Sen. Toi W. Hutchinson

Filed: 3/20/2013

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1190

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1190 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Family Care Provider Act.
 
6    Section 5. Purpose. It is the purpose of this Act that all
7employers required to comply with the Family and Medical Leave
8Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 2601, et seq., shall include
9grandparents and grandchildren as "eligible employees" for
10leave for the birth or adoption of a grandchild in order for
11the grandparent to care for that grandchild; for the placement
12of a grandchild with the grandparent for adoption or foster
13care; for the grandparent to care for the grandchild if that
14grandchild has a serious health condition; or for the
15grandchild to care for the grandparent if the grandparent has a
16serious health condition.
 

 

 

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1    Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act:
2    "Department" means the Department of Labor.
3    "Director" means the Director of the Department of Labor.
4    "Eligible employee" means an employee who has been employed
5for (i) at least 12 months by the employer with respect to whom
6leave is requested under this Act and (ii) has at least 1,250
7hours of service with that employer during the previous
812-month period.
9    "Eligible employee" does not include any employee of an
10employer who is employed at a worksite at which the employer
11employs fewer than 50 employees if the total number of
12employees employed by that employer within 75 miles of that
13worksite is less than 50.
14    "Employee benefits" means all benefits, other than salary
15and wages, provided or made available to employees by an
16employer and includes group life insurance, health insurance,
17disability insurance, and pensions, regardless of whether
18benefits are provided by a policy or practice of an employer.
19    "Employer" has the meaning ascribed to that term in the
20Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.
21    "Grandparent" means a biological, adopted, or step
22grandparent of an employee or a grandparent who is physically
23residing with the employee.
24    "Grandchild" means a biological, adopted, or step
25grandchild of an employee or a grandchild who is physically

 

 

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1residing with the employee.
 
2    Section 15. Scope. All employers required to comply with
3the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 2601 et
4seq., are required to comply with this Act.
 
5    Section 20. Family leave requirement.
6    (a) Subject to the conditions set forth in this Section, an
7eligible employee is entitled to receive and each employer, as
8defined in Section 10 of this Act, must provide up to 12 weeks
9of unpaid family medical leave to an employee during any
1012-month period for one or more of the following:
11        (1) the birth or adoption of a grandchild in order for
12    the employee to care for the grandchild;
13        (2) the placement of a grandchild with the employee for
14    adoption or foster care or the placement of a grandparent
15    or grandchild to physically reside in the employee's home;
16        (3) the care for a grandchild if the grandchild has a
17    serious health condition; or
18        (4) the care for a grandparent if the grandparent has a
19    serious health condition.
20    (b) In any case in which the necessity for leave under this
21Section is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer
22with notice of the employee's intention to take leave under
23this Section at least 30 days before the leave is to begin. If
24the date of the birth, adoption, or placement requires leave to

 

 

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1begin in fewer than 30 days or in the case of sudden medical
2emergency or health condition, the employee shall provide as
3much notice as is practicable. When able, the employee shall
4consult with the employer to schedule the leave so as to not
5unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.
6    (c) An employee shall not take leave as provided under this
7Act unless he or she has exhausted all accrued vacation leave,
8personal leave, compensatory leave, and any other leave that
9may be granted to the employee, except sick leave and
10disability leave.
 
11    Section 25. Certification.
12    (a) In general. An employer may require that a request for
13leave be supported by a certification issued by the health care
14provider of the eligible employee or of the grandparent or
15grandchild in the case of leave taken under such subsection
16(a)(3) or (a)(4) of Section 20, as appropriate. The employee
17shall provide, in a timely manner, a copy of the certification
18to the employer.
19    (b) Sufficient certification. Certification provided under
20subsection (a) of this Section shall be sufficient if it
21states:
22        (1) the date on which the serious health condition
23    commenced;
24        (2) the probable duration of the condition;
25        (3) the appropriate medical facts within the knowledge

 

 

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1    of the health care provider regarding the condition;
2        (4) for purposes of leave, a statement that the
3    eligible employee is needed to care for the grandparent or
4    grandchild and an estimate of the amount of time that the
5    employee is needed to care for the grandchild or
6    grandparent;
7        (5) in the case of certification for intermittent leave
8    or leave on a reduced leave schedule for planned medical
9    treatment, the dates on which the treatment is expected to
10    be given and the duration of the treatment;
11        (6) in the case of certification for intermittent leave
12    or leave on a reduced leave schedule, a statement of the
13    medical necessity for the intermittent leave or leave on a
14    reduced leave schedule and the expected duration of the
15    intermittent leave or reduced leave schedule; and
16        (7) in the case of certification for intermittent leave
17    or leave on a reduced leave schedule, a statement that the
18    employee's intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave
19    schedule is necessary for the care of a grandparent or
20    grandchild, who has a serious health condition, or will
21    assist in their recovery and the expected duration and
22    schedule of the intermittent leave or reduced leave
23    schedule.
24    (c) Second opinion.
25        (1) In general. In any case in which the employer has
26    reason to doubt the validity of the certification for leave

 

 

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1    provided under subsection (a) of this Section, the employer
2    may require, at the expense of the employer, that the
3    eligible employee obtain the opinion of a second health
4    care provider designated or approved by the employer
5    concerning any information certified as provided in
6    subsection (b) of this Section for the leave.
7        (2) Limitation. A health care provider designated or
8    approved under paragraph (1) shall not be employed on a
9    regular basis by the employer.
10    (d) Resolution of conflicting opinions.
11        (1) In general. In any case in which the second opinion
12    described in subsection (c) of this Section differs from
13    the opinion in the original certification provided under
14    subsection (a) of this Section, the employer may require,
15    at the expense of the employer, that the employee obtain
16    the opinion of a third health care provider designated or
17    approved jointly by the employer and the employee
18    concerning the information certified as provided in
19    subsection (b) of this Section.
20        (2) Finality. The opinion of the third health care
21    provider concerning the information certified as provided
22    in subsection (b) of this Section shall be considered to be
23    final and shall be binding on the employer and the
24    employee.
25    (e) Subsequent recertification. The employer may require
26that the eligible employee obtain subsequent recertifications

 

 

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1on a reasonable basis.
 
2    Section 30. Employee benefits protection.
3    (a) Any employee who exercises the right to leave under
4this Act shall be entitled upon expiration of the leave to be
5restored by the employer to the position held by the employee
6when the leave commenced or to a position with equivalent
7seniority status, employee benefits, pay, and other terms and
8conditions of employment. This Section does not apply if the
9employer proves that the employee was not restored as provided
10in this Section because of conditions unrelated to the
11employee's exercise of rights under this Act.
12    (b) During any leave taken under this Act, the employer
13shall continue employee benefits at the employer's expense.
 
14    Section 35. Effect on existing employee benefits.
15    (a) Taking leave under this Act shall not result in the
16loss of any employee benefit accrued before the date on which
17the leave commenced.
18    (b) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect an
19employer's obligation to comply with any collective bargaining
20agreement or employee benefit plan that provides greater leave
21rights to employees than the rights provided under this Act.
22    (c) The leave rights provided under this Act shall not be
23diminished by any collective bargaining agreement or employee
24benefit plan.

 

 

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1    (d) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect or
2diminish the contract rights or seniority status of any other
3employee of any employer covered under this Act.
 
4    Section 40. Prohibited acts.
5    (a) An employer shall not interfere with, restrain, or deny
6the exercise or the attempt to exercise any right provided
7under this Act.
8    (b) An employer shall not discharge, fine, suspend, expel,
9discipline, or in any other manner discriminate against any
10employee that exercises any right provided under this Act.
11    (c) An employer shall not discharge, fine, suspend, expel,
12discipline, or in any other manner discriminate against any
13employee for opposing any practice made unlawful by this Act.
 
14    Section 45. Enforcement.
15    (a) The Director or his or her authorized representative
16shall administer and enforce the provisions of this Act. Within
173 years after an alleged violation occurs, any employee who
18believes his or her rights under this Act have been violated or
19his or her representative may file a complaint with the
20Department requesting a review of the alleged violation. A copy
21of the complaint shall be sent to the person who allegedly
22committed the violation, who shall be the respondent. Upon
23receipt of a complaint, the Director shall cause such
24investigation to be made as he or she deems appropriate. The

 

 

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1investigation shall provide an opportunity for an
2administrative hearing at the request of any party to the
3review to enable the parties to present information relating to
4the alleged allegation.
5    A party may be accompanied at an administrative hearing by
6his or her attorney or other representative. The participation
7of the other representative in the informal hearing shall be
8limited to fact-finding and support functions. Other
9representatives shall not be permitted to engage in any conduct
10or function that constitutes or reasonably approximates the
11practice of law. Other representatives shall not examine or
12cross-examine any party or witness; offer any documents or
13other exhibits into evidence; make evidentiary, procedural, or
14other legal objections; cite, file, or interpret case law,
15statutes, administrative rulings, or other legal authority;
16make legal arguments or interpretations; or give legal advice
17or opinions to parties or witnesses. Other representatives must
18provide to the represented party for signature a written
19disclosure document that explicitly states that the
20representative is not an attorney and that the representative
21is not permitted to present legal arguments or otherwise engage
22in any function that reasonably approximates the practice of
23law as described in this subsection. The document shall be
24signed by both the representative and the represented party.
25    (b) The parties may bring witnesses to the hearing, and the
26hearing officer shall hear witnesses with information related

 

 

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1to the claim. The hearing officer shall determine the order in
2which the witnesses are to be heard and shall limit testimony
3to that which is relevant and material to the claim, not
4cumulative in nature, and not unduly repetitious. In deciding
5whether to permit a witness to testify, the hearing officer may
6consider the relevance and materiality of the testimony. The
7hearing officer may exclude witnesses from the hearing when
8they are not giving testimony. The hearing officer shall
9conduct and control the proceedings.
10    The parties shall be given written notice of the time and
11place of the hearing at least 7 days before the hearing. Upon
12receiving the report of the investigation, the Director shall
13make findings of fact. If the Director finds that a violation
14did occur, he or she shall issue a decision incorporating his
15or her findings and requiring the party committing the
16violation to take such affirmative action to abate the
17violation as the Director deems appropriate, including:
18        (1) damages equal to the amount of wages, salary,
19    employment benefits, public assistance, or other
20    compensation denied or lost to such individual by reason of
21    the violation and the interest on that amount calculated at
22    the prevailing rate;
23        (2) such equitable relief as may be appropriate,
24    including, but not limited to, hiring, reinstatement,
25    promotion, and reasonable accommodations; and
26        (3) reasonable attorney's fees, reasonable expert

 

 

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1    witness fees, and other costs of the action to be paid by
2    the respondent to a prevailing employee.
3    If the Director finds that there was no violation, he or
4she shall issue an order denying the complaint. An order issued
5by the Director under this Section shall be final and subject
6to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law.
7    (c) The Director shall adopt rules necessary to administer
8and enforce this Act in accordance with the Illinois
9Administrative Procedure Act. The Director shall have the
10powers and the parties shall have the rights provided in the
11Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for contested cases,
12including, but not limited to, provisions for depositions,
13subpoena power and procedures, and discovery and protective
14order procedures.
15    (d) The Department may establish an administrative
16procedure to adjudicate claims and to issue final and binding
17administrative decisions on such claims subject to the
18Administrative Review Law. To establish such a procedure, the
19Director or her or his authorized representative may promulgate
20rules. The adoption, amendment or rescission of rules for such
21a procedure shall be in conformity with the requirements of the
22Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
23    (e) The Attorney General of Illinois may intervene on
24behalf of the Department if the Department certifies that the
25case is of general public importance. Upon such intervention
26the court may award such relief as is authorized to be granted

 

 

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1to an employee who has filed a complaint or whose
2representative has filed a complaint under this Section.
 
3    Section 50. Refusal to pay damages. Any employer who has
4been ordered by the Director of Labor or the court to pay
5damages under this Section is liable for:
6        (1) damages equal to the amount of wages, salary,
7    employment benefits, public assistance, or other
8    compensation denied or lost to such individual by reason of
9    the violation and the interest on that amount calculated at
10    the prevailing rate;
11        (2) such equitable relief as may be appropriate; and
12        (3) reasonable attorney's fees, reasonable expert
13    witness fees, and other costs of the action to be paid by
14    the respondent to a prevailing employee.
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.".