Bill Text: IL HB2521 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. Provides that the showing of interest in support of a petition filed for the purpose of selecting a labor organization as the representative of the employees in a bargaining unit may be evidenced by electronic communications, and such writing or communication may be evidenced by the electronic signature of the employees. Provides that the showing of interest shall be valid only if signed within 12 months prior to the filing of the petition. Provides that a secret ballot election held for the purpose of selecting a labor organization as the representative of the employees in a bargaining unit may be conducted electronically, using an electronic voting system, in addition to paper ballot voting systems. Provides that it shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer to promise, threaten, or take any action because of an employee's specified participation in a strike.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 37)

Status: (Passed) 2021-08-27 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 102-0596 [HB2521 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB2521-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act is
amended by changing Sections 9 and 10 as follows:
(5 ILCS 315/9) (from Ch. 48, par. 1609)
Sec. 9. Elections; recognition.
(a) Whenever in accordance with such regulations as may be
prescribed by the Board a petition has been filed:
(1) by a public employee or group of public employees
or any labor organization acting in their behalf
demonstrating that 30% of the public employees in an
appropriate unit (A) wish to be represented for the
purposes of collective bargaining by a labor organization
as exclusive representative, or (B) asserting that the
labor organization which has been certified or is
currently recognized by the public employer as bargaining
representative is no longer the representative of the
majority of public employees in the unit; or
(2) by a public employer alleging that one or more
labor organizations have presented to it a claim that they
be recognized as the representative of a majority of the
public employees in an appropriate unit, the Board shall

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investigate such petition, and if it has reasonable cause
to believe that a question of representation exists, shall
provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. Such
hearing shall be held at the offices of the Board or such
other location as the Board deems appropriate. If it finds
upon the record of the hearing that a question of
representation exists, it shall direct an election in
accordance with subsection (d) of this Section, which
election shall be held not later than 120 days after the
date the petition was filed regardless of whether that
petition was filed before or after the effective date of
this amendatory Act of 1987; provided, however, the Board
may extend the time for holding an election by an
additional 60 days if, upon motion by a person who has
filed a petition under this Section or is the subject of a
petition filed under this Section and is a party to such
hearing, or upon the Board's own motion, the Board finds
that good cause has been shown for extending the election
date; provided further, that nothing in this Section shall
prohibit the Board, in its discretion, from extending the
time for holding an election for so long as may be
necessary under the circumstances, where the purpose for
such extension is to permit resolution by the Board of an
unfair labor practice charge filed by one of the parties
to a representational proceeding against the other based
upon conduct which may either affect the existence of a

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question concerning representation or have a tendency to
interfere with a fair and free election, where the party
filing the charge has not filed a request to proceed with
the election; and provided further that prior to the
expiration of the total time allotted for holding an
election, a person who has filed a petition under this
Section or is the subject of a petition filed under this
Section and is a party to such hearing or the Board, may
move for and obtain the entry of an order in the circuit
court of the county in which the majority of the public
employees sought to be represented by such person reside,
such order extending the date upon which the election
shall be held. Such order shall be issued by the circuit
court only upon a judicial finding that there has been a
sufficient showing that there is good cause to extend the
election date beyond such period and shall require the
Board to hold the election as soon as is feasible given the
totality of the circumstances. Such 120 day period may be
extended one or more times by the agreement of all parties
to the hearing to a date certain without the necessity of
obtaining a court order. The showing of interest in
support of a petition filed under paragraph (1) of this
subsection (a) may be evidenced by electronic
communications, and such writing or communication may be
evidenced by the electronic signature of the employee as
provided under Section 5-120 of the Electronic Commerce

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Security Act. The showing of interest shall be valid only
if signed within 12 months prior to the filing of the
petition. Nothing in this Section prohibits the waiving of
hearings by stipulation for the purpose of a consent
election in conformity with the rules and regulations of
the Board or an election in a unit agreed upon by the
parties. Other interested employee organizations may
intervene in the proceedings in the manner and within the
time period specified by rules and regulations of the
Board. Interested parties who are necessary to the
proceedings may also intervene in the proceedings in the
manner and within the time period specified by the rules
and regulations of the Board.
(a-5) The Board shall designate an exclusive
representative for purposes of collective bargaining when the
representative demonstrates a showing of majority interest by
employees in the unit. If the parties to a dispute are without
agreement on the means to ascertain the choice, if any, of
employee organization as their representative, the Board shall
ascertain the employees' choice of employee organization, on
the basis of dues deduction authorization or other evidence,
or, if necessary, by conducting an election. The showing of
interest in support of a petition filed under this subsection
(a-5) may be evidenced by electronic communications, and such
writing or communication may be evidenced by the electronic
signature of the employee as provided under Section 5-120 of

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the Electronic Commerce Security Act. The showing of interest
shall be valid only if signed within 12 months prior to the
filing of the petition. All evidence submitted by an employee
organization to the Board to ascertain an employee's choice of
an employee organization is confidential and shall not be
submitted to the employer for review. The Board shall
ascertain the employee's choice of employee organization
within 120 days after the filing of the majority interest
petition; however, the Board may extend time by an additional
60 days, upon its own motion or upon the motion of a party to
the proceeding. If either party provides to the Board, before
the designation of a representative, clear and convincing
evidence that the dues deduction authorizations, and other
evidence upon which the Board would otherwise rely to
ascertain the employees' choice of representative, are
fraudulent or were obtained through coercion, the Board shall
promptly thereafter conduct an election. The Board shall also
investigate and consider a party's allegations that the dues
deduction authorizations and other evidence submitted in
support of a designation of representative without an election
were subsequently changed, altered, withdrawn, or withheld as
a result of employer fraud, coercion, or any other unfair
labor practice by the employer. If the Board determines that a
labor organization would have had a majority interest but for
an employer's fraud, coercion, or unfair labor practice, it
shall designate the labor organization as an exclusive

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representative without conducting an election. If a hearing is
necessary to resolve any issues of representation under this
Section, the Board shall conclude its hearing process and
issue a certification of the entire appropriate unit not later
than 120 days after the date the petition was filed. The
120-day period may be extended one or more times by the
agreement of all parties to a hearing to a date certain.
(a-6) A labor organization or an employer may file a unit
clarification petition seeking to clarify an existing
bargaining unit. The Board shall conclude its investigation,
including any hearing process deemed necessary, and issue a
certification of clarified unit or dismiss the petition not
later than 120 days after the date the petition was filed. The
120-day period may be extended one or more times by the
agreement of all parties to a hearing to a date certain.
(b) The Board shall decide in each case, in order to assure
public employees the fullest freedom in exercising the rights
guaranteed by this Act, a unit appropriate for the purpose of
collective bargaining, based upon but not limited to such
factors as: historical pattern of recognition; community of
interest including employee skills and functions; degree of
functional integration; interchangeability and contact among
employees; fragmentation of employee groups; common
supervision, wages, hours and other working conditions of the
employees involved; and the desires of the employees. For
purposes of this subsection, fragmentation shall not be the

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sole or predominant factor used by the Board in determining an
appropriate bargaining unit. Except with respect to non-State
fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire departments and
fire protection districts, non-State peace officers and peace
officers in the State Department of State Police, a single
bargaining unit determined by the Board may not include both
supervisors and nonsupervisors, except for bargaining units in
existence on the effective date of this Act. With respect to
non-State fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire
departments and fire protection districts, non-State peace
officers and peace officers in the State Department of State
Police, a single bargaining unit determined by the Board may
not include both supervisors and nonsupervisors, except for
bargaining units in existence on the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1985.
In cases involving an historical pattern of recognition,
and in cases where the employer has recognized the union as the
sole and exclusive bargaining agent for a specified existing
unit, the Board shall find the employees in the unit then
represented by the union pursuant to the recognition to be the
appropriate unit.
Notwithstanding the above factors, where the majority of
public employees of a craft so decide, the Board shall
designate such craft as a unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining.
The Board shall not decide that any unit is appropriate if

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such unit includes both professional and nonprofessional
employees, unless a majority of each group votes for inclusion
in such unit.
(c) Nothing in this Act shall interfere with or negate the
current representation rights or patterns and practices of
labor organizations which have historically represented public
employees for the purpose of collective bargaining, including
but not limited to the negotiations of wages, hours and
working conditions, discussions of employees' grievances,
resolution of jurisdictional disputes, or the establishment
and maintenance of prevailing wage rates, unless a majority of
employees so represented express a contrary desire pursuant to
the procedures set forth in this Act.
(d) In instances where the employer does not voluntarily
recognize a labor organization as the exclusive bargaining
representative for a unit of employees, the Board shall
determine the majority representative of the public employees
in an appropriate collective bargaining unit by conducting a
secret ballot election, except as otherwise provided in
subsection (a-5). Such a secret ballot election may be
conducted electronically, using an electronic voting system,
in addition to paper ballot voting systems. Within 7 days
after the Board issues its bargaining unit determination and
direction of election or the execution of a stipulation for
the purpose of a consent election, the public employer shall
submit to the labor organization the complete names and

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addresses of those employees who are determined by the Board
to be eligible to participate in the election. When the Board
has determined that a labor organization has been fairly and
freely chosen by a majority of employees in an appropriate
unit, it shall certify such organization as the exclusive
representative. If the Board determines that a majority of
employees in an appropriate unit has fairly and freely chosen
not to be represented by a labor organization, it shall so
certify. The Board may also revoke the certification of the
public employee organizations as exclusive bargaining
representatives which have been found by a secret ballot
election to be no longer the majority representative.
(e) The Board shall not conduct an election in any
bargaining unit or any subdivision thereof within which a
valid election has been held in the preceding 12-month period.
The Board shall determine who is eligible to vote in an
election and shall establish rules governing the conduct of
the election or conduct affecting the results of the election.
The Board shall include on a ballot in a representation
election a choice of "no representation". A labor organization
currently representing the bargaining unit of employees shall
be placed on the ballot in any representation election. In any
election where none of the choices on the ballot receives a
majority, a runoff election shall be conducted between the 2
choices receiving the largest number of valid votes cast in
the election. A labor organization which receives a majority

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of the votes cast in an election shall be certified by the
Board as exclusive representative of all public employees in
the unit.
(f) A labor organization shall be designated as the
exclusive representative by a public employer, provided that
the labor organization represents a majority of the public
employees in an appropriate unit. Any employee organization
which is designated or selected by the majority of public
employees, in a unit of the public employer having no other
recognized or certified representative, as their
representative for purposes of collective bargaining may
request recognition by the public employer in writing. The
public employer shall post such request for a period of at
least 20 days following its receipt thereof on bulletin boards
or other places used or reserved for employee notices.
(g) Within the 20-day period any other interested employee
organization may petition the Board in the manner specified by
rules and regulations of the Board, provided that such
interested employee organization has been designated by at
least 10% of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit
which includes all or some of the employees in the unit
recognized by the employer. In such event, the Board shall
proceed with the petition in the same manner as provided by
paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Section.
(h) No election shall be directed by the Board in any
bargaining unit where there is in force a valid collective

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bargaining agreement. The Board, however, may process an
election petition filed between 90 and 60 days prior to the
expiration of the date of an agreement, and may further
refine, by rule or decision, the implementation of this
provision. Where more than 4 years have elapsed since the
effective date of the agreement, the agreement shall continue
to bar an election, except that the Board may process an
election petition filed between 90 and 60 days prior to the end
of the fifth year of such an agreement, and between 90 and 60
days prior to the end of each successive year of such
agreement.
(i) An order of the Board dismissing a representation
petition, determining and certifying that a labor organization
has been fairly and freely chosen by a majority of employees in
an appropriate bargaining unit, determining and certifying
that a labor organization has not been fairly and freely
chosen by a majority of employees in the bargaining unit or
certifying a labor organization as the exclusive
representative of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit
because of a determination by the Board that the labor
organization is the historical bargaining representative of
employees in the bargaining unit, is a final order. Any person
aggrieved by any such order issued on or after the effective
date of this amendatory Act of 1987 may apply for and obtain
judicial review in accordance with provisions of the
Administrative Review Law, as now or hereafter amended, except

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that such review shall be afforded directly in the Appellate
Court for the district in which the aggrieved party resides or
transacts business. Any direct appeal to the Appellate Court
shall be filed within 35 days from the date that a copy of the
decision sought to be reviewed was served upon the party
affected by the decision.
(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-813, eff. 10-30-09.)
(5 ILCS 315/10) (from Ch. 48, par. 1610)
Sec. 10. Unfair labor practices.
(a) It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer or
its agents:
(1) to interfere with, restrain or coerce public
employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in this
Act or to dominate or interfere with the formation,
existence or administration of any labor organization or
contribute financial or other support to it; provided, an
employer shall not be prohibited from permitting employees
to confer with him during working hours without loss of
time or pay;
(2) to discriminate in regard to hire or tenure of
employment or any term or condition of employment in order
to encourage or discourage membership in or other support
for any labor organization. Nothing in this Act or any
other law precludes a public employer from making an
agreement with a labor organization to require as a

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condition of employment the payment of a fair share under
paragraph (e) of Section 6;
(3) to discharge or otherwise discriminate against a
public employee because he has signed or filed an
affidavit, petition or charge or provided any information
or testimony under this Act;
(4) to refuse to bargain collectively in good faith
with a labor organization which is the exclusive
representative of public employees in an appropriate unit,
including, but not limited to, the discussing of
grievances with the exclusive representative;
(5) to violate any of the rules and regulations
established by the Board with jurisdiction over them
relating to the conduct of representation elections or the
conduct affecting the representation elections;
(6) to expend or cause the expenditure of public funds
to any external agent, individual, firm, agency,
partnership or association in any attempt to influence the
outcome of representational elections held pursuant to
Section 9 of this Act; provided, that nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to limit an employer's right
to internally communicate with its employees as provided
in subsection (c) of this Section, to be represented on
any matter pertaining to unit determinations, unfair labor
practice charges or pre-election conferences in any formal
or informal proceeding before the Board, or to seek or

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obtain advice from legal counsel. Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to prohibit an employer from
expending or causing the expenditure of public funds on,
or seeking or obtaining services or advice from, any
organization, group, or association established by and
including public or educational employers, whether covered
by this Act, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act
or the public employment labor relations law of any other
state or the federal government, provided that such
services or advice are generally available to the
membership of the organization, group or association, and
are not offered solely in an attempt to influence the
outcome of a particular representational election;
(7) to refuse to reduce a collective bargaining
agreement to writing or to refuse to sign such agreement;
(8) to interfere with, restrain, coerce, deter, or
discourage public employees or applicants to be public
employees from: (i) becoming or remaining members of a
labor organization; (ii) authorizing representation by a
labor organization; or (iii) authorizing dues or fee
deductions to a labor organization, nor shall the employer
intentionally permit outside third parties to use its
email or other communication systems to engage in that
conduct. An employer's good faith implementation of a
policy to block the use of its email or other
communication systems for such purposes shall be a defense

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to an unfair labor practice; or
(9) to disclose to any person or entity information
set forth in subsection (c-5) of Section 6 of this Act that
the employer knows or should know will be used to
interfere with, restrain, coerce, deter, or discourage any
public employee from: (i) becoming or remaining members of
a labor organization, (ii) authorizing representation by a
labor organization, or (iii) authorizing dues or fee
deductions to a labor organization; or .
(10) to promise, threaten, or take any action: (i) to
permanently replace an employee who participates in a
strike as provided under Section 17; (ii) to discriminate
against an employee who is working or has unconditionally
offered to return to work for the employer because the
employee supported or participated in such a strike; or
(iii) to lockout, suspend, or otherwise withhold
employment from employees in order to influence the
position of such employees or the representative of such
employees in collective bargaining prior to a strike.
(b) It shall be an unfair labor practice for a labor
organization or its agents:
(1) to restrain or coerce public employees in the
exercise of the rights guaranteed in this Act, provided,
(i) that this paragraph shall not impair the right of a
labor organization to prescribe its own rules with respect
to the acquisition or retention of membership therein or

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the determination of fair share payments and (ii) that a
labor organization or its agents shall commit an unfair
labor practice under this paragraph in duty of fair
representation cases only by intentional misconduct in
representing employees under this Act;
(2) to restrain or coerce a public employer in the
selection of his representatives for the purposes of
collective bargaining or the settlement of grievances; or
(3) to cause, or attempt to cause, an employer to
discriminate against an employee in violation of
subsection (a)(2);
(4) to refuse to bargain collectively in good faith
with a public employer, if it has been designated in
accordance with the provisions of this Act as the
exclusive representative of public employees in an
appropriate unit;
(5) to violate any of the rules and regulations
established by the boards with jurisdiction over them
relating to the conduct of representation elections or the
conduct affecting the representation elections;
(6) to discriminate against any employee because he
has signed or filed an affidavit, petition or charge or
provided any information or testimony under this Act;
(7) to picket or cause to be picketed, or threaten to
picket or cause to be picketed, any public employer where
an object thereof is forcing or requiring an employer to

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recognize or bargain with a labor organization of the
representative of its employees, or forcing or requiring
the employees of an employer to accept or select such
labor organization as their collective bargaining
representative, unless such labor organization is
currently certified as the representative of such
employees:
(A) where the employer has lawfully recognized in
accordance with this Act any labor organization and a
question concerning representation may not
appropriately be raised under Section 9 of this Act;
(B) where within the preceding 12 months a valid
election under Section 9 of this Act has been
conducted; or
(C) where such picketing has been conducted
without a petition under Section 9 being filed within
a reasonable period of time not to exceed 30 days from
the commencement of such picketing; provided that when
such a petition has been filed the Board shall
forthwith, without regard to the provisions of
subsection (a) of Section 9 or the absence of a showing
of a substantial interest on the part of the labor
organization, direct an election in such unit as the
Board finds to be appropriate and shall certify the
results thereof; provided further, that nothing in
this subparagraph shall be construed to prohibit any

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picketing or other publicity for the purpose of
truthfully advising the public that an employer does
not employ members of, or have a contract with, a labor
organization unless an effect of such picketing is to
induce any individual employed by any other person in
the course of his employment, not to pick up, deliver,
or transport any goods or not to perform any services;
or
(8) to refuse to reduce a collective bargaining
agreement to writing or to refuse to sign such agreement.
(c) The expressing of any views, argument, or opinion or
the dissemination thereof, whether in written, printed,
graphic, or visual form, shall not constitute or be evidence
of an unfair labor practice under any of the provisions of this
Act, if such expression contains no threat of reprisal or
force or promise of benefit.
(d) The employer shall not discourage public employees or
applicants to be public employees from becoming or remaining
union members or authorizing dues deductions, and shall not
otherwise interfere with the relationship between employees
and their exclusive bargaining representative. The employer
shall refer all inquiries about union membership to the
exclusive bargaining representative, except that the employer
may communicate with employees regarding payroll processes and
procedures. The employer will establish email policies in an
effort to prohibit the use of its email system by outside

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sources.
(Source: P.A. 101-620, eff. 12-20-19.)