HB4848 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 19554 BAB 33002 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4848

Introduced , by Rep. Nabeela Syed

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Protective Medical Equipment Freedom Act. Provides that all individual in the State have the right to wear protective medical equipment in any place of public accommodation where they have a lawful right to be without obligation to disclose health status or any other protected information, and no person, entity, or authority shall deny, restrict, or infringe upon this right. Provides that operators and public officials shall not discriminate against or penalize medical device wearers for exercising their right to wear protective medical equipment. Provides that discrimination under the Act includes, but is not limited to: denial of service; eviction from premises; any form of harassment to remove or refrain from wearing such equipment for any amount of time; specified actions taken by employers; and provision of unequal goods, services, facilities, advantages, or accommodations. Sets forth provisions concerning the protection against retaliation, the exceptions for security requirements, operational safety, age and identity restricted products, and financial institution customer identification, and an undue hardship exemption. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning human rights.

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

Section 1. Short title; references to Act.

(a) This Act may be cited as the Protective Medical Equipment Freedom Act.

(b) This Act may be referred to as Kiki's Law.

Section 5. Purpose. The General Assembly finds the following:

(1) All individuals have the right to wear protective medical equipment in any place of public accommodation, thereby promoting public health and individual safety without discrimination or undue restriction.

(2) Colette "Kiki" Walkington had extremely complex medical needs and fragile health. After receiving a kidney transplant from her father, Kiki was placed on immunosuppressants and would most likely not survive any severe respiratory infection. Kiki was full of joy and brought light to all those who knew her. Mask wearing by her family and others provided Kiki with a layer of life-saving protection without isolation, allowing her to live a fuller, happier life.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Medical device wearer" means any individual using protective medical equipment.

"Operator" means any owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent, or occupant of a place of public accommodation or an employee of any such person or persons.

"Place of public accommodation" includes, but is not limited to:

(1) an inn, hotel, motel, or other place of lodging, except for an establishment located within a building that contains not more than 5 units for rent or hire and that is actually occupied by the proprietor of such establishment as the residence of such proprietor;

(2) a restaurant, bar, or other establishment serving food or drink;

(3) a movie theater, theater, concert hall, stadium, or other place of exhibition or entertainment;

(4) an auditorium, convention center, lecture hall, or other place of public gathering;

(5) a bakery, grocery store, clothing store, hardware store, shopping center, or other sales or rental establishment;

(6) a laundromat, drycleaner, bank, barber shop, beauty shop, travel service, shoe repair service, funeral parlor, gas station, office of an accountant or lawyer, pharmacy, insurance office, professional office of a health care provider, hospital, or other service establishment;

(7) public conveyances on air, water, or land;

(8) a terminal, depot, or other station used for specified public transportation;

(9) a museum, library, gallery, or other place of public display or collection;

(10) a park, zoo, amusement park, or other place of recreation;

(11) a nonsectarian nursery, day care center, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate school, or other place of education;

(12) a senior citizen center, homeless shelter, food bank, nonsectarian adoption agency, or other social service center establishment; and

(13) a gymnasium, health spa, bowling alley, golf course, or other place of exercise or recreation.

"Protective medical equipment" means equipment worn to reduce or minimize exposure to health risks to oneself or others, which includes, but is not limited to:

(1) face masks and respirators, with or without particulate matter or vapor cartridges, including KN-95, N-95, FFP-2, and FFP-3 quality protection;

(2) elastomeric protection, such as, but not limited to, P-100 protection;

(3) powered air purifying respirators; and

(4) gloves, face shields, protective eyewear, clear window masks, and small air purifiers worn on a lanyard.

"Protective medical equipment" does not include ski masks and balaclavas.

"Public official" means any officer or employee of the State or any agency, including State political subdivisions, municipal corporations, park districts, forest preserve districts, educational institutions, and schools.

"Undue hardship" means an action that is prohibitively expensive or disruptive when considered in light of the following factors:

(1) the nature and cost of ensuring the right to wear protective medical equipment;

(2) the overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in ensuring the right to wear protective medical equipment, the number of persons employed at such facility, the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact of ensuring the right to wear protective medical equipment upon the operation of the facility;

(3) the overall financial resources of the operator, the overall size of the business of the place of public accommodation with respect to the number of its operators, and the number, type, and location of the facilities of the place of public accommodation; and

(4) the type of operation or operations of the place of public accommodation, including the composition, structure, and functions of its workforce and the geographic separateness, administrative, or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities to the place of public accommodation.

Section 15. Right to wear protective medical equipment.

(a) General right.

(1) All individuals within this State have the right to wear protective medical equipment in any place of public accommodation where they have a lawful right to be without obligation to disclose health status or any other protected information.

(2) No person, entity, or authority shall deny, restrict, or infringe upon this right.

(b) Nondiscrimination.

(1) Operators and public officials shall not discriminate against or penalize medical device wearers for exercising their right to wear protective medical equipment.

(2) Discrimination under this Act includes, but is not limited to:

(A) denial of goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations;

(B) eviction from premises;

(C) any form of harassment to remove or refrain from wearing such equipment for any amount of time;

(D) actions taken by employers, including, but not limited to:

(i) creating a hostile work environment; and

(ii) termination of employment; and

(E) provision of unequal goods, services, facilities, advantages, or accommodations.

Section 20. Protection against retaliation.

(a) Operators and public officials shall not retaliate or take adverse action against a medical device wearer for exercising their right to wear protective medical equipment or for reporting violations of this Act.

(b) Retaliation under this Act includes, but is not limited to:

(1) intimidation or harassment;

(2) denying future service;

(3) reducing or changing pay or hours;

(4) disciplining; and

(5) reassignment to a less desirable position.

Section 25. Exceptions.

(a) Security requirements. Protective medical equipment may be removed temporarily by the medical device wearer upon request by law enforcement in accordance with security regulations, procedures, or protocols under State and federal law, provided that reasonable accommodation is offered.

(b) Operational safety. Specific types of protective medical equipment may be restricted if proven to interfere with the safe operation of machinery or hazardous environments, provided that reasonable accommodation or equivalent protection is offered to the individual.

(c) Age and identity restricted products. Protective medical equipment shall be briefly removed by the medical device wearer upon request by an operator to verify identification to purchase any product for which verification of the identity or age of an individual is required by State or federal law, including, but not limited to:

(1) alcohol;

(2) tobacco products;

(3) marijuana products;

(4) prescriptions;

(5) firearms and ammunition;

(6) cleaning chemicals containing sodium hydroxide or corrosive substances;

(7) fertilizer; and

(8) any additional products restricted by State or federal law.

(d) Financial institution customer identification. Protective medical equipment shall be briefly removed by the medical device wearer upon request by an operator of a bank, savings bank, credit union, or trust company, or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof, that is authorized to do business under the laws of this State or of the United States, to verify identification upon entering the premises of the bank, savings bank, credit union, or trust company, or a subsidiary or affiliate thereof.

(e) For applicable situations under subsection (c) and subsection (d), clear window masks or other forms of protective medical equipment that enable viewable facial features may remain on the medical device wearer if an operator can visually confirm the identity of the wearer without removing the protective medical equipment. Whether identification can be visually confirmed is at the discretion of an operator, in accordance with State and federal law. If identification cannot be confirmed by the operator, the protective medical equipment shall be briefly removed by the medical device wearer upon request by the operator. An operator shall not be liable for refusing to sell, provide, or deliver any product or service for which verification of identity or age is required by State or federal law if the medical device wearer refuses to comply with a reasonable request to briefly remove protective medical equipment for the purpose of a visual identification. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require an operator to complete a sale or provide service to an individual who declines to comply with such a request.

(f) Undue hardship exemption. The operator of a place of public accommodation has the burden of proving undue hardship. The fact that an operator would allow similarly situated individuals to wear protective medical equipment creates a rebuttable presumption that the right to wear protective medical equipment does not impose an undue hardship on the operator.

Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.