Disability" means a determinable physical or mental
7characteristic of a person, including, but not limited to, a
8determinable physical characteristic which necessitates the
9person's use of a guide, hearing or support dog, the history of
10such characteristic, or the perception of such characteristic
11by the person complained against, which may result from
12disease, injury, congenital condition of birth or functional
13disorder and which characteristic:
14        (a) For purposes of Article 2, is unrelated to the
15    person's ability to perform the duties of a particular job
16    or position and, pursuant to Section 2-104 of this Act, a
17    person's illegal use of drugs or alcohol is not a
18    disability;
19        (b) For purposes of Article 3, is unrelated to the
20    person's ability to acquire, rent, or maintain a housing
21    accommodation;
22        (c) For purposes of Article 4, is unrelated to a
23    person's ability to repay;
24        (d) For purposes of Article 5, is unrelated to a
25    person's ability to utilize and benefit from a place of
26    public accommodation;

 

 

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1        (e) For purposes of Article 5, also includes any
2    mental, psychological, or developmental disability,
3    including autism spectrum disorders.
4    (2) Discrimination based on disability includes unlawful
5discrimination against an individual because of the
6individual's association with a person with a disability.
7    (J) Marital status. "Marital status" means the legal
8status of being married, single, separated, divorced, or
9widowed.
10    (J-1) Military status. "Military status" means a person's
11status on active duty in or status as a veteran of the armed
12forces of the United States, status as a current member or
13veteran of any reserve component of the armed forces of the
14United States, including the United States Army Reserve,
15United States Marine Corps Reserve, United States Navy
16Reserve, United States Air Force Reserve, and United States
17Coast Guard Reserve, or status as a current member or veteran
18of the Illinois Army National Guard or Illinois Air National
19Guard.
20    (K) National origin. "National origin" means the place in
21which a person or one of his or her ancestors was born.
22    (K-5) "Order of protection status" means a person's status
23as being a person protected under an order of protection
24issued pursuant to the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986,
25Article 112A of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, the
26Stalking No Contact Order Act, or the Civil No Contact Order

 

 

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1Act, or an order of protection issued by a court of another
2state.
3    (L) Person. "Person" includes one or more individuals,
4partnerships, associations or organizations, labor
5organizations, labor unions, joint apprenticeship committees,
6or union labor associations, corporations, the State of
7Illinois and its instrumentalities, political subdivisions,
8units of local government, legal representatives, trustees in
9bankruptcy or receivers.
10    (L-5) Pregnancy. "Pregnancy" means pregnancy, childbirth,
11or medical or common conditions related to pregnancy or
12childbirth.
13    (M) Public contract. "Public contract" includes every
14contract to which the State, any of its political
15subdivisions, or any municipal corporation is a party.
16    (N) Religion. "Religion" includes all aspects of religious
17observance and practice, as well as belief, except that with
18respect to employers, for the purposes of Article 2,
19"religion" has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph (F) of
20Section 2-101.
21    (O) Sex. "Sex" means the status of being male or female.
22    (O-1) Sexual orientation. "Sexual orientation" means
23actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality,
24bisexuality, or gender-related identity, whether or not
25traditionally associated with the person's designated sex at
26birth. "Sexual orientation" does not include a physical or

 

 

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1sexual attraction to a minor by an adult.
2    (P) Unfavorable military discharge. "Unfavorable military
3discharge" includes discharges from the Armed Forces of the
4United States, their Reserve components, or any National Guard
5or Naval Militia which are classified as RE-3 or the
6equivalent thereof, but does not include those characterized
7as RE-4 or "Dishonorable".
8    (Q) Unlawful discrimination. "Unlawful discrimination"
9means discrimination against a person because of his or her
10actual or perceived: race, color, religion, national origin,
11ancestry, age, sex, marital status, order of protection
12status, disability, military status, sexual orientation,
13pregnancy, or unfavorable discharge from military service as
14those terms are defined in this Section. As used in Article 2,
15"race" includes traits historically associated with race,
16including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective
17hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists.
18(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-221, eff. 1-1-20;
19101-565, eff. 1-1-20; 101-656, eff. 3-23-21; 102-362, eff.
201-1-22; 102-419, eff. 1-1-22; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; revised
219-29-21.)