State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_HB0003

 
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 1        AN ACT in relation to conditions of employment.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 1.  Short title.   This Act may be cited  as  the
 5    Flex-time Rights Act.

 6        Section  5.  Policy.   The  General  Assembly  finds that
 7    employees occasionally have legitimate needs to  leave  their
 8    places  of  employment during work hours.  The intent of this
 9    Act is to ensure that employees are  able  to  obtain  needed
10    time away from work of up to 24 hours per year.

11        Section 10.  Definitions.  As used in this Act:
12        (a)  "Employee"  means a person who performs services for
13    hire for an employer for:
14             (1)  at  least  6  consecutive  months   immediately
15        preceding a request for leave under this Act; and
16             (2)  an average number of hours per week equal to at
17        least  one-half  the full-time equivalent position in the
18        employer's  job  classification,  as   defined   by   the
19        employer's   personnel   policies   or  practices  or  in
20        accordance with a  collective  bargaining  agreement,  in
21        effect during the immediately preceding 6 months.
22        "Employee"  includes  all  individuals  meeting the above
23    criteria but does not include an independent contractor.
24        (b)  "Employer"  means   any   individual,   partnership,
25    association, business trust, person, or entity for whom 25 or
26    more persons are gainfully employed in Illinois.
27        (c)  "Director" means  the Director of Labor.
28        (d)  "Flex-time  leave" means the employee leave provided
29    by Section 15 of this Act.
 
                            -2-                LRB9100349WHmg
 1        Section 15.  Flex-time leave.
 2        (a)  An employer must grant an employee leave of up to  a
 3    total  of 24 hours during any calendar year.  An employer may
 4    require that not more than 4 hours of this leave be taken  by
 5    an  employee  on  any  one  day.  No leave may be taken by an
 6    employee of an employer that is subject to  this  Act  unless
 7    the  employee  has  exhausted  all  accrued  vacation  leave,
 8    personal  leave,  compensatory  leave,  and  any  other leave
 9    except sick leave, disability leave, and other leave mandated
10    by federal or State law.
11        (b)  An employee shall provide an employer with a written
12    request for leave at least 7 days in advance of the time  the
13    employee plans to take the leave. In emergency situations, an
14    employee  shall  provide  the  request  for leave at least 24
15    hours  in  advance.   The  employee  must  consult  with  the
16    employer to schedule the leave so as not  to  unduly  disrupt
17    the operations of the employer.
18        (c)  Nothing in this Act requires that the leave be paid.
19        (d)  If  an  employer  offers  its  employees personal or
20    compensatory leave of at least 3 days per year, the  employer
21    is exempt from the provisions of this Act.

22        Section  20.  Compensation.  An  employee who utilizes or
23    seeks to utilize the rights afforded by this Act  may  choose
24    the opportunity to make up the time so taken as guaranteed by
25    this  Act  on  a  different  day  or shift as directed by the
26    employer.  An employee who exercises his or her rights  under
27    this Act shall not be required to make up the time taken, but
28    if the employee does not make up the time taken, the employee
29    shall not be compensated for the time taken.  An employee who
30    does make up the time taken shall be paid at the same rate as
31    is  paid  for normal working time.   An employer shall make a
32    good faith effort to permit an employee to make up  the  time
33    taken  for  the  purposes  of  this  Act.   If  no reasonable
 
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 1    opportunity exists for the  employee  to  make  up  the  time
 2    taken,  the  employee  shall  not  be  paid  for  the time. A
 3    reasonable opportunity to make up the  time  taken  does  not
 4    include the scheduling of make-up time in a manner that would
 5    require   the   payment   of  wages  on  an  overtime  basis.
 6    Notwithstanding any  other  provision  of  this  Section,  if
 7    unpaid  leave  under  this  Act  conflicts with the unreduced
 8    compensation  requirement  for  exempt  employees  under  the
 9    federal Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer may require  an
10    employee  to  make  up  the  leave  hours within the same pay
11    period.

12        Section 25.  Notification.  Employers shall conspicuously
13    post notification of the requirements of this Act in each  of
14    their  workplaces,  in  a  format approved by the Director of
15    Labor.  The Director shall provide  a  notification  form  to
16    every  employer  who  so requests, for which the Director may
17    charge a fee equal to the cost of producing and providing the
18    form.

19        Section 30.  Administration; enforcement.
20        (a)  The  Director   shall   be   responsible   for   the
21    administration and enforcement of this Act.
22        (b)  The Director shall promulgate rules to implement the
23    provisions of this Act.
24        (c)  If  an  employee  alleges  that  he  or she has been
25    denied his or her rights under this Act, he or she may file a
26    charge with  the  Director  of  Labor.   The  Director  shall
27    investigate  the  complaint and shall have authority to issue
28    subpoenas.  The Director shall attempt to resolve the  charge
29    by   a  conference,  conciliation,  or  persuasion.   If  the
30    complaint is not so resolved, the Director  may  commence  an
31    action in the circuit court to enforce the provisions of this
32    Act  including  an  action to compel compliance.  The circuit
 
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 1    court for the county in which the complainant resides  or  in
 2    which  the complainant is employed shall have jurisdiction in
 3    such actions.
 4        (d)  If an employer violates this Act,  an  employee  may
 5    commence  an  action  in  the  circuit  court  to enforce the
 6    provisions  of  this  Act,  including   actions   to   compel
 7    compliance,  if  efforts  to resolve the employee's complaint
 8    concerning the  violation  by  conference,  conciliation,  or
 9    persuasion  pursuant  to  subsection  (c) have failed and the
10    Director has not commenced an  action  in  circuit  court  to
11    redress  such violation.  The circuit court for the county in
12    which the complainant resides or in which the complainant  is
13    employed shall have jurisdiction in such actions.
14        (e)  Failure  to comply with an order of the court may be
15    punished as contempt.  In addition, the court shall award  an
16    employee  prevailing  in  an  action pursuant to this Act the
17    following damages:
18             (1)  Actual damages plus costs.
19             (2)  For each willful and knowing violation of  this
20        Act, $200 plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
21        (f)  Any  employer  or  his or her agent who violates any
22    provision of this Act is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
23        (g)  Any employer or his or her agent who  discharges  or
24    in any other manner discriminates against an employee because
25    that  employee has exercised any right under this Act, or has
26    made a complaint concerning an alleged violation of this  Act
27    to  the  employer  or  the  Director,  or  has  caused  to be
28    instituted  or  is  about  to  cause  to  be  instituted  any
29    proceeding under or related to  this  Act,  or  because  that
30    employee  has  testified or otherwise provided information in
31    connection with any investigation or  proceeding  under  this
32    Act, is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.

33        Section  35.  School  Visitation  Rights  Act.  The leave
 
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 1    granted under this Act shall be  in  addition  to  any  leave
 2    granted under the School Visitation Rights Act.

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