Full Text of HB5294 103rd General Assembly
HB5294ham004 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Rep. Laura Faver Dias Filed: 4/16/2024 | | 10300HB5294ham004 | | LRB103 37634 SPS 72418 a |
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5294
| 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. ". |
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