SB0173 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 26009 SPS 52363 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB0173

Introduced 1/31/2023, by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

820 ILCS 55/11 new

Amends the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. Provides that an employer who engages in any type of electronic monitoring of its employees shall give each employee who may be affected prior written notice of the types of electronic monitoring that may be used by the employer. Requires written notice to be given to an employee upon hiring or before an employer uses electronic monitoring equipment on the employer's premises. Requires the written notice to be acknowledged by the employee either in writing or electronically. Provides that when an employer has reasonable grounds to believe that an employee is engaged in conduct that either violates the law, violates the legal rights of the employer or the employer's other employees, or creates a hostile workplace environment, and electronic monitoring may produce evidence of this misconduct, the employer may conduct electronic monitoring without giving the required notice. Provides that the amendatory Act shall not apply to processes that are designed to manage the type or volume of incoming or outgoing electronic mail, telephone voicemail, or Internet usage that are not designed or intended to monitor or intercept the electronic mail, telephone voicemail, or Internet usage of a particular employee and that are performed solely for the purpose of computer system maintenance or protection.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning employment.

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

Section 5. The Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act is amended by adding Section 11 as follows:

(820 ILCS 55/11 new)

Sec. 11. Use of electronic monitoring.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Electronic monitoring" means the collection of information on an employer's premises concerning employees' activities or communications by any means other than direct observation, including the use of a computer, telephone, wire, or radio, or an electromagnetic, photo electronic, or photo optical system. "Electronic monitoring" does not include the collection of information for security purposes in common areas of the employer's premises which are held out for use by the public or any act that is prohibited under State or federal law.

"Employee" means any individual permitted to work by an employer in an occupation.

"Employer" has the meaning set forth in subsection (c) of Section 3 of the Minimum Wage Law.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), an employer who engages in any type of electronic monitoring of its employees shall give each employee who may be affected prior written notice of the types of electronic monitoring that may be used by the employer. The written notice must be given to an employee upon hiring or before an employer uses electronic monitoring equipment on the employer's premises. The written notice shall be acknowledged by the employee either in writing or electronically.

(c) When an employer has reasonable grounds to believe that an employee is engaged in conduct that either violates the law, violates the legal rights of the employer or the employer's other employees, or creates a hostile workplace environment, and electronic monitoring may produce evidence of this misconduct, the employer may conduct electronic monitoring without giving the notice required in subsection (b).

(d) Every employer shall post and keep posted, in one or more conspicuous places on the premises of the employer where notices to employees are customarily posted, a notice concerning the types of electronic monitoring that may be utilized by the employer. An employer with employees who do not regularly report to a physical workplace, and instead work remotely or travel for work, shall also provide the notice by email to its employees or on a website, regularly used by the employer to communicate work-related information, that all employees are able to regularly access, freely and without interference.

(e) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to processes that are designed to manage the type or volume of incoming or outgoing electronic mail, telephone voicemail, or Internet usage that are not designed or intended to monitor or intercept the electronic mail, telephone voicemail, or Internet usage of a particular employee and that are performed solely for the purpose of computer system maintenance or protection.