HB5567 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 18412 RPS 31854 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5567

Introduced 2/13/2026, by Rep. Kevin John Olickal

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Warehouse Worker Protection Act. Requires each employer to provide to each worker, upon hire or within 30 days after the effective date of the Act, whichever is later, a written description of each quota to which the worker is subject, including the quantified number of tasks to be performed or materials to be produced or handled within the defined time period, and any potential adverse employment action that could result from failure to meet the quota. Provides that a worker shall not be required to meet a quota that prevents compliance with meal or rest periods or use of bathroom facilities, including reasonable travel time to and from bathroom facilities. Requires employers to post a notice of workers' rights under the Act and to comply with certain recordkeeping requirements. Sets forth a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer takes an adverse employment action against a worker within 90 days of the worker requesting certain information or making a complaint alleging a violation of the Act to the Director of Labor, the Department of Labor, or the employer. Sets forth provisions concerning definitions; enforcement of the Act by the Department; civil penalties; workplace inspections; private rights of action; the Attorney General's powers to intervene or initiate a civil action; and severability. Effective January 1, 2027.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Warehouse Worker Protection Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Adverse employment action" means an action that a reasonable worker would find materially adverse.

"Aggregated work speed data" means a compilation of work speed data for multiple workers, in summary form, assembled in full or in another form such that the data cannot be identified with any individual.

"Controlled group of corporations" has the meaning given to that term under Section 1563 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 1563, except that "50 percent" shall be substituted for "80 percent" where "80 percent" is specified in that definition.

"Defined time period" means any unit of time measurement equal to or less than the duration of a worker's shift, including hours, minutes, seconds, and any fraction thereof.

"Department" means the Department of Labor.

"Director" means the Director of Labor.

"Employer" means a person who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, including through the services of a third-party employer, temporary services or staffing agency, independent contractor, or any similar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of 250 or more workers at a single warehouse distribution center in the State or 1,000 or more workers at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the State. For the purposes of this definition, all workers of a controlled group of corporations shall be counted in determining the number of workers employed at a single warehouse distribution center or at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the State.

"Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture, agency, instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity, whether domestic or foreign.

"Quota" means a work performance standard under which:

(A) one or more workers are assigned or required to perform at a specified productivity speed or a quantified number of tasks or to handle or produce a quantified amount of material without mistakes within a defined time period and under which the worker may suffer an adverse employment action if the worker fails to complete or meet such work performance standard;

(B) actions by a worker are categorized and measured between time performing tasks and not performing tasks within a defined time period;

(C) increments of time within a defined time period during which a worker is or is not doing a particular activity that are measured, recorded, or tallied; or

(D) a worker's performance is ranked in relation to the performance of other workers.

"Warehouse distribution center" means an establishment as defined by any of the following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, however such establishment is denominated:

(1) 493 for Warehousing and Storage, but not including 493130 for Farm Product Warehousing and Storage;

(2) 423 for Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods;

(3) 424 for Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods, but not including 424510 for Grain and Field Bean Merchant Wholesalers, 424520 for Livestock Merchant Wholesalers, and 424590 for Other Farm Product Raw Material Wholesalers;

(4) 454110 for Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses; or

(5) 492110 for Couriers and Express Delivery Services.

"Worker" means a person performing a nonadministrative job who is not exempt from the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, who works at a warehouse distribution center, and who is subject to a quota as defined in this Section. "Worker" does not include a driver or courier to or from a warehouse distribution center.

"Work speed data" means information an employer collects, stores, analyzes, or interprets relating to an individual worker's performance of a quota, including, but not limited to, quantities of tasks performed, quantities of items or materials handled or produced, rates or speeds of tasks performed, measurements or metrics of worker performance in relation to a quota, and time categorized as performing tasks or not performing tasks. "Work speed data" does not include itemized wage statements or data that does not relate to the performance of a quota, except for any content of those records that includes work speed data.

Section 10. Disclosure of quotas. Each employer shall provide to each worker, upon hire or within 30 days after the effective date of this Act, whichever is later, a written description of each quota to which the worker is subject, including the quantified number of tasks to be performed or materials to be produced or handled within the defined time period, and any potential adverse employment action that could result from failure to meet the quota. Each time the quota changes thereafter, the employer shall provide an updated written description of each quota to which the worker is subject within 5 business days of the quota change. If an employer takes an adverse employment action against a worker based on a quota, the worker has a right to request, and the employer shall provide, a written explanation regarding the manner in which the worker failed to perform, including the applicable quota and comparison of the work performance in relation to that quota. If a worker requests a written description of the quotas to which the worker was subject and a copy of the worker's own personal work speed data under this Section, the employer shall comply with this request as soon as practicable, but no later than 7 calendar days after the date of the request.

Section 15. Protection from quotas. A worker shall not be required to meet a quota that prevents compliance with meal or rest periods or use of bathroom facilities, including reasonable travel time to and from bathroom facilities. An employer shall not take adverse employment action against a worker for failure to meet a quota that does not allow a worker to comply with meal and rest periods or for failure to meet a quota that has not been disclosed to the worker under Section 10. An employer shall not take adverse employment action against a worker for failure to meet a quota based on continuously measuring, recording, or tallying increments of time within a defined time period during which a covered worker is or is not doing a particular activity. An employer shall not take adverse employment action against a worker for failure to meet a quota that measures a worker's total output over an increment of time that is shorter than such worker's workday.

Section 20. Time on task. Consistent with existing law, paid and unpaid breaks shall not be considered productive time for the purpose of any quota or monitoring system unless the worker is required to remain on call.

Section 25. Recordkeeping. Each employer shall establish, maintain, and preserve for 3 years contemporaneous, true, and accurate records to ensure compliance with worker and Director requests for records. An employer shall allow the Department access to such records, at reasonable times during business hours, to monitor compliance with the requirements of this Act. Nothing in this Section shall require an employer to keep such records if such employer does not use quotas or monitor work speed data as a performance standard that leads to an adverse employment action.

Section 30. Worker's right to request records.

(a) A current worker has the right to request a written description of each quota to which the worker is subject. If a current or former worker believes that the current or former worker has received an adverse employment action as a result of failing to meet a quota, or that meeting a quota caused a violation of the worker's right to a meal or rest period or use of bathroom facilities, the current or former worker has the right to request, and the employer shall provide, a written description of each quota to which the worker is subject, a copy of the most recent 90 days of the worker's own personal work speed data, and a copy of the aggregated work speed data for similar workers at the same establishment for the same time period.

(b) Requested records under this Section shall be provided at no cost to the current or former worker.

(c) Nothing in this Section shall require an employer to use quotas or monitor work speed data. An employer that does not monitor this data has no obligation to provide it.

(d) The rights afforded under this Section are independent of any other right afforded to a worker or former worker under any State or federal law, including, but not limited to, the Personnel Record Review Act, to access documents maintained by an employer.

Section 35. Unlawful retaliation. For purposes of this Act, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer takes any adverse employment action against a worker within 90 days of the worker doing either of the following:

(1) initiating the worker's first request in a calendar year for information about a quota or personal work speed data under Section 30 of this Act; or

(2) making a complaint related to a quota alleging any violation of Section 10, 15, or 20 to the Director, the Department, or the employer.

Section 40. Notice to workers. Every employer covered by this Act shall post and keep posted, in conspicuous places on the premises of the employer where notices to workers are customarily posted, a notice, to be prepared or approved by the Director of Labor, regarding workers' rights under this Act, including what constitutes a permissible quota and workers' rights to request quota and work speed data information, and making a complaint alleging a violation of a worker's quota rights under this Act.

Section 45. Enforcement.

(a) The Department has the power to administer and enforce this Act, and it is the duty of the Department to enforce the provisions of this Act when, in the Department's judgment, there is cause and sufficient resources for investigation. The Department has the powers and the parties have the rights provided in the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for contested cases.

(b) The Department shall have the power to conduct investigations in connection with the administration and enforcement of this Act, including the power to conduct depositions and discovery and to issue subpoenas. Any investigator with the Department shall be authorized to visit and inspect, at all reasonable times, any places covered by this Act and shall be authorized to inspect, at all reasonable times, and request copies of records required to be kept under Section 25.

(c) If the Department finds cause to believe that this Act has been violated, the Department shall notify the parties in writing, and the matter shall be referred to an Administrative Law Judge to schedule a formal hearing in accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Administrative decisions shall be reviewed under the Administrative Review Law.

(d) If an employer is found to have violated this Act, the employer may be liable for a civil penalty as follows:

(1) Up to $100 per pay period for every pay period in which the worker worked before the employer disclosed the quota, the change in quota, or the adverse employment actions the worker may be subject to.

(2) Up to $100 for every instance in which an employer fails to provide a worker written explanation of the manner in which the worker failed to meet the quota as required by Section 10.

(3) Up to $100 for every instance in which the employer failed to provide the worker with that worker's work speed data as required by Section 10.

(4) Up to $100 for every instance in which the employer subjected the worker to a quota that prevented the worker from taking meal or rest periods or bathroom breaks as prohibited by Section 15 or took an adverse employment action against a worker for failing to meet such a quota.

(5) Up to $100 for failing to keep or produce records as required by Section 25.

(6) Up to $100 for every instance in which an employer did not comply with a worker's request for work speed data or other data or records provided for in Section 30.

(7) Up to $100 for unlawful retaliation as prohibited by Section 35 and the worker is entitled to all legal and equitable relief as may be appropriate.

(8) Up to $100 for failing to post the notice required by Section 40.

(e) In addition to the civil penalties described in subsection (d), an employer shall be additionally liable to the Department for a civil penalty of $100 for each worker found to be affected by the violation of the Act. The civil penalty shall be deposited into the Wage Theft Enforcement Fund to be used for administration and enforcement of this Act.

(f) The Department is authorized to collect and supervise the payment of the civil penalty described in subsection (d) to a worker or workers under this Act. Any sums recovered by the Department on behalf of a worker or workers under this Act shall be paid to the worker or workers affected.

Section 50. Workplace inspections. If a particular work site or employer that uses quotas as a performance standard to determine adverse employment actions and is subject to this Act is found to have an annual worker injury rate of at least 1.5 times as high as the warehousing industry's average annual injury rate as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' most recent fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses data, the Director shall determine whether an investigation of violations under this Act, if relevant to the Director's authority, is appropriate.

Section 55. Private right of action. A current or former worker may bring an action for injunctive relief to obtain compliance with Sections 10, 15, 20, and 30 and may, upon prevailing in the action, recover costs and reasonable attorney's fees in such action. In any action involving a quota that prevented the compliance with applicable regulations on workplace safety and health or meal or rest break requirements, the injunctive relief shall be limited to suspension of the quota and any adverse employment action that resulted from its enforcement by the employer.

Section 60. Attorney General; powers. The Attorney General, pursuant to the authority under Section 6.3 of the Attorney General Act, may initiate or intervene in a civil action in the name of the People of the State in any circuit court to obtain all appropriate relief for violations established under this Act.

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 January 1, 2027.