Public Act 93-0591

HB3486 Enrolled                      LRB093 06684 WGH 12062 b

    AN ACT in relation to employment.

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

    Section  1.  Short  title.  This  Act may be cited as the
Victims' Economic Security and Safety Act.

    Section 5.  Findings.  The  General  Assembly  finds  and
declares the following:
         (1)  Domestic   and  sexual  violence  affects  many
    persons without regard to age, race,  educational  level,
    socioeconomic status, religion, or occupation.
         (2)  Domestic  and sexual violence has a devastating
    effect on  individuals,  families,  communities  and  the
    workplace.
         (3)  Domestic    violence    crimes    account   for
    approximately 15% of total  crime  costs  in  the  United
    States each year.
         (4)  Violence  against women has been reported to be
    the leading cause  of  physical  injury  to  women.  Such
    violence has a devastating impact on women's physical and
    emotional health and financial security.
         (5)  According  to  recent  government surveys, from
    1993 through 1998 the average annual  number  of  violent
    victimizations   committed   by   intimate  partners  was
    1,082,110, 87% of which were committed against women.
         (6)  Female murder victims were  substantially  more
    likely than male murder victims to have been killed by an
    intimate   partner.  About  one-third  of  female  murder
    victims, and about 4% of male murder victims, were killed
    by an intimate partner.
         (7)  According  to  recent   government   estimates,
    approximately  987,400 rapes occur annually in the United
    States, 89% of the rapes are perpetrated  against  female
    victims.
         (8)  Approximately   10,200,000   people  have  been
    stalked at some time in their lives. Four out of every  5
    stalking victims are women. Stalkers harass and terrorize
    their  victims by spying on the victims, standing outside
    their places of work  or  homes,  making  unwanted  phone
    calls,  sending  or leaving unwanted letters or items, or
    vandalizing property.
         (9)  Employees in the United States  who  have  been
    victims  of  domestic  violence,  dating violence, sexual
    assault,   or   stalking   too   often   suffer   adverse
    consequences in  the  workplace  as  a  result  of  their
    victimization.
         (10)  Victims of domestic violence, dating violence,
    sexual  assault, and stalking face the threat of job loss
    and loss of health insurance as a result of  the  illegal
    acts of the perpetrators of violence.
         (11)  The  prevalence  of  domestic violence, dating
    violence, sexual assault, stalking,  and  other  violence
    against  women  at work is dramatic. Approximately 11% of
    all  rapes  occur  in   the   workplace.   About   50,500
    individuals,  83%  of  whom  are  women,  were  raped  or
    sexually  assaulted  in the workplace each year from 1992
    through 1996. Half  of  all  female  victims  of  violent
    workplace  crimes know their attackers. Nearly one out of
    10 violent workplace incidents is committed  by  partners
    or spouses.
         (12)  Homicide  is  the  leading  cause of death for
    women on the job. Husbands, boyfriends,  and  ex-partners
    commit 15% of workplace homicides against women.
         (13)  Studies  indicate  that  as  much  as  74%  of
    employed battered women surveyed were harassed at work by
    their abusive partners.
         (14)  According to a 1998 report of the U.S. General
    Accounting  Office,  between  one-fourth  and one-half of
    domestic violence victims surveyed in 3 studies  reported
    that  the  victims  lost  a job due, at least in part, to
    domestic violence.
         (15)  Women who have experienced  domestic  violence
    or dating violence are more likely than other women to be
    unemployed,  to  suffer  from  health  problems  that can
    affect employability and job performance, to report lower
    personal income, and to rely on welfare.
         (16)  Abusers  frequently  seek  to  control   their
    partners  by  actively  interfering with their ability to
    work, including preventing their partners from  going  to
    work,  harassing  their  partners  at  work, limiting the
    access of their partners to cash or  transportation,  and
    sabotaging the child care arrangements of their partners.
         (17)  More  than one-half of women receiving welfare
    have been victims of  domestic  violence  as  adults  and
    between one-fourth and one-third reported being abused in
    the last year.
         (18)  Sexual assault, whether occurring in or out of
    the workplace, can impair an employee's work performance,
    require time away from work, and undermine the employee's
    ability  to  maintain a job. Almost 50% of sexual assault
    survivors lose their jobs or are forced to  quit  in  the
    aftermath of the assaults.
         (19)  More   than  one-fourth  of  stalking  victims
    report losing time from work due to the stalking  and  7%
    never return to work.
         (20)  (A)  According  to  the  National Institute of
    Justice,  crime  costs  an   estimated   $450,000,000,000
    annually  in  medical  expenses,  lost  earnings,  social
    service  costs,  pain,  suffering, and reduced quality of
    life for victims, which harms the  Nation's  productivity
    and  drains  the  Nation's  resources.  (B) Violent crime
    accounts for $426,000,000,000 per year  of  this  amount.
    (C)  Rape  exacts  the  highest  costs  per victim of any
    criminal offense, and accounts for  $127,000,000,000  per
    year of the amount described in subparagraph (A).
         (21)  The  Bureau  of National Affairs has estimated
    that domestic  violence  costs  United  States  employers
    between  $3,000,000,000  and  $5,000,000,000  annually in
    lost time and productivity. Other reports have  estimated
    that  domestic  violence  costs  United  States employers
    $13,000,000,000 annually.
         (22)  United  States  medical  costs  for   domestic
    violence  have  been  estimated to be $31,000,000,000 per
    year.
         (23)  Ninety-four percent of corporate security  and
    safety  directors  at  companies nationwide rank domestic
    violence as a high security concern.
         (24)    Forty-nine  percent  of  senior   executives
    recently  surveyed  said  domestic violence has a harmful
    effect on their company's productivity, 47% said domestic
    violence negatively  affects  attendance,  and  44%  said
    domestic violence increases health care costs.
         (25)  Employees, including individuals participating
    in welfare to work programs, may need to take time during
    business hours to:
              (A)  obtain orders of protection;
              (B)  seek    medical   or   legal   assistance,
         counseling, or other services; or
              (C)  look for housing in order to  escape  from
         domestic violence.

    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act, except as otherwise
expressly provided:
         (1)  "Commerce"  includes  trade, traffic, commerce,
    transportation,  or  communication;  and   "industry   or
    activity   affecting   commerce"   means   any  activity,
    business, or industry in commerce or  in  which  a  labor
    dispute  would  hinder  or  obstruct commerce or the free
    flow  of  commerce,  and  includes  "commerce"  and   any
    "industry affecting commerce".
         (2)  "Course   of   conduct"   means   a  course  of
    repeatedly maintaining a visual or physical proximity  to
    a  person or conveying oral or written threats, including
    threats conveyed through  electronic  communications,  or
    threats implied by conduct.
         (3)  "Department" means the Department of Labor.
         (4)  "Director" means the Director of Labor.
         (5)  "Domestic  or  sexual  violence" means domestic
    violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
         (6)  "Domestic violence" includes acts or threats of
    violence, not including acts of self defense, as  defined
    in  subdivision  (3)  of  Section  103  of  the  Illinois
    Domestic  Violence  Act of 1986, sexual assault, or death
    to the  person,  or  the  person's  family  or  household
    member, if the conduct causes the specific person to have
    such distress or fear.
         (7)  "Electronic       communications"      includes
    communications via  telephone,  mobile  phone,  computer,
    e-mail, video recorder, fax machine, telex, or pager.
         (8)  "Employ" includes to suffer or permit to work.
         (9)  Employee.
              (A)  In  general.  "Employee"  means any person
         employed by an employer.
              (B)  Basis.  "Employee"   includes   a   person
         employed  as described in subparagraph (A) on a full
         or part-time basis, or as a participant  in  a  work
         assignment  as  a condition of receipt of federal or
         State income-based public assistance.
         (10)  "Employer" means any of the following: (A) the
    State or any agency of the State; (B) any unit  of  local
    government  or  school  district;  or (C) any person that
    employs at least 50 employees.
         (11)  "Employment  benefits"  means   all   benefits
    provided  or  made available to employees by an employer,
    including  group  life   insurance,   health   insurance,
    disability   insurance,   sick   leave,   annual   leave,
    educational benefits, and pensions, regardless of whether
    such  benefits  are  provided  by  a  practice or written
    policy of an employer or  through  an  "employee  benefit
    plan".   "Employee  benefit  plan"  or  "plan"  means  an
    employee welfare benefit  plan  or  an  employee  pension
    benefit  plan or a plan which is both an employee welfare
    benefit plan and an employee pension benefit plan.
         (12)  "Family or household member" means  a  spouse,
    parent,  son,  daughter,  and persons jointly residing in
    the same household.
         (13)  "Parent" means the  biological  parent  of  an
    employee  or  an individual who stood in loco parentis to
    an employee when the employee was a son or daughter. "Son
    or daughter"  means  a  biological,  adopted,  or  foster
    child,  a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person
    standing in loco parentis, who is under 18 years of  age,
    or is 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care
    because of a mental or physical disability.
         (14)  "Perpetrator"  means an individual who commits
    or is alleged to have committed  any  act  or  threat  of
    domestic or sexual violence.
         (15)  "Person"  means  an  individual,  partnership,
    association,    corporation,    business   trust,   legal
    representative, or any organized group of persons.
         (16)  "Public agency" means the  Government  of  the
    State or political subdivision thereof; any agency of the
    State, or of a political subdivision of the State; or any
    governmental agency.
         (17)  "Public   assistance"   includes   cash,  food
    stamps, medical assistance, housing assistance, and other
    benefits provided on the basis  of  income  by  a  public
    agency or public employer.
         (18)  "Reduced  work schedule" means a work schedule
    that reduces the usual number of hours per  workweek,  or
    hours per workday, of an employee.
         (19)  "Repeatedly" means on 2 or more occasions.
         (20)  "Sexual  assault" means any conduct proscribed
    by the Criminal Code of 1961 in  Sections  12-13,  12-14,
    12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16.
         (21)  "Stalking" means any conduct proscribed by the
    Criminal Code of 1961 in Sections 12-7.3 and 12-7.4.
         (22)  "Victim" or "survivor" means an individual who
    has been subjected to domestic or sexual violence.
         (23)  "Victim   services   organization"   means   a
    nonprofit,  nongovernmental  organization  that  provides
    assistance  to  victims of domestic or sexual violence or
    to advocates for such victims, including  a  rape  crisis
    center,  an organization carrying out a domestic violence
    program, an organization operating a shelter or providing
    counseling services, or a legal services organization  or
    other organization providing assistance through the legal
    process.

    Section 15. Purposes. The purposes of this Act are:
         (1)  to  promote  the  State's  interest in reducing
    domestic violence, dating violence, sexual  assault,  and
    stalking  by  enabling  victims  of  domestic  or  sexual
    violence to maintain the financial independence necessary
    to leave abusive situations, achieve safety, and minimize
    the  physical  and  emotional  injuries  from domestic or
    sexual violence, and to reduce the  devastating  economic
    consequences  of domestic or sexual violence to employers
    and employees;
         (2)  to address the  failure  of  existing  laws  to
    protect  the  employment  rights  of  employees  who  are
    victims of domestic or sexual violence and employees with
    a  family or household member who is a victim of domestic
    or sexual violence, by protecting the civil and  economic
    rights  of  those  employees, and by furthering the equal
    opportunity of women for  economic  self-sufficiency  and
    employment free from discrimination;
         (3)  to   accomplish   the   purposes  described  in
    paragraphs (1) and (2) by entitling employed  victims  of
    domestic  or sexual violence to take unpaid leave to seek
    medical  help,  legal  assistance,   counseling,   safety
    planning, and other assistance without penalty from their
    employers.

    Section  20.  Entitlement  to  leave  due  to domestic or
sexual violence.
    (a)  Leave requirement.
         (1)  Basis. An employee who is a victim of  domestic
    or  sexual  violence  or has a family or household member
    who is a victim of  domestic  or  sexual  violence  whose
    interests  are  not adverse to the employee as it relates
    to the domestic or sexual violence may take unpaid  leave
    from work to address domestic or sexual violence by:
              (A)  seeking    medical   attention   for,   or
         recovering from, physical or psychological  injuries
         caused   by  domestic  or  sexual  violence  to  the
         employee  or  the  employee's  family  or  household
         member;
              (B)  obtaining services from a victim  services
         organization  for  the  employee  or  the employee's
         family or household member;
              (C)  obtaining    psychological    or     other
         counseling for the employee or the employee's family
         or household member;
              (D)  participating    in    safety    planning,
         temporarily  or  permanently  relocating,  or taking
         other actions to increase the safety of the employee
         or the employee's family or  household  member  from
         future   domestic   or  sexual  violence  or  ensure
         economic security; or
              (E)  seeking legal assistance  or  remedies  to
         ensure  the health and safety of the employee or the
         employee's family  or  household  member,  including
         preparing  for  or  participating  in  any  civil or
         criminal legal proceeding related to or derived from
         domestic or sexual violence.
         (2)  Period. Subject to subsection (c), an  employee
    shall  be  entitled  to  a total of 12 workweeks of leave
    during any 12-month period. This Act does  not  create  a
    right  for  an employee to take unpaid leave that exceeds
    the unpaid leave time allowed under, or is in addition to
    the unpaid leave time permitted by,  the  federal  Family
    and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).
         (3)  Schedule.  Leave described in paragraph (1) may
    be taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule.
    (b)  Notice. The employee shall provide the employer with
at least 48 hours' advance notice of the employee's intention
to take the  leave,  unless  providing  such  notice  is  not
practicable. When an unscheduled absence occurs, the employer
may not take any action against the employee if the employee,
within  a  reasonable  period  after  the  absence,  provides
certification under subsection (c).
    (c)  Certification.
         (1)  In   general.  The  employer  may  require  the
    employee to provide certification to the employer that:
              (A)  the employee or the employee's  family  or
         household  member  is a victim of domestic or sexual
         violence; and
              (B)  the leave  is  for  one  of  the  purposes
         enumerated in paragraph (a)(1).
         The employee shall provide such certification to the
    employer  within  a  reasonable period after the employer
    requests certification.
         (2)  Contents.   An   employee   may   satisfy   the
    certification requirement of paragraph (1)  by  providing
    to  the  employer  a sworn statement of the employee, and
    upon obtaining such documents the employee shall provide:
              (A)  documentation from an employee, agent,  or
         volunteer  of  a  victim  services  organization, an
         attorney, a member of the clergy, or  a  medical  or
         other  professional  from  whom  the employee or the
         employee's family or  household  member  has  sought
         assistance in addressing domestic or sexual violence
         and the effects of the violence;
              (B)  a police or court record; or
              (C)  other corroborating evidence.
    (d)  Confidentiality.  All  information  provided  to the
employer pursuant to  subsection  (b)  or  (c),  including  a
statement of the employee or any other documentation, record,
or corroborating evidence, and the fact that the employee has
requested  or  obtained leave pursuant to this Section, shall
be retained in the  strictest  confidence  by  the  employer,
except to the extent that disclosure is:
         (1)  requested  or  consented  to  in writing by the
    employee; or
         (2)  otherwise required  by  applicable  federal  or
    State law.
    (e)  Employment and benefits.
         (1)  Restoration to position.
              (A)  In  general.  Any employee who takes leave
         under this Section for the intended purpose  of  the
         leave shall be entitled, on return from such leave:
                   (i)  to be restored by the employer to the
              position  of  employment  held  by the employee
              when the leave commenced; or
                   (ii)  to  be  restored  to  an  equivalent
              position with equivalent  employment  benefits,
              pay,   and   other   terms  and  conditions  of
              employment.
              (B)  Loss of  benefits.  The  taking  of  leave
         under  this  Section shall not result in the loss of
         any employment benefit accrued prior to the date  on
         which the leave commenced.
              (C)  Limitations.  Nothing  in  this subsection
         shall be construed to entitle any restored  employee
         to:
                   (i)  the   accrual  of  any  seniority  or
              employment benefits during any period of leave;
              or
                   (ii)  any right, benefit, or  position  of
              employment  other  than  any right, benefit, or
              position to which the employee would have  been
              entitled had the employee not taken the leave.
              (D)  Construction.  Nothing  in  this paragraph
         shall be construed  to  prohibit  an  employer  from
         requiring an employee on leave under this Section to
         report  periodically  to  the employer on the status
         and intention of the employee to return to work.
         (2)  Maintenance of health benefits.
              (A)  Coverage.   Except    as    provided    in
         subparagraph (B), during any period that an employee
         takes  leave  under this Section, the employer shall
         maintain coverage for the employee and any family or
         household member under any group health plan for the
         duration of such leave at the level  and  under  the
         conditions  coverage would have been provided if the
         employee had continued  in  employment  continuously
         for the duration of such leave.
              (B)  Failure to return from leave. The employer
         may  recover  the premium that the employer paid for
         maintaining  coverage  for  the  employee  and   the
         employee's  family  or  household  member under such
         group health plan during any period of  leave  under
         this Section if:
                   (i)  the  employee  fails  to  return from
              leave under this Section after  the  period  of
              leave  to  which  the  employee is entitled has
              expired; and
                   (ii)  the employee fails to return to work
              for a reason other than:
                        (I)  the continuation, recurrence, or
                   onset of domestic or sexual violence  that
                   entitles the employee to leave pursuant to
                   this Section; or
                        (II)  other  circumstances beyond the
                   control of the employee.
              (C)  Certification.
                   (i)  Issuance. An employer may require  an
              employee who claims that the employee is unable
              to return to work because of a reason described
              in   subclause  (I)  or  (II)  of  subparagraph
              (B)(ii) to provide, within a reasonable  period
              after  making  the  claim, certification to the
              employer that the employee is unable to  return
              to work because of that reason.
                   (ii)  Contents.  An  employee  may satisfy
              the certification requirement of clause (i)  by
              providing to the employer:
                        (I)  a   sworn   statement   of   the
                   employee;
                        (II)  documentation from an employee,
                   agent,  or  volunteer of a victim services
                   organization, an attorney, a member of the
                   clergy, or a medical or other professional
                   from  whom   the   employee   has   sought
                   assistance   in   addressing  domestic  or
                   sexual violence and the  effects  of  that
                   violence;
                        (III)  a police or court record; or
                        (IV)  other corroborating evidence.
              (D)  Confidentiality.  All information provided
         to  the  employer  pursuant  to  subparagraph   (C),
         including  a  statement of the employee or any other
         documentation, record,  or  corroborating  evidence,
         and  the  fact that the employee is not returning to
         work because of a reason described in subclause  (I)
         or (II) of subparagraph (B)(ii) shall be retained in
         the  strictest confidence by the employer, except to
         the extent that disclosure is:
                   (i)  requested or consented to in  writing
              by the employee; or
                   (ii)  otherwise   required  by  applicable
              federal or State law.
    (f)  Prohibited acts.
         (1)  Interference with rights.
              (A)  Exercise of rights. It shall  be  unlawful
         for  any  employer  to  interfere with, restrain, or
         deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise  any
         right provided under this Section.
              (B)  Employer   discrimination.   It  shall  be
         unlawful for any employer to discharge or harass any
         individual, or otherwise  discriminate  against  any
         individual  with  respect  to  compensation,  terms,
         conditions,  or  privileges  of  employment  of  the
         individual  (including  retaliation  in  any form or
         manner) because the individual:
                   (i)  exercised any  right  provided  under
              this Section; or
                   (ii)  opposed  any  practice made unlawful
              by this Section.
              (C)  Public  agency  sanctions.  It  shall   be
         unlawful  for  any public agency to deny, reduce, or
         terminate the benefits of,  otherwise  sanction,  or
         harass  any  individual,  or  otherwise discriminate
         against any individual with respect to  the  amount,
         terms,  or  conditions  of  public assistance of the
         individual (including retaliation  in  any  form  or
         manner) because the individual:
                   (i)  exercised  any  right  provided under
              this Section; or
                   (ii)  opposed any practice  made  unlawful
              by this Section.
         (2)  Interference  with proceedings or inquiries. It
    shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or  in  any
    other  manner  discriminate (as described in subparagraph
    (B) or (C)  of  paragraph  (1))  against  any  individual
    because such individual:
              (A)  has filed any charge, or has instituted or
         caused  to  be  instituted  any proceeding, under or
         related to this Section;
              (B)  has  given,  or  is  about  to  give,  any
         information  in  connection  with  any  inquiry   or
         proceeding relating to any right provided under this
         Section; or
              (C)  has  testified, or is about to testify, in
         any inquiry or  proceeding  relating  to  any  right
         provided under this Section.

    Section 25. Existing leave usable for addressing domestic
or  sexual violence. An employee who is entitled to take paid
or unpaid leave (including  family,  medical,  sick,  annual,
personal,  or  similar  leave)  from  employment, pursuant to
federal,  State,  or  local  law,  a  collective   bargaining
agreement,  or  an  employment  benefits program or plan, may
elect  to  substitute  any  period  of  such  leave  for   an
equivalent period of leave provided under Section 20.

    Section    30.    Victims'   employment   sustainability;
prohibited discriminatory acts.
    (a)  An employer shall not fail to hire, refuse to  hire,
discharge,  or  harass any individual, otherwise discriminate
against any individual  with  respect  to  the  compensation,
terms,   conditions,  or  privileges  of  employment  of  the
individual, or retaliate against an individual in any form or
manner, and a  public  agency  shall  not  deny,  reduce,  or
terminate  the benefits of, otherwise sanction, or harass any
individual, otherwise  discriminate  against  any  individual
with  respect  to  the amount, terms, or conditions of public
assistance  of  the  individual,  or  retaliate  against   an
individual in any form or manner, because:
         (1)  the individual involved:
              (A)  is  or  is  perceived  to  be  a victim of
         domestic or sexual violence;
              (B)  attended, participated in,  prepared  for,
         or  requested  leave  to  attend, participate in, or
         prepare for a criminal  or  civil  court  proceeding
         relating  to  an  incident  of  domestic  or  sexual
         violence  of  which  the  individual  or a family or
         household member of the individual was a victim; or
              (C)  requested   an   adjustment   to   a   job
         structure, workplace facility, or work  requirement,
         including  a  transfer,  reassignment,  or  modified
         schedule,  leave,  a  changed  telephone  number  or
         seating  assignment,  installation  of  a  lock,  or
         implementation  of a safety procedure in response to
         actual or threatened domestic  or  sexual  violence,
         regardless of whether the request was granted; or
         (2)  the workplace is disrupted or threatened by the
    action  of  a  person  whom  the  individual  states  has
    committed  or  threatened  to  commit  domestic or sexual
    violence  against  the  individual  or  the  individual's
    family or household member.
    (b)  In this Section:
         (1)  "Discriminate", used with respect to the terms,
    conditions, or privileges of employment or  with  respect
    to the terms or conditions of public assistance, includes
    not  making  a  reasonable  accommodation  to  the  known
    limitations  resulting  from  circumstances  relating  to
    being a victim of domestic or sexual violence or a family
    or  household member being a victim of domestic or sexual
    violence of an otherwise qualified individual:
              (A)  who is:
                   (i)  an  applicant  or  employee  of   the
              employer (including a public agency); or
                   (ii)  an  applicant  for  or  recipient of
              public assistance from a public agency; and
              (B)  who is:
                   (i)  a  victim  of  domestic   or   sexual
              violence; or
                   (ii)  with  a  family  or household member
              who is a victim of domestic or sexual  violence
              whose   interests   are   not  adverse  to  the
              individual in subparagraph (A) as it relates to
              the domestic or sexual violence;
    unless the employer or public agency can demonstrate that
    the accommodation would impose an undue hardship  on  the
    operation of the employer or public agency.
         (2)  "Qualified individual" means:
              (A)  in  the  case  of an applicant or employee
         described in paragraph (1)(A)(i), an individual who,
         but  for  being  a  victim  of  domestic  or  sexual
         violence or with a family or household member who is
         a victim of domestic or sexual violence, can perform
         the essential functions of the  employment  position
         that such individual holds or desires; or
              (B)  in  the  case of an applicant or recipient
         described in  paragraph  (1)(A)(ii),  an  individual
         who,  but  for  being a victim of domestic or sexual
         violence or with a family or household member who is
         a victim of domestic or sexual violence, can satisfy
         the essential requirements of the program  providing
         the  public  assistance that the individual receives
         or desires.
         (3)  "Reasonable  accommodation"  may   include   an
    adjustment  to  a  job  structure, workplace facility, or
    work requirement, including a transfer, reassignment,  or
    modified  schedule,  leave, a changed telephone number or
    seating  assignment,   installation   of   a   lock,   or
    implementation  of  a  safety  procedure,  in response to
    actual or threatened domestic or sexual violence.
         (4)  Undue hardship.
              (A)  In  general.  "Undue  hardship"  means  an
         action requiring significant difficulty or  expense,
         when considered in light of the factors set forth in
         subparagraph (B).
              (B)  Factors  to  be considered. In determining
         whether a reasonable accommodation would  impose  an
         undue  hardship  on  the operation of an employer or
         public agency, factors to be considered include:
                   (i)  the nature and cost of the reasonable
              accommodation needed under this Section;
                   (ii)  the overall financial  resources  of
              the  facility  involved in the provision of the
              reasonable accommodation, the number of persons
              employed  at  such  facility,  the  effect   on
              expenses and resources, or the impact otherwise
              of  such  accommodation on the operation of the
              facility;
                   (iii)  the overall financial resources  of
              the employer or public agency, the overall size
              of the business of an employer or public agency
              with  respect to the number of employees of the
              employer or  public  agency,  and  the  number,
              type,  and  location  of  the  facilities of an
              employer or public agency; and
                   (iv)  the  type  of   operation   of   the
              employer   or   public  agency,  including  the
              composition, structure, and  functions  of  the
              workforce of the employer or public agency, the
              geographic  separateness  of  the facility from
              the  employer  or  public   agency,   and   the
              administrative  or  fiscal  relationship of the
              facility to the employer or public agency.

    Section 35. Enforcement.
    (a)  Department of Labor.
         (1)  The  Director  or   his   or   her   authorized
    representative   shall   administer   and   enforce   the
    provisions  of this Act. Any employee or a representative
    of employees who believes his or her  rights  under  this
    Act  have  been  violated  may,  within 3 years after the
    alleged violation  occurs,  file  a  complaint  with  the
    Department  requesting a review of the alleged violation.
    A copy of the complaint shall be sent to the  person  who
    allegedly  committed  the  violation,  who  shall  be the
    respondent. Upon receipt of  a  complaint,  the  Director
    shall  cause  such  investigation to be made as he or she
    deems appropriate. The  investigation  shall  provide  an
    opportunity  for  a  public hearing at the request of any
    party to the review to  enable  the  parties  to  present
    information  relating  to  the  alleged  allegation.  The
    parties  shall  be  given  written notice of the time and
    place of the hearing at least 7 days before the  hearing.
    Upon  receiving  the  report  of  the  investigation, the
    Director shall make findings of  fact.  If  the  Director
    finds that a violation did occur, he or she shall issue a
    decision  incorporating his or her findings and requiring
    the  party  committing  the  violation   to   take   such
    affirmative action to abate the violation as the Director
    deems appropriate, including:
              (A)  damages  equal  to  the  amount  of wages,
         salary, employment benefits, public  assistance,  or
         other compensation denied or lost to such individual
         by reason of the violation, and the interest on that
         amount calculated at the prevailing rate;
              (B)  such    equitable   relief   as   may   be
         appropriate, including but not  limited  to  hiring,
         reinstatement,     promotion,     and     reasonable
         accommodations; and
              (C)  reasonable   attorney's  fees,  reasonable
         expert witness fees, and other costs of  the  action
         to  be  paid  by  the  respondent  to  a  prevailing
         employee.
         If  the  Director finds that there was no violation,
    he or she shall issue an order denying the complaint.  An
    order  issued by the Director under this Section shall be
    final  and  subject  to   judicial   review   under   the
    Administrative Review Law.
         (2)  The  Director  shall  adopt  rules necessary to
    administer and enforce this Act in  accordance  with  the
    Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The Director shall
    have  the  powers  and  the parties shall have the rights
    provided in the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for
    contested  cases,  including,   but   not   limited   to,
    provisions    for   depositions,   subpoena   power   and
    procedures,   and   discovery   and   protective    order
    procedures.
         (3)  Intervention.  The Attorney General of Illinois
    may  intervene  on  behalf  of  the  Department  if   the
    Department  certifies  that the case is of general public
    importance. Upon such intervention the  court  may  award
    such relief as is authorized to be granted to an employee
    who  has  filed  a  complaint or whose representative has
    filed a complaint under this Section.
    (b) Refusal to pay damages. Any  employer  who  has  been
ordered  by the Director of Labor or the court to pay damages
under this Section and who fails to  do  so  within  30  days
after  the  order is entered is liable to pay a penalty of 1%
per calendar day to the employee for each  day  of  delay  in
paying the damages to the employee.

    Section 40.  Notification. Every employer covered by this
Act  shall post and keep posted, in conspicuous places on the
premises of the  employer  where  notices  to  employees  are
customarily  posted,  a notice, to be prepared or approved by
the Director of Labor, summarizing the requirements  of  this
Act and information pertaining to the filing of a charge. The
Director  shall  furnish  copies  of  summaries  and rules to
employers upon request without charge.

    Section  45.  Effect  on  other   laws   and   employment
benefits.
    (a)  More  protective  laws,  agreements,  programs,  and
plans.  Nothing  in  this Act shall be construed to supersede
any provision of any federal, State, or local law, collective
bargaining agreement, or employment benefits program or  plan
that provides:
         (1)  greater  leave benefits for victims of domestic
    or sexual violence than the rights established under this
    Act; or
         (2)  leave  benefits  for  a  larger  population  of
    victims of domestic or sexual  violence  (as  defined  in
    such  law,  agreement, program, or plan) than the victims
    of domestic or sexual violence covered under this Act.
    (b)  Less  protective  laws,  agreements,  programs,  and
plans. The rights established for employees who  are  victims
of domestic or sexual violence and employees with a family or
household  member  who  is  a  victim  of  domestic or sexual
violence under this  Act  shall  not  be  diminished  by  any
federal, State or local law, collective bargaining agreement,
or employment benefits program or plan.

    Section  905.  Severability. If any provision of this Act
or the  application  of  such  provision  to  any  person  or
circumstance  is held to be in violation of the Unites States
Constitution or Illinois Constitution, the remainder  of  the
provisions   of   this  Act  and  the  application  of  those
provisions  to  any  person  or  circumstance  shall  not  be
affected.

    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes  effect  upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 08/25/03