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Rep. Laura Faver Dias
Filed: 4/16/2024
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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 and |
13 | | also includes any employee of the State of Illinois. |
14 | | "Employer" has the meaning ascribed to that term in |
15 | | Section 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and |
16 | | also includes the State of Illinois. |
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1 | | "Neonatal intensive care unit" or "NICU" means a special |
2 | | care unit that provides medical treatment to premature and |
3 | | critically ill infants. |
4 | | Section 10. Neonatal intensive care family leave. |
5 | | (a) An employee of an employer with 16 or more employees |
6 | | and no more than 50 employees shall be entitled to use a |
7 | | maximum of 10 days of unpaid neonatal intensive care leave |
8 | | while any child of the employee is a patient in a neonatal |
9 | | intensive care unit. An employee of an employer with 51 or more |
10 | | employees shall be entitled to use 20 days of unpaid neonatal |
11 | | intensive care leave while a child of the employee is a patient |
12 | | in a neonatal intensive care unit. Leave may be taken |
13 | | continually or intermittently at the employee's selection. An |
14 | | employer may require that leave be taken in minimum increments |
15 | | of not less than 2 hours in duration. |
16 | | (b) An employee who is entitled to leave under the Family |
17 | | and Medical Leave Act and takes leave under this Act shall be |
18 | | granted, upon completion of and in addition to any leave taken |
19 | | under the Family and Medical Leave Act, any leave available |
20 | | under this Act. An employee shall be entitled to leave for the |
21 | | maximum number of days specified in subsection (a) or the |
22 | | length of time the employee's child was a patient in a neonatal |
23 | | intensive care unit, whichever is less. An employer shall not |
24 | | require that an employee use any paid leave available to the |
25 | | employee for any reason instead of leave the employee is |
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1 | | entitled to under this Act. An employee who is entitled to take |
2 | | paid or unpaid leave, including family, medical, sick, annual, |
3 | | personal, or similar leave, from employment, under federal, |
4 | | State, or local law, a collective bargaining agreement, or an |
5 | | employment benefits program or plan, may elect to substitute |
6 | | any period of leave for an equivalent period of leave provided |
7 | | under this Act. |
8 | | (c) Upon the conclusion of leave taken under this Act, an |
9 | | employee shall be reinstated to his or her former position or a |
10 | | substantially equivalent one with no loss of benefits held or |
11 | | accrued prior to taking leave. During the period of leave, any |
12 | | health insurance benefits shall be maintained by an employer |
13 | | as if an employee had not taken leave. An employer shall not |
14 | | require an employee who uses unpaid neonatal intensive care |
15 | | leave to provide a replacement worker. |
16 | | (d) If an employee takes unpaid neonatal intensive care |
17 | | leave under this Section, an employer may require reasonable |
18 | | verification of the employee's child's length of stay in a |
19 | | neonatal intensive care unit. As part of a reasonable |
20 | | verification, an employer shall not request any confidential |
21 | | information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and |
22 | | Accountability Act of 1996 or other law. |
23 | | Section 15. Unlawful employer practices. |
24 | | (a) It is unlawful for any employer to take any adverse |
25 | | action against an employee because the employee: |
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1 | | (1) exercises rights or attempts to exercise rights |
2 | | under this Act; |
3 | | (2) opposes practices which such employee believes to |
4 | | be in violation of this Act; or |
5 | | (3) supports the exercise of rights of another under |
6 | | this Act. |
7 | | (b) Exercising rights under this Act includes, but is not |
8 | | limited to, filing an action or instituting or causing to be |
9 | | instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act, |
10 | | providing or agreeing to provide any information in connection |
11 | | with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided |
12 | | under this Act, or testifying to or agreeing to testify in any |
13 | | inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under |
14 | | this Act. |
15 | | Section 20. Department responsibilities. |
16 | | (a) The Department shall administer and enforce this Act |
17 | | and adopt rules under the Illinois Administrative Procedure |
18 | | Act for the purpose of this Act. The Department shall have the |
19 | | powers and the parties shall have the rights provided in the |
20 | | Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for contested cases. The |
21 | | Department shall have the power to conduct investigations in |
22 | | connection with the administration and enforcement of this |
23 | | Act, including the power to conduct depositions and discovery |
24 | | and to issue subpoenas. If the Department finds cause to |
25 | | believe that this Act has been violated, the Department shall |
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1 | | notify the parties in writing and the matter shall be referred |
2 | | to an administrative law judge to schedule a formal hearing in |
3 | | accordance with hearing procedures established by rule. |
4 | | (b) The Department is authorized to impose civil penalties |
5 | | prescribed in Section 25 in administrative proceedings that |
6 | | comply with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and to |
7 | | supervise the payment of the unpaid wages and damages owing to |
8 | | the employee or employees under this Act. The Department may |
9 | | bring any legal action necessary to recover the amount of |
10 | | unpaid wages, damages, and penalties, and the employer shall |
11 | | be required to pay the costs. Any sums recovered by the |
12 | | Department on behalf of an employee under this Act shall be |
13 | | paid to the employee or employees affected. However, 20% of |
14 | | any penalty collected from the employer for a violation of |
15 | | this Act shall be deposited into the Neonatal Intensive Care |
16 | | Leave Fund, a special fund created in the State treasury, and |
17 | | used for the enforcement of this Act. |
18 | | (c) The Attorney General may bring an action to enforce |
19 | | the collection of any civil penalty imposed under this Act. |
20 | | Section 25. Enforcement. |
21 | | (a) An employee who believes his or her rights under this |
22 | | Act or any rule adopted under this Act have been violated may, |
23 | | within 60 days after the date of the last event constituting |
24 | | the alleged violation for which the action is brought, file a |
25 | | complaint with the Department or file a civil action. |
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1 | | (b) An employer that violates any provision of this Act or |
2 | | any rule adopted under this Act is subject to a civil penalty |
3 | | for each employee affected not to exceed $5,000. Any |
4 | | continuous period of time that any child of an employee is a |
5 | | patient in a neonatal intensive care unit, during which time |
6 | | the employer is found to have violated the employee's rights |
7 | | under this Act, shall constitute a single violation. |
8 | | (c) A civil action may be brought in the circuit court by |
9 | | an employee to enforce this Act. The circuit court may enjoin |
10 | | any act or practice that violates or may violate this Act and |
11 | | may order any other equitable relief that is necessary and |
12 | | appropriate to redress the violation or to enforce the Act. |
13 | | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding |
14 | | Section 5.1015 as follows: |
15 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new) |
16 | | Sec. 5.1015. The Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Fund. ". |