State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
Legislation

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90_SB1494

      New Act
          Creates the Flex-time Rights  Act.     Provides  that  an
      employer  of  25  or more persons must grant leave of up to a
      total of 24 hours during any calendar year to  employees  who
      meet   specified  eligibility  criteria.   Provides  that  an
      employer may require that not more than 4 hours of this leave
      be taken by an employee on any one  day.   Provides  that  no
      leave  may  be  taken  unless  the employee has exhausted all
      accrued vacation  leave,  personal  leave,  and  compensatory
      leave.    Provides   for:   written   requests   for   leave;
      compensation;  posting  of notices of the requirements of the
      Act in workplaces; administration,  adoption  of  rules,  and
      enforcement  by  the  Director  of  Labor; civil and criminal
      penalties and relief; and construction of the Act in relation
      to other statutory provisions  concerning  leave.     Exempts
      employers  who  offer employees personal or compensatory time
      of at least 3 days per year.
                                                     LRB9008380WHmg
                                               LRB9008380WHmg
 1        AN ACT in relation to conditions of 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
 5    Flex-time Rights Act.
 6        Section 5.  Policy.   The  General  Assembly  finds  that
 7    employees  occasionally  have legitimate needs to leave their
 8    places of employment during work hours.  The intent  of  this
 9    Act  is  to  ensure  that employees are able to obtain needed
10    time away from work of up to 24 hours per year.
11        Section 10.  Definitions.  As used in this Act:
12        (a)  "Employee" means a person who performs services  for
13    hire for an employer for:
14             (1)  at   least  6  consecutive  months  immediately
15        preceding a request for leave under this Act; and
16             (2)  an average number of hours per week equal to at
17        least one-half the full-time equivalent position  in  the
18        employer's   job   classification,   as  defined  by  the
19        employer's  personnel  policies  or   practices   or   in
20        accordance  with  a  collective  bargaining agreement, in
21        effect during the immediately preceding 6 months.
22        "Employee" includes all  individuals  meeting  the  above
23    criteria but does not include an independent contractor.
24        (b)  "Employer"   means   any   individual,  partnership,
25    association, business trust, person, or entity for whom 25 or
26    more persons are gainfully employed in Illinois.
27        (c)  "Director" means  the Director of Labor.
28        (d)  "Flex-time leave" means the employee leave  provided
29    by Section 15 of this Act.
                            -2-                LRB9008380WHmg
 1        Section 15.  Flex-time leave.
 2        (a)  An  employer must grant an employee leave of up to a
 3    total of 24 hours during any calendar year.  An employer  may
 4    require  that not more than 4 hours of this leave be taken by
 5    an employee on any one day.  No leave  may  be  taken  by  an
 6    employee  of  an  employer that is subject to this Act unless
 7    the  employee  has  exhausted  all  accrued  vacation  leave,
 8    personal leave,  compensatory  leave,  and  any  other  leave
 9    except sick leave, disability leave, and other leave mandated
10    by federal or State law.
11        (b)  An employee shall provide an employer with a written
12    request  for leave at least 7 days in advance of the time the
13    employee plans to take the leave. In emergency situations, an
14    employee shall provide the request  for  leave  at  least  24
15    hours  in  advance.   The  employee  must  consult  with  the
16    employer  to  schedule  the leave so as not to unduly disrupt
17    the operations of the employer.
18        (c)  Nothing in this Act requires that the leave be paid.
19        (d)  If an employer  offers  its  employees  personal  or
20    compensatory  leave of at least 3 days per year, the employer
21    is exempt from the provisions of this Act.
22        Section 20.  Compensation. An employee  who  utilizes  or
23    seeks  to  utilize the rights afforded by this Act may choose
24    the opportunity to make up the time so taken as guaranteed by
25    this Act on a different day  or  shift  as  directed  by  the
26    employer.   An employee who exercises his or her rights under
27    this Act shall not be required to make up the time taken, but
28    if the employee does not make up the time taken, the employee
29    shall not be compensated for the time taken.  An employee who
30    does make up the time taken shall be paid at the same rate as
31    is paid for normal working time.   An employer shall  make  a
32    good  faith  effort to permit an employee to make up the time
33    taken for  the  purposes  of  this  Act.   If  no  reasonable
                            -3-                LRB9008380WHmg
 1    opportunity  exists  for  the  employee  to  make up the time
 2    taken, the employee  shall  not  be  paid  for  the  time.  A
 3    reasonable  opportunity  to  make  up the time taken does not
 4    include the scheduling of make-up time in a manner that would
 5    require  the  payment  of  wages  on   an   overtime   basis.
 6    Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  this  Section, if
 7    unpaid leave under this  Act  conflicts  with  the  unreduced
 8    compensation  requirement  for  exempt  employees  under  the
 9    federal  Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer may require an
10    employee to make up the  leave  hours  within  the  same  pay
11    period.
12        Section 25.  Notification.  Employers shall conspicuously
13    post  notification of the requirements of this Act in each of
14    their workplaces, in a format approved  by  the  Director  of
15    Labor.   The  Director  shall  provide a notification form to
16    every employer who so requests, for which  the  Director  may
17    charge a fee equal to the cost of producing and providing the
18    form.
19        Section 30.  Administration; enforcement.
20        (a)  The   Director   shall   be   responsible   for  the
21    administration and enforcement of this Act.
22        (b)  The Director shall promulgate rules to implement the
23    provisions of this Act.
24        (c)  If an employee alleges  that  he  or  she  has  been
25    denied his or her rights under this Act, he or she may file a
26    charge  with  the  Director  of  Labor.   The  Director shall
27    investigate the complaint and shall have authority  to  issue
28    subpoenas.   The Director shall attempt to resolve the charge
29    by  a  conference,  conciliation,  or  persuasion.   If   the
30    complaint  is  not  so resolved, the Director may commence an
31    action in the circuit court to enforce the provisions of this
32    Act including an action to compel  compliance.   The  circuit
                            -4-                LRB9008380WHmg
 1    court  for  the county in which the complainant resides or in
 2    which the complainant is employed shall have jurisdiction  in
 3    such actions.
 4        (d)  If  an  employer  violates this Act, an employee may
 5    commence an action  in  the  circuit  court  to  enforce  the
 6    provisions   of   this   Act,  including  actions  to  compel
 7    compliance, if efforts to resolve  the  employee's  complaint
 8    concerning  the  violation  by  conference,  conciliation, or
 9    persuasion pursuant to subsection (c)  have  failed  and  the
10    Director  has  not  commenced  an  action in circuit court to
11    redress such violation.  The circuit court for the county  in
12    which  the complainant resides or in which the complainant is
13    employed shall have jurisdiction in such actions.
14        (e)  Failure to comply with an order of the court may  be
15    punished  as contempt.  In addition, the court shall award an
16    employee prevailing in an action pursuant  to  this  Act  the
17    following damages:
18             (1)  Actual damages plus costs.
19             (2)  For  each willful and knowing violation of this
20        Act, $200 plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
21        (f)  Any employer or his or her agent  who  violates  any
22    provision of this Act is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
23        (g)  Any  employer  or his or her agent who discharges or
24    in any other manner discriminates against an employee because
25    that employee has exercised any right under this Act, or  has
26    made  a complaint concerning an alleged violation of this Act
27    to the  employer  or  the  Director,  or  has  caused  to  be
28    instituted  or  is  about  to  cause  to  be  instituted  any
29    proceeding  under  or  related  to  this Act, or because that
30    employee has testified or otherwise provided  information  in
31    connection  with  any  investigation or proceeding under this
32    Act, is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
33        Section 35.  School Visitation  Rights  Act.   The  leave
                            -5-                LRB9008380WHmg
 1    granted  under  this  Act  shall  be in addition to any leave
 2    granted under the School Visitation Rights Act.

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