General Assembly Heads into Final Weeks of Session

 

The General Assembly is grinding down to its May 31 ^st adjournment date. The key issue left to be resolved this session is the budget. There have been some bipartisan meetings held the past few weeks but little progress has been made according to reports from both sides. Democrats claim the Governor has not put his budget into legislative form and the Governor's office is arguing that the legislature has not provided a revenue number to work from.

 

It is anticipated that the democrat majorities will put a budget on the Governor's desk. It is unclear at this time whether the Governor will outright veto it or use his constitutional power to line item reduce and line item veto specific expenditures. The latter approach allows state agencies to continue without interruption into the new fiscal year and leaves the specific budget cuts to debate during the fall veto session.

 

For the next two weeks, we have a few issues pending for the Employment Law Council to deal with. Those measures are:

 

Worker' Compensation Measures Scheduled for Committee Hearings. This week we anticipate that SB2863 and HB4595 will be called in committee. HB4595 is scheduled for the Senate Judiciary Committee May 15 ^th at 5 pm and SB 2863 is scheduled for the House Labor Committee on May 16th at 3 pm in Springfield. Council Executive Director Jay Shattuck will be testifying in opposition to both measures.

 

Last week, Rep. Jay Hoffman, Chairman of the House Labor Committee met with interests from the insurance and manufacturing industry to propose a trade of bills desired by the p & c and health insurance industry, the captive insurance issue ( SB1286) for SB2863 and HB4595. The Illinois Chamber is not interested in agreeing to that trade but would be willing to discuss a more reasonable approach to changes to the Workers' Compensation Act.

 

SB2863   (Sen. Raoul/Rep. Hoffman), substantially similar to HB 2525 that was vetoed by Gov. Rauner last year. The Council reviewed the concerns and benefits of the legislation and found the net impact would be negative for employers. It has been suggested by Democrats that the Illinois Chamber should accept the legislation since next year may bring something much worse.

 

Rep. Laura Fine (D-Glenview) and Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) are seeking to create a state-backed workers' compensation insurer in  HB4595 .  The measure is identical to legislation vetoed by Governor Rauner last summer. The measure includes a $10 million loan from the IWCC Operations Fund. The fund is supported by fees paid by employers thru their WC insurance policies or directly by self-insured employers. $10 million represents one third of the Commission's budget.

 

Reform of the Human Rights Act and professionalizing of Human Rights Commission high on Council's agenda before adjournment. An issue that we continue to work on behind the scenes is reform to reduce and eliminate the backlog that is found in the state employment discrimination process. The Chamber/ELC proposal would require qualifications and professionalization of full-time commissioners at the Human Rights Commission. We also are recommending a number of changes to the Act that will streamline the investigation and adjudication process. For details of our proposal, contact Jay Shattuck. However, we are facing a push by advocacy interests that want to bypass the administrative investigation process and go directly to the circuit courts. Other employment discrimination issues pending include:

 

Small Employers to be Covered Under State Employment Discrimination Law 

HB4572   (Rep. Guzzardi/Sen. Castro) Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to redefine "employer" to include any person employing one (currently 15) or more employees within Illinois during 20 or more calendar weeks within the calendar year of or preceding the alleged violation. The Illinois Chamber opposes this measure. We are seeking a more comprehensive reform of the Human Rights Act that addresses the backlog of employment discrimination charges under the Human Rights Act.  Placed on the Senate Calendar Third Reading.

 

Equal Pay Act Protections Could be Extended to African Americans

HB4743   (Rep. Ford/Sen. Lightford) Amends the Equal Pay Act providing that no employer may discriminate between employees by paying wages to an African-American employee at a rate less than the rate at which the employer pays wages to another employee who is not African-American for the same or substantially similar work on a job that requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility and is performed under similar working conditions.  We have recommended that "race" would be more appropriate than singling out African Americans. We also point out that the protection being sought is already prohibited under state and federal law. Placed on the Senate Calendar Second Reading.

 

Employee Expense Reimbursement Measure in House Labor & Commerce Committee

SB2999   (Sen. Van Pelt)/Rep. Conyears-Ervin) Sen. Van Pelt worked with the Illinois Chamber on a Senate amendment. As amended, SB 2999 require an employer to reimburse an employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee directly related to services performed for the employer.   It requires that the expenditure must be within the scope of employment, authorized or required and appropriate documentation is provided. Any rules and interpretation of law must be consistent with federal law. There are a couple additional changes we are pursuing in the House. The measure is posted for the House Labor & Commerce Committee Hearing Wednesday at 3PM.

 

Paid Break Time for Nursing Mothers on Senate Second Reading

HB1595 , sponsored by Rep. Stuart and Sen. Haine, a mends the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act to require a paid break time rather than unpaid break time. We have worked out changes to the bill in the House to minimize its impact. The bill passed the House 104 to 0.  Placed on the Senate Calendar Second Reading.

 

Changes to Wage Payment & Collection Act Postponed in Senate Labor Committee

HB4324   (Rep. Welch/Sen. Lightford)  Amends the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act requiring the Department of Labor to adjudicate claims under the Act within 30 days. IDOL is required to request that an employer deposit up to 10% of a disputed wage claim with the Department pending adjudication of the claim. Increases the administrative fees imposed upon an employer who has been demanded or ordered by the Department of Labor or a court to a pay wage settlement. Authorizes the placement of a judgment lien upon and employer's real estate and authorizes action under the Code of Civil Procedure for a citation or a supplementary proceeding to discover assets.  The original bill created a nightmare of regulation and potential liability for business owners. The broad, strong opposition of business interests led to a more reasonable approach that House Labor Chairman Jay Hoffman (D-Belleville) helped persuade the proponents to accept. However, Sen. Lightford has filed an amendment that will unravel the agreement. We are urging the Senator to reject the amendment and move forward with the legislation as approved by the House.

 

Call Center Regulation Posted for Committee Hearing this Week

HB4081   (Rep. Halpin/Sen. Bennet) Creates the Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act which requires an employer that intends to relocate a call center or portions of a call center from Illinois to another state or a foreign country to provide notice to the State Treasurer at least 120 days before the relocation. Authorizes a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for violations. Requires the Treasurer to compile and post on the Treasurer's website a list of employers that have relocated call centers. Requires an employer that relocates a call center from Illinois to another state or a foreign country to repay grants, loans, and tax benefits that may have been received. The legislation is posted for the Senate Telecommunications and Information Technology Committee Hearing this Thursday at 3PM. We are arguing that the Illinois WARN Act and the ability of DCEO to claw back state incentives in certain situations provide adequate protection that the legislation seeks.

 

Final Vote on Mandated Paid Sick Leave Measure Pending on House Floor

HB2771  (Rep. C. Mitchell/Sen. Hutchinson) requires employers to provide 40 hours of paid sick time. The bill exempts unionized construction companies, certain railroad employees, school districts, park districts, and City of Chicago sister agencies. An employee may earn sick days after 180 days of employment. If this measure should be approved, we will be pushing hard for a Gubernatorial veto. On House Calendar for Concurrence Senate Amendments 1 & 2 

 

Marijuana Advisory Referendum Assigned to the House Executive Committee

SB2275  (Sen. Cunningham/Rep. Hurley) Creates the Marijuana Legalization Referendum Act to require the State Board of Elections to place a statewide advisory public question to be submitted to the voters at the November 6, 2018 general election asking whether individuals support the legalization of possession and use of marijuana by persons of at least 21 years of age. The measure was approved by the Senate on a 37-13-1 vote. Assigned to House Executive Committee

 

Volunteer Emergency Worker Definition Changes

SB2471   (Sen. Holmes/Rep Cavaletto) amends the Volunteer Emergency Worker Job Protection Act to provide that "volunteer emergency worker" means a person who serves as a member of a fire department of a fire protection district, municipality, or other unit of government on other than a full-time career basis and who meets the requirements for volunteer status under the Code of Federal Regulations and Opinion Letters from the United States Department of Labor. Provides that "volunteer emergency worker" also means, including, but not limited to, a person who serves on a volunteer basis and is licensed under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act as an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR)(First Responder), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate (EMT-I), Advanced Emergency Medical Responder (A-EMT), or Paramedic (EMT-P), or a volunteer ambulance driver or attendant, and the person does not work in one of these capacities for another fire department, fire protection district, or governmental entity on a full-time career basis. The measure was approved by the Senate Labor Committee and is pending on the Senate floor. Assigned to the House Labor & Commerce Committee and posted for Wednesday's committee hearing.

 

New Service-Member Employment and Reemployment Rights

SB3547   (Sen. Tom Cullerton/Rep. Chapa LaVia)) Creates the Service-Member Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Contains provisions concerning matters relevant to the employment rights of service-members, including employment protections, additional benefits for public employee members of a reserve component, prohibitions on discrimination, a notice of rights and duties, violations, enforcement, remedies, and rulemaking. Provides that the Attorney General shall appoint an Illinois Service-Member Employment and Reemployment Rights Act Advocate to carry out various duties related to the Act. Provides that in times of national or State emergency, the Governor may extend the protections of the Act. Limits the concurrent exercise of power by home rule units. Makes corresponding and related changes throughout the statutes. Repeals the Military Leave of Absence Act, the Public Employee Armed Services Rights Act, the Municipal Employees Military Active Duty Act, and the Local Government Employees Benefits Continuation Act. Amends the Service Member's Employment Tenure Act to change the short title to the Service Member's Tenure Act.  Posted for Wednesday's House Labor & Commerce Committee Hearing.

 

Joint Senate & House Labor Committee Heard Scheduling Proposals

Last week, the Senate and House Labor Committees met to hear subject matter testimony on HB5046  (Rep. Welch) and SB202 (Sen. Castro). Both measures create the Fair Scheduling Act to require employers to provide work schedules to employees at least 72 hours before the start of the first shift of the work schedule and to provide pay when an employee's work shift is canceled or reduced within 72 hours of the beginning of the shift. HB 5046 has been re-referred to House Rules Committee and SB 202, amendment 1, was re-referred to the Senate Assignments Committee.

 

Wage, Salary & Benefit Prohibition Legislation Pending in the Senate 

HB4163  (Rep. Moeller/Sen. Castro) Amends the Equal Pay Act of 2003 prohibiting an employer from: (i) screening job applicants based on their wage or salary history, (ii) requiring that an applicant's prior wages satisfy minimum or maximum criteria, and (iii) requesting or requiring as a condition of being interviewed or as a condition of continuing to be considered for an offer of employment that an applicant disclose prior wages or salary. Prohibits an employer from seeking the salary, including benefits or other compensation or salary history, of a job applicant from any current or former employer, with some exceptions. Greatly expands civil penalties and injunctive relief. This legislation was assigned to a Senate Labor Committee. An amendment was placed on HB 4163 prior to its passage that eliminated an employer's wage differential defense does not apply if an employee demonstrates that an alternative employment practice exists that would serve the same business purpose without producing the differential and the employer has refused to adopt the alternative practice. This measure has a deadline extension to May 31^st in the Senate

 

The Senate also had SB3390  (Sen. Castro) which is identical to HB 2462 that was vetoed by Gov. Rauner last year, but this bill has been re-referred to Assignments. Sen. Bertino-Tarrant (D-Plainfield), sponsor of  SB3100  and Sen. Connelly, sponsor of  SB2333 , offer a better approach to this issue. Both of these also bills have also been re-referred to Assignments.