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Rep. Laura Faver Dias
Filed: 4/1/2024
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1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5294
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2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5294 by replacing |
3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following: |
4 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the |
5 | | Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act. |
6 | | Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: |
7 | | "Child" means an employee's son or daughter who is a |
8 | | biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal |
9 | | ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis. |
10 | | "Department" means the Department of Labor. |
11 | | "Employee" has the meaning ascribed to that term in |
12 | | Section 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. |
13 | | "Employer" has the meaning ascribed to that term in |
14 | | Section 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. |
15 | | "Neonatal intensive care unit" or "NICU" means a special |
16 | | care unit that provides medical treatment to premature and |
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1 | | critically ill infants. |
2 | | Section 10. Neonatal intensive care family leave. |
3 | | (a) An employee of an employer with 50 or fewer employees |
4 | | shall be entitled to use a maximum of 10 days of unpaid |
5 | | neonatal intensive care leave while a child of the employee is |
6 | | a patient in a neonatal intensive care unit. An employee of an |
7 | | employer with more than 51 employees shall be entitled to use |
8 | | 20 days of unpaid neonatal intensive care leave while a child |
9 | | of the employee is a patient in a neonatal intensive care unit. |
10 | | (b) An employer shall not require that an employee use |
11 | | leave the employee is entitled to under the Family Medical |
12 | | Leave Act or any paid leave available to the employee for any |
13 | | reason instead of leave the employee is entitled to under this |
14 | | Act. |
15 | | (c) An employer shall not require an employee who uses |
16 | | unpaid neonatal intensive care leave to provide a replacement |
17 | | worker. |
18 | | (d) If an employee takes unpaid neonatal intensive care |
19 | | leave under this Section, an employer may require reasonable |
20 | | verification of the employee's child's length of stay in a |
21 | | neonatal intensive care unit. As part of a reasonable |
22 | | verification, an employer shall not request any confidential |
23 | | information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and |
24 | | Accountability Act of 1996 or other law. |
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1 | | Section 15. Unlawful employer practices. |
2 | | (a) It is unlawful for any employer to take any adverse |
3 | | action against an employee because the employee: |
4 | | (1) exercises rights or attempts to exercise rights |
5 | | under this Act; |
6 | | (2) opposes practices which such employee believes to |
7 | | be in violation of this Act; or |
8 | | (3) supports the exercise of rights of another under |
9 | | this Act. |
10 | | (b) Exercising rights under this Act includes filing an |
11 | | action or instituting or causing to be instituted any |
12 | | proceeding under or related to this Act, providing or agreeing |
13 | | to provide any information in connection with any inquiry or |
14 | | proceeding relating to any right provided under this Act, or |
15 | | testifying to or agreeing to testify in any inquiry or |
16 | | proceeding relating to any right provided under this Act. |
17 | | Section 20. Department responsibilities. |
18 | | (a) The Department shall administer and enforce this Act |
19 | | and adopt rules under the Illinois Administrative Procedure |
20 | | Act for the purpose of this Act. The Department shall have the |
21 | | powers and the parties shall have the rights provided in the |
22 | | Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for contested cases. The |
23 | | Department shall have the power to conduct investigations in |
24 | | connection with the administration and enforcement of this |
25 | | Act, including the power to conduct depositions and discovery |
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1 | | and to issue subpoenas. If the Department finds cause to |
2 | | believe that this Act has been violated, the Department shall |
3 | | notify the parties in writing and the matter shall be referred |
4 | | to an administrative law judge to schedule a formal hearing in |
5 | | accordance with hearing procedures established by rule. |
6 | | (b) The Department is authorized to impose civil penalties |
7 | | prescribed in Section 25 in administrative proceedings that |
8 | | comply with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and to |
9 | | supervise the payment of the unpaid wages and damages owing to |
10 | | the employee or employees under this Act. The Department may |
11 | | bring any legal action necessary to recover the amount of |
12 | | unpaid wages, damages, and penalties, and the employer shall |
13 | | be required to pay the costs. Any sums recovered by the |
14 | | Department on behalf of an employee under this Act shall be |
15 | | paid to the employee or employees affected. However, 20% of |
16 | | any penalty collected from the employer for a violation of |
17 | | this Act shall be deposited into the Neonatal Intensive Care |
18 | | Leave Fund, a special fund created in the State treasury, and |
19 | | used for the enforcement of this Act. |
20 | | (c) The Attorney General may bring an action to enforce |
21 | | the collection of any civil penalty imposed under this Act. |
22 | | Section 25. Enforcement. |
23 | | (a) An employee who believes his or her rights under this |
24 | | Act or any rule adopted under this Act have been violated may, |
25 | | within 60 days after the date of the last event constituting |
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1 | | the alleged violation for which the action is brought, file a |
2 | | complaint with the Department or file a civil action. |
3 | | (b) An employer that violates any provision of this Act or |
4 | | any rule adopted under this Act is subject to a civil penalty |
5 | | for each employee affected as follows: |
6 | | (1) for a first offense, a civil penalty not to exceed |
7 | | $500; and |
8 | | (2) for a second or subsequent offense, a civil |
9 | | penalty not to exceed $1,000. |
10 | | (c) A civil action may be brought in the circuit court by |
11 | | an employee to enforce this Act. The circuit court may enjoin |
12 | | any act or practice that violates or may violate this Act and |
13 | | may order any other equitable relief that is necessary and |
14 | | appropriate to redress the violation or to enforce the Act. |
15 | | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding |
16 | | Section 5.1015 as follows: |
17 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new) |
18 | | Sec. 5.1015. The Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Fund. ". |