Rep. Laura Faver Dias

Filed: 4/16/2024

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5294

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5294 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Family 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
8biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal
9ward, 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
12Section 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and
13also includes any employee of the State of Illinois.
14    "Employer" has the meaning ascribed to that term in
15Section 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and
16also includes the State of Illinois.

 

 

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1    "Neonatal intensive care unit" or "NICU" means a special
2care unit that provides medical treatment to premature and
3critically ill infants.
 
4    Section 10. Neonatal intensive care family leave.
5    (a) An employee of an employer with 16 or more employees
6and no more than 50 employees shall be entitled to use a
7maximum of 10 days of unpaid neonatal intensive care leave
8while any child of the employee is a patient in a neonatal
9intensive care unit. An employee of an employer with 51 or more
10employees shall be entitled to use 20 days of unpaid neonatal
11intensive care leave while a child of the employee is a patient
12in a neonatal intensive care unit. Leave may be taken
13continually or intermittently at the employee's selection. An
14employer may require that leave be taken in minimum increments
15of not less than 2 hours in duration.
16    (b) An employee who is entitled to leave under the Family
17and Medical Leave Act and takes leave under this Act shall be
18granted, upon completion of and in addition to any leave taken
19under the Family and Medical Leave Act, any leave available
20under this Act. An employee shall be entitled to leave for the
21maximum number of days specified in subsection (a) or the
22length of time the employee's child was a patient in a neonatal
23intensive care unit, whichever is less. An employer shall not
24require that an employee use any paid leave available to the
25employee for any reason instead of leave the employee is

 

 

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1entitled to under this Act. An employee who is entitled to take
2paid or unpaid leave, including family, medical, sick, annual,
3personal, or similar leave, from employment, under federal,
4State, or local law, a collective bargaining agreement, or an
5employment benefits program or plan, may elect to substitute
6any period of leave for an equivalent period of leave provided
7under this Act.
8    (c) Upon the conclusion of leave taken under this Act, an
9employee shall be reinstated to his or her former position or a
10substantially equivalent one with no loss of benefits held or
11accrued prior to taking leave. During the period of leave, any
12health insurance benefits shall be maintained by an employer
13as if an employee had not taken leave. An employer shall not
14require an employee who uses unpaid neonatal intensive care
15leave to provide a replacement worker.
16    (d) If an employee takes unpaid neonatal intensive care
17leave under this Section, an employer may require reasonable
18verification of the employee's child's length of stay in a
19neonatal intensive care unit. As part of a reasonable
20verification, an employer shall not request any confidential
21information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and
22Accountability Act of 1996 or other law.
 
23    Section 15. Unlawful employer practices.
24    (a) It is unlawful for any employer to take any adverse
25action 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
8limited to, filing an action or instituting or causing to be
9instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act,
10providing or agreeing to provide any information in connection
11with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided
12under this Act, or testifying to or agreeing to testify in any
13inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under
14this Act.
 
15    Section 20. Department responsibilities.
16    (a) The Department shall administer and enforce this Act
17and adopt rules under the Illinois Administrative Procedure
18Act for the purpose of this Act. The Department shall have the
19powers and the parties shall have the rights provided in the
20Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for contested cases. The
21Department shall have the power to conduct investigations in
22connection with the administration and enforcement of this
23Act, including the power to conduct depositions and discovery
24and to issue subpoenas. If the Department finds cause to
25believe that this Act has been violated, the Department shall

 

 

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1notify the parties in writing and the matter shall be referred
2to an administrative law judge to schedule a formal hearing in
3accordance with hearing procedures established by rule.
4    (b) The Department is authorized to impose civil penalties
5prescribed in Section 25 in administrative proceedings that
6comply with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and to
7supervise the payment of the unpaid wages and damages owing to
8the employee or employees under this Act. The Department may
9bring any legal action necessary to recover the amount of
10unpaid wages, damages, and penalties, and the employer shall
11be required to pay the costs. Any sums recovered by the
12Department on behalf of an employee under this Act shall be
13paid to the employee or employees affected. However, 20% of
14any penalty collected from the employer for a violation of
15this Act shall be deposited into the Neonatal Intensive Care
16Leave Fund, a special fund created in the State treasury, and
17used for the enforcement of this Act.
18    (c) The Attorney General may bring an action to enforce
19the 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
22Act or any rule adopted under this Act have been violated may,
23within 60 days after the date of the last event constituting
24the alleged violation for which the action is brought, file a
25complaint with the Department or file a civil action.

 

 

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1    (b) An employer that violates any provision of this Act or
2any rule adopted under this Act is subject to a civil penalty
3for each employee affected not to exceed $5,000. Any
4continuous period of time that any child of an employee is a
5patient in a neonatal intensive care unit, during which time
6the employer is found to have violated the employee's rights
7under this Act, shall constitute a single violation.
8    (c) A civil action may be brought in the circuit court by
9an employee to enforce this Act. The circuit court may enjoin
10any act or practice that violates or may violate this Act and
11may order any other equitable relief that is necessary and
12appropriate to redress the violation or to enforce the Act.
 
13    Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
14Section 5.1015 as follows:
 
15    (30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new)
16    Sec. 5.1015. The Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Fund.".