Signed by Governor JB Pritzker

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with house amendments and pass a bill that amends regulations for labor unions.

Highlights:

• Specifies that public employees are protected in their right to self-organize, and may form, join, or assist any labor organization to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing on questions of wages, hours, and other conditions of employment (Sec. 6).

• Requires, at least once a month and upon request, a public employer to furnish the exclusive bargaining representative with a complete list of the names and addresses of the public employees within the bargaining unit, unless otherwise mutually agreed (Sec. 6).

• Requires a public employer to provide to the bargaining representative at the time the employer provides the above-mentioned list, in a digital file format, the employee’s job title, worksite location, work telephone numbers, identification number if available, date of hire, work email address, and any home and personal cellular telephone numbers on file with the employer (Sec. 6).

• Prohibits an employer from disclosing the following information (Sec 6):

• The employee’s home address, including ZIP code and county;

• The employee’s date of birth;

• The employee’s home and personal phone number; 

• The employee’s personal email address; 

• Any information personally identifying employee membership or membership status in a labor organization, or other voluntary association affiliated with a labor organization or a labor federation; and 

• Emails or other communications between a labor organization and its members.

• Requires that when an employer receives a request for any prohibited information, excluding a request from the exclusive bargaining representative of the employee, the employer must provide a written copy of the request to the exclusive bargaining representative, as soon as practicable (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that if an employer discloses information in violation of this act, the aggrieved employee, or the exclusive bargaining representative of the employee, may file an unfair labor practice charge with the Illinois Labor Relations Board or commence an action in the circuit court to enforce the provisions in this act, including actions to compel compliance (Sec. 6).

• Requires employers to provide the exclusive bargaining representatives reasonable access to employees in the bargaining units they represent in a manner that does not impede normal operations (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that the above-mentioned access includes the following (Sec. 6):

• The right to meet with 1 or more employees on the employer’s premises during the workday to investigate and discuss grievances and workplace-related complaints, without charge to pay or leave time of the employees;

• The right to conduct worksite meetings during lunch and other non-work breaks, before and after the workday, to discuss collective bargaining negotiations, bargaining agreements, matters related to the duties of the exclusive representative, and internal matters;

• The right to meet with newly hired employees for up to 1 hour either within the first 2 weeks of employment in the bargaining unit or at a later date if mutually agreed upon by the employer and the representative; and

• The right to use the facility mailboxes and bulletin boards of the employer to communicate with bargaining unit employees about collective bargaining negotiations, the investigation of grievances, and workplace-related complaints and issues.

• Specifies that nothing in this act prohibits an employer and the exclusive bargaining representative from agreeing in a collective bargaining agreement to provide the representative with greater access to bargaining unit employees, including through the use of the employer’s email system (Sec. 6).

• Requires employers to make payroll deductions of labor organization dues, initiation fees, assessments, and other payments for a labor organization, made in accordance with the terms of an employee’s written authorization (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that there is no impediment to an employee’s right to resign union membership at any time, unless (Sec. 6):

• The employee and their exclusive bargaining representative agree to a limit on the employee’s right to revoke authorization of membership payments, including a 1-year period; and

• Specifies that such authorization of membership payments may be automatically renewed annually but should contain at least an annual 10-day period of time during which the employee may revoke their authorization.

• Specifies that unless otherwise mutually agreed upon by the public employer and the exclusive representative, employee requests to authorize, revoke, cancel, or change authorizations for payroll deduction for labor organizations will be directed to the labor organization rather than the public employer (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that the labor organization will be responsible for initially processing and notifying the public employer of requests, and if the requests are not provided to the employer, the employer can rely on information provided by the labor organization regarding whether deductions for a labor organization were properly authorized, revoked, canceled, or changed, and the labor organization will indemnify the public employer for any damages and reasonable costs incurred for any claims made by employees for deductions made in good faith reliance on that information (Sec. 6).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with house amendments and pass a bill that amends regulations for labor unions.

Highlights:

• Specifies that public employees are protected in their right to self-organize, and may form, join, or assist any labor organization to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing on questions of wages, hours, and other conditions of employment (Sec. 6).

• Requires, at least once a month and upon request, a public employer to furnish the exclusive bargaining representative with a complete list of the names and addresses of the public employees within the bargaining unit, unless otherwise mutually agreed (Sec. 6).

• Requires a public employer to provide to the bargaining representative at the time the employer provides the above-mentioned list, in a digital file format, the employee’s job title, worksite location, work telephone numbers, identification number if available, date of hire, work email address, and any home and personal cellular telephone numbers on file with the employer (Sec. 6).

• Prohibits an employer from disclosing the following information (Sec 6):

• The employee’s home address, including ZIP code and county;

• The employee’s date of birth;

• The employee’s home and personal phone number; 

• The employee’s personal email address; 

• Any information personally identifying employee membership or membership status in a labor organization, or other voluntary association affiliated with a labor organization or a labor federation; and 

• Emails or other communications between a labor organization and its members.

• Requires that when an employer receives a request for any prohibited information, excluding a request from the exclusive bargaining representative of the employee, the employer must provide a written copy of the request to the exclusive bargaining representative, as soon as practicable (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that if an employer discloses information in violation of this act, the aggrieved employee, or the exclusive bargaining representative of the employee, may file an unfair labor practice charge with the Illinois Labor Relations Board or commence an action in the circuit court to enforce the provisions in this act, including actions to compel compliance (Sec. 6).

• Requires employers to provide the exclusive bargaining representatives reasonable access to employees in the bargaining units they represent in a manner that does not impede normal operations (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that the above-mentioned access includes the following (Sec. 6):

• The right to meet with 1 or more employees on the employer’s premises during the workday to investigate and discuss grievances and workplace-related complaints, without charge to pay or leave time of the employees;

• The right to conduct worksite meetings during lunch and other non-work breaks, before and after the workday, to discuss collective bargaining negotiations, bargaining agreements, matters related to the duties of the exclusive representative, and internal matters;

• The right to meet with newly hired employees for up to 1 hour either within the first 2 weeks of employment in the bargaining unit or at a later date if mutually agreed upon by the employer and the representative; and

• The right to use the facility mailboxes and bulletin boards of the employer to communicate with bargaining unit employees about collective bargaining negotiations, the investigation of grievances, and workplace-related complaints and issues.

• Specifies that nothing in this act prohibits an employer and the exclusive bargaining representative from agreeing in a collective bargaining agreement to provide the representative with greater access to bargaining unit employees, including through the use of the employer’s email system (Sec. 6).

• Requires employers to make payroll deductions of labor organization dues, initiation fees, assessments, and other payments for a labor organization, made in accordance with the terms of an employee’s written authorization (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that there is no impediment to an employee’s right to resign union membership at any time, unless (Sec. 6):

• The employee and their exclusive bargaining representative agree to a limit on the employee’s right to revoke authorization of membership payments, including a 1-year period; and

• Specifies that such authorization of membership payments may be automatically renewed annually but should contain at least an annual 10-day period of time during which the employee may revoke their authorization.

• Specifies that unless otherwise mutually agreed upon by the public employer and the exclusive representative, employee requests to authorize, revoke, cancel, or change authorizations for payroll deduction for labor organizations will be directed to the labor organization rather than the public employer (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that the labor organization will be responsible for initially processing and notifying the public employer of requests, and if the requests are not provided to the employer, the employer can rely on information provided by the labor organization regarding whether deductions for a labor organization were properly authorized, revoked, canceled, or changed, and the labor organization will indemnify the public employer for any damages and reasonable costs incurred for any claims made by employees for deductions made in good faith reliance on that information (Sec. 6).

Full Bill Text