Signed by Governor JB Pritzker

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes worker protections during a public health emergency.

Highlights:

• Requires an eligible employee be entitled to a maximum 60-day extension of paid time off for physical recovery during the period of March 9, 2020, through December 31, 2020, if the missed work occurrence is directly or indirectly attributable to COVID-19 (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes the employing public entity to require proof of the circumstances hindering an eligible employee’s physical recovery before granting the extension (Sec. 5).

• Defines “eligible employee” as a (Sec. 5):

• Full or part-time state correctional officer or any other full or part-time employee of the Department of Corrections;

• Full or part-time employees of the Prisoner Review Board;

• Full or part-time employees of the Department of Human Services working within a panel institution or state mental health or developmental disability facility; or

• Full-time Law enforcement officers or firefighters who perform paramedic duties.

• Requires an employer entity with 10 or more employees over the previous 12 months attempting to apply for an organization gaming license or renewal to do the following, including, but not limited to (Sec. 10):

• Enter into and observe the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with any labor organization seeking to represent a majority of the licensee’s employees; and

• Upon written notice by a labor organization of its desire to represent employees, provide the names, classifications, and home addresses of every employee in the identified bargaining unit.

• Prohibits an employer entity from expressing any views on whether its employees should be represented by a labor organization, and from restraining or coercing its employees as to whether or not they should be represented by a labor organization (Sec. 10).

• Requires an employer entity to allow designated representatives of the labor organization access to its non-work areas for the purpose of meeting privately with its employees during the non-working times (Sec. 10).

• Specifies that if no labor agreement can be reached between a labor organization and employer entity within 60 days following the date of certification, the terms of the agreement will be set by an arbiter jointly selected (Sec. 10).

• Requires the jointly selected arbiter to issue a final and binding award within 120 days after the date of certification (Sec. 10).

• Establishes that all labor agreements will be for a minimum 3-year term, have restrictions on subcontracting work performed on the employer’s premise, and include a prohibition on strikes or other work stoppages by the labor organization and represented employees during the term of the labor agreement (Sec. 10).

• Establishes that none of the aforementioned provisions will apply to an employer entity that is covered, or subsequently becomes covered under the National Labor Relations Act (Sec. 10).

• Increases the charge to aggravated battery from normal battery when an individual commits an act of battery during the period of a disaster declared by the Governor, or a state of emergency declared by the mayor of the municipality due to a public health emergency over a period of 6 months (Sec. 15).

Full Bill Text