State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HB3280

 
                                               LRB9207126WHcs

 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-                LRB9207126WHcs
 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.  An employer may require that the
 6    duration of any period of leave be not less than 2 hours.  No
 7    leave may be taken by an employee  of  an  employer  that  is
 8    subject  to  this  Act  unless the employee has exhausted all
 9    accrued vacation leave, personal leave,  compensatory  leave,
10    and  any other leave except sick leave, disability leave, and
11    other leave mandated by federal or State law.
12        (b)  An employee shall provide an employer with a written
13    request for leave at least 7 days in advance of the time  the
14    employee plans to take the leave. In emergency situations, an
15    employee  shall  provide  the  request  for leave at least 24
16    hours  in  advance.   The  employee  must  consult  with  the
17    employer to schedule the leave so as not  to  unduly  disrupt
18    the operations of the employer.
19        (c)  Nothing in this Act requires that the leave be paid.
20        (d)  If  an  employer  offers  its  employees personal or
21    compensatory leave of at least 3 days per year, the  employer
22    is exempt from the provisions of this Act.

23        Section  20.  Compensation.  An  employee who utilizes or
24    seeks to utilize the rights afforded by this Act  may  choose
25    the opportunity to make up the time so taken as guaranteed by
26    this  Act  on  a  different  day  or shift as directed by the
27    employer.  An employee who exercises his or her rights  under
28    this Act shall not be required to make up the time taken, but
29    if the employee does not make up the time taken, the employee
30    shall not be compensated for the time taken.  An employee who
31    does make up the time taken shall be paid at the same rate as
32    is  paid  for normal working time.   An employer shall make a
33    good faith effort to permit an employee to make up  the  time
 
                            -3-                LRB9207126WHcs
 1    taken  for  the  purposes  of  this  Act.   If  no reasonable
 2    opportunity exists for the  employee  to  make  up  the  time
 3    taken,  the  employee  shall  not  be  paid  for  the time. A
 4    reasonable opportunity to make up the  time  taken  does  not
 5    include the scheduling of make-up time in a manner that would
 6    require   the   payment   of  wages  on  an  overtime  basis.
 7    Notwithstanding any  other  provision  of  this  Section,  if
 8    unpaid  leave  under  this  Act  conflicts with the unreduced
 9    compensation  requirement  for  exempt  employees  under  the
10    federal Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer may require  an
11    employee  to  make  up  the  leave  hours within the same pay
12    period.

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

20        Section 30.  Administration; enforcement.
21        (a)  The  Director   shall   be   responsible   for   the
22    administration and enforcement of this Act.
23        (b)  The Director shall promulgate rules to implement the
24    provisions of this Act.
25        (c)  If  an  employee  alleges  that  he  or she has been
26    denied his or her rights under this Act, he or she may file a
27    charge with  the  Director  of  Labor.   The  Director  shall
28    investigate  the  complaint and shall have authority to issue
29    subpoenas.  The Director shall attempt to resolve the  charge
30    by   a  conference,  conciliation,  or  persuasion.   If  the
31    complaint is not so resolved, the Director  may  commence  an
32    action in the circuit court to enforce the provisions of this
 
                            -4-                LRB9207126WHcs
 1    Act  including  an  action to compel compliance.  The circuit
 2    court for the county in which the complainant resides  or  in
 3    which  the complainant is employed shall have jurisdiction in
 4    such actions.
 5        (d)  If an employer violates this Act,  an  employee  may
 6    commence  an  action  in  the  circuit  court  to enforce the
 7    provisions  of  this  Act,  including   actions   to   compel
 8    compliance,  if  efforts  to resolve the employee's complaint
 9    concerning the  violation  by  conference,  conciliation,  or
10    persuasion  pursuant  to  subsection  (c) have failed and the
11    Director has not commenced an  action  in  circuit  court  to
12    redress  such violation.  The circuit court for the county in
13    which the complainant resides or in which the complainant  is
14    employed shall have jurisdiction in such actions.
15        (e)  Failure  to comply with an order of the court may be
16    punished as contempt.  In addition, the court shall award  an
17    employee  prevailing  in  an  action pursuant to this Act the
18    following damages:
19             (1)  Actual damages plus costs.
20             (2)  For each willful and knowing violation of  this
21        Act, $200 plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
22        (f)  Any  employer  or  his or her agent who violates any
23    provision of this Act is guilty of a  petty  offense  and  is
24    subject to a fine of $500 for each offense.
25        (g)  Any  employer  or his or her agent who discharges or
26    in any other manner discriminates against an employee because
27    that employee has exercised any right under this Act, or  has
28    made  a complaint concerning an alleged violation of this Act
29    to the  employer  or  the  Director,  or  has  caused  to  be
30    instituted  or  is  about  to  cause  to  be  instituted  any
31    proceeding  under  or  related  to  this Act, or because that
32    employee has testified or otherwise provided  information  in
33    connection  with  any  investigation or proceeding under this
34    Act, is guilty of a petty offense and is subject to a fine of
 
                            -5-                LRB9207126WHcs
 1    $1,000 for each offense.

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

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