HB5414eng 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5414 Engrossed LRB102 26055 AWJ 35508 b

AN ACT concerning local government.

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

Section 5. The Volunteer Emergency Worker Job Protection Act is amended by adding Section 7 as follows:

(50 ILCS 748/7 new)

Sec. 7. Protections for college students who are volunteer emergency workers.

(a) As used in this Section, "postsecondary institution" means a community college or public university in this State.

(b) Except as limited under subsection (c), a postsecondary institution may not discipline a student who is a volunteer emergency worker if the student, in the scope of acting as a volunteer emergency worker, responds to an emergency phone call or text message during work hours that requests the person's volunteer emergency services during a school day.

(c) A postsecondary institution must allow a student who is a volunteer emergency worker to receive up to 5 excused days from class when the student is acting in the scope of a volunteer emergency worker.

(d) If a student who is a volunteer emergency worker loses time from his or her classes in order to respond to an emergency in the course of performing his or her duties as a volunteer emergency worker, the postsecondary institution may request the student to provide the postsecondary institution with a written statement from a supervisor or acting supervisor of the fire department or governmental entity that the volunteer emergency worker serves stating that the student responded to an emergency and stating the time and date of the emergency.