Full Text of SB0075 101st General Assembly
SB0075 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020 SB0075 Introduced 1/23/2019, by Sen. Ram Villivalam SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Creates the Hotel and Casino Employee Safety Act. Requires hotels and casinos to adopt anti-sexual harassment policies and make panic buttons available to certain employees. Prohibits retaliation against an employee for using a panic button, availing himself or herself of the protections afforded by an anti-sexual harassment policy, or disclosing, reporting, or testifying about violations of the Act. Provides remedies for noncompliance. Limits home rule powers. Effective immediately.
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| | | HOME RULE NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning employment.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Hotel | 5 | | and Casino Employee Safety Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: | 7 | | "Casino" means any gambling operation, person, | 8 | | association, corporation, partnership, or trust subject to the | 9 | | jurisdiction of the Gaming Board pursuant to the Riverboat | 10 | | Gambling Act. | 11 | | "Complaining employee" means an employee who has alleged an | 12 | | instance of sexual assault or sexual harassment by a guest.
| 13 | | "Employee" means any natural person who works full time or | 14 | | part time at a hotel or casino for or under the direction of | 15 | | the hotel or casino or any subcontractor of the hotel or casino | 16 | | for wages or salary or remuneration of any type under a | 17 | | contract or subcontract of employment, whether expressed or | 18 | | implied. | 19 | | "Guest" means any invitee to a hotel or casino, including a | 20 | | registered guest, person occupying a guest room with a | 21 | | registered guest or other occupant of a guest room, person | 22 | | patronizing food or beverage facilities provided by the hotel | 23 | | or casino, or any other person whose presence at the hotel or |
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| 1 | | casino is permitted by the hotel or casino. "Guest" does not | 2 | | include an employee. | 3 | | "Guest room" means any room made available by a hotel for | 4 | | overnight occupancy by guests. | 5 | | "Hotel" means any building or buildings maintained, | 6 | | advertised, and held out to the public to be a place where | 7 | | lodging is offered for consideration to travelers and guests. | 8 | | "Hotel" includes an inn, motel, tourist home or court, and | 9 | | lodging house. | 10 | | "Notification device" or "panic button" means a portable | 11 | | emergency contact device that is designed so that an employee | 12 | | can quickly and easily activate the button or device to | 13 | | effectively summon to the employee's location prompt | 14 | | assistance by a hotel or casino security officer, manager, or | 15 | | other appropriate hotel or casino staff member designated by | 16 | | the hotel or casino. | 17 | | "Offending guest" means a guest a complaining employee has | 18 | | alleged sexually assaulted or sexually harassed the | 19 | | complaining employee. | 20 | | "Restroom" means any room equipped with toilets or urinals. | 21 | | "Sexual harassment" means any harassment or discrimination | 22 | | on the basis of an individual's actual or perceived sex or | 23 | | gender, including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for | 24 | | sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual | 25 | | nature. |
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| 1 | | Section 10. Hotels and casinos; panic buttons; anti-sexual | 2 | | harassment policies. | 3 | | (a) Each hotel and casino shall equip an employee who is | 4 | | assigned to work in a guest room, restroom, or casino floor, | 5 | | under circumstances where no other employee is present in the | 6 | | room or area, with a panic button or notification device. The | 7 | | employee may use the panic button or notification device to | 8 | | summon help if the employee reasonably believes that an ongoing | 9 | | crime, sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other emergency is | 10 | | occurring in the employee's presence. The panic button or | 11 | | notification device shall be provided by the hotel or casino at | 12 | | no cost to the employee. | 13 | | (b) Each hotel and casino shall develop, maintain, and | 14 | | comply with a written anti-sexual harassment policy to protect | 15 | | employees against sexual assault and sexual harassment by | 16 | | guests. This policy shall: | 17 | | (1) encourage an employee to immediately report to the | 18 | | hotel or casino any instance of alleged sexual assault or | 19 | | sexual harassment by a guest; | 20 | | (2) describe the procedures that the complaining | 21 | | employee and hotel or casino shall follow in cases under | 22 | | paragraph (1); | 23 | | (3) instruct the complaining employee to cease work and | 24 | | to leave the immediate area where danger is perceived until | 25 | | hotel or casino security personnel or police arrive to | 26 | | provide assistance; |
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| 1 | | (4) offer temporary work assignments to the | 2 | | complaining employee during the duration of the offending | 3 | | guest's stay at the hotel or casino, which may include | 4 | | assigning the complaining employee to work on a different | 5 | | floor or at a different station or work area away from the | 6 | | offending guest; | 7 | | (5) provide the complaining employee with necessary | 8 | | paid time off to: | 9 | | (A) sign a police complaint against the offending | 10 | | guest; and | 11 | | (B) testify as a witness at any legal proceeding | 12 | | that may ensue as a result of the complaint, if the | 13 | | complaining employee is still in the employ of the | 14 | | hotel or casino at the time the legal proceeding | 15 | | occurs; | 16 | | (6) inform the complaining employee that the Illinois | 17 | | Human Rights Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of | 18 | | 1964 provide additional protections against sexual | 19 | | harassment in the workplace; and | 20 | | (7) inform the complaining employee that Section 15 | 21 | | makes it illegal for an employer to retaliate against any | 22 | | employee who: reasonably uses a panic button or | 23 | | notification device; in good faith avails himself or | 24 | | herself of the requirements set forth in paragraph (3), | 25 | | (4), or (5); or discloses, reports, or testifies about any | 26 | | violation of this Act or rules adopted under this Act. |
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| 1 | | Each hotel and casino shall provide all employees with a | 2 | | current copy in English, Spanish, and Polish, or other | 3 | | predominant language of the workforce, of the anti-sexual | 4 | | harassment policy of the hotel or casino, and post the policy | 5 | | in English, Spanish, and Polish, or other available language, | 6 | | in conspicuous places in areas of the hotel or casino, such as | 7 | | supply rooms or employee lunch rooms, where employees can | 8 | | reasonably be expected to see it. | 9 | | Section 15. Retaliation prohibited. It is unlawful for a | 10 | | hotel or casino to retaliate against an employee for: | 11 | | (1) reasonably using a panic button or notification | 12 | | device; | 13 | | (2) availing himself or herself of the provisions of | 14 | | paragraph (3), (4), or (5) of subsection (b) of Section 10; | 15 | | or | 16 | | (3) disclosing, reporting, or testifying about any | 17 | | violation of this Act or any rule adopted under this Act. | 18 | | Section 20. Violations. An employee or representative of | 19 | | employees claiming a violation of this Act may bring an action | 20 | | in the circuit court of the county in which the hotel or casino | 21 | | is located and is entitled to all remedies available under the | 22 | | law or in equity appropriate to remedy any such violation, | 23 | | including, but not limited to, injunctive relief or other | 24 | | equitable relief including reinstatement and compensatory |
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| 1 | | damages. For a willful violation of this Act, the amount of | 2 | | damages attributable to lost income due to the violation shall | 3 | | be trebled. An employee or representative of employees securing | 4 | | any relief pursuant to this Section shall be awarded reasonable | 5 | | attorney's fees and costs. | 6 | | Section 25. Home rule. A home rule unit of local | 7 | | government, non-home rule municipality, or non-home rule | 8 | | county may regulate the implementation of this Act, but that | 9 | | regulation must be no less restrictive than this Act. This Act | 10 | | is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article | 11 | | VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent exercise by | 12 | | home rule units of powers and functions exercised by the State.
| 13 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 14 | | becoming law.
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