Bill Text: IL HB4850 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Amends the Gender Violence Act. Defines "employee", "employer", "work environment", and "workplace". Changes the definition of "gender-related violence" to include domestic violence. Provides that an employer shall only be liable for gender-related violence committed in the work environment by an employee or agent of the employer. Provides specific instances in which an employer is liable for gender-related violence. Provides that no person shall have the power to waive any provisions of the Act as part of a dissolution of marriage agreement, civil union, domestic partnership, or custody agreement. Makes corresponding changes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-09-07 - Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Laura Fine [HB4850 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HB4850-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Amends the Gender Violence Act. Defines "employee", "employer", "work environment", and "workplace". Changes the definition of "gender-related violence" to include domestic violence. Provides that an employer shall only be liable for gender-related violence committed in the work environment by an employee or agent of the employer. Provides specific instances in which an employer is liable for gender-related violence. Provides that no person shall have the power to waive any provisions of the Act as part of a dissolution of marriage agreement, civil union, domestic partnership, or custody agreement. Makes corresponding changes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-09-07 - Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Laura Fine [HB4850 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HB4850-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning civil law.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 1. "An Act in relation to violence against women", | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | approved August 5, 2003, Public Act 93-416, is amended by | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | changing the preamble as follows:
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7 | WHEREAS, Recent national studies demonstrate that women
in | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | the United States continue to be greatly harmed by
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9 | gender-related violence such
as domestic violence, which is | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | disproportionately visited
upon women by men, and sexual | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | abuse, which harms many women and
children without being | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | reported or prosecuted; and
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13 | WHEREAS, It is documented that existing State and federal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | laws have not
provided adequate remedies to women survivors of
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15 | domestic violence and sexual abuse; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Women survivors of
domestic violence oftentimes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | have found laws against domestic
violence used against them by | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | their batterers; and
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19 | WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled that
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20 | the states alone have the authority to grant civil relief to
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1 | the survivors of such sexually discriminatory violence; and
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2 | WHEREAS, Such acts of gender-related violence are a form
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3 | of sex discrimination; and therefore
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4 | WHEREAS, Notwithstanding the intention of the General | ||||||
5 | Assembly when it passed the Gender Violence Act in 2003, | ||||||
6 | courts have not uniformly applied the Gender Violence Act to | ||||||
7 | prohibit domestic violence; and
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8 | WHEREAS, It was the intention of the General Assembly when | ||||||
9 | it passed the Gender Violence Act in 2003 that employers be | ||||||
10 | held liable, based on their acts or omissions, for | ||||||
11 | gender-motivated violence committed by their employees and | ||||||
12 | non-employees; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Notwithstanding the intention of the General | ||||||
14 | Assembly when it passed the Gender Violence Act in 2003, | ||||||
15 | courts have not uniformly applied the Gender Violence Act to | ||||||
16 | provide for employer liability; therefore
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17 | Section 5. The Gender Violence Act is amended by adding | ||||||
18 | Sections 5, 11, and 20 and by adding Section 25 as follows:
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19 | (740 ILCS 82/5)
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20 | Sec. 5. Definition. In this Act,
"gender-related |
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1 | violence", which is a form of sex
discrimination, means the | ||||||
2 | following:
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3 | (1) One or more acts of violence or physical
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4 | aggression satisfying the elements of battery under the
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5 | laws of Illinois that are committed, at least in part, on
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6 | the basis of a person's sex,
whether or not those acts have | ||||||
7 | resulted in
criminal
charges, prosecution, or conviction.
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8 | (2) A physical intrusion or physical invasion of a
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9 | sexual nature under coercive conditions satisfying the
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10 | elements of battery under the laws of Illinois, whether
or | ||||||
11 | not the act or acts resulted in criminal charges,
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12 | prosecution, or conviction.
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13 | (2.5) Domestic violence, as defined in the Victims' | ||||||
14 | Economic Security and Safety Act.
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15 | (3) A threat of an act described in item (1) , or
(2) , | ||||||
16 | or (2.5) causing a realistic apprehension that the | ||||||
17 | originator
of the threat will commit the act.
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18 | (Source: P.A. 93-416, eff. 1-1-04.)
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19 | (740 ILCS 82/11 new) | ||||||
20 | Sec. 11. Employer liability. | ||||||
21 | (a) An employer shall be liable for gender-related | ||||||
22 | violence committed by an employee or nonemployee if the | ||||||
23 | employer, through the employer's acts or omissions, engages | ||||||
24 | in: | ||||||
25 | (1) encouraging or assisting in the commission of the |
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1 | gender-related violence by failing to
supervise, train, or | ||||||
2 | monitor an employee or nonemployee; | ||||||
3 | (2) having prior knowledge of an employee's or | ||||||
4 | nonemployee's propensity for engaging in similar conduct | ||||||
5 | but failing to
take remedial measures; | ||||||
6 | (3) failing to investigate complaints or reports of | ||||||
7 | similar conduct by an employee or nonemployee; or | ||||||
8 | (4) otherwise failing to investigate or take remedial | ||||||
9 | measures in response to complaints or reports of similar | ||||||
10 | conduct by an employee or nonemployee. | ||||||
11 | (b) As used in this Section: | ||||||
12 | "Employee" and "employer" have the same meaning as used in | ||||||
13 | Section 2-101 of the Illinois Human Rights Act. | ||||||
14 | "Nonemployee" has the same meaning as used in Section | ||||||
15 | 2-102 of the Illinois Human Rights Act.
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16 | (740 ILCS 82/20)
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17 | Sec. 20. Limitation. An action based on gender-related | ||||||
18 | violence as
defined
in
paragraph (1) , or (2) , or (2.5) of | ||||||
19 | Section 5 must be commenced within 7 years after the
cause of
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20 | action accrued, except that if the person entitled to bring | ||||||
21 | the action was a
minor at the
time the cause of action accrued, | ||||||
22 | the action must be commenced within 7 years
after the
person | ||||||
23 | reaches the age of 18. An action based on gender-related | ||||||
24 | violence as
defined in
paragraph (3) of Section 5 must be | ||||||
25 | commenced within 2 years after the cause of
action
accrued, |
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1 | except that if the person entitled to bring the action was a | ||||||
2 | minor at
the time the
cause of action accrued, the action must | ||||||
3 | be commenced within 2 years after the
person
reaches the age of | ||||||
4 | 18.
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5 | (Source: P.A. 93-416, eff. 1-1-04.)
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6 | (740 ILCS 82/25 new) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 25. No waiver. No person shall have the power to waive | ||||||
8 | any of the provisions of this Act as part of a dissolution of | ||||||
9 | marriage agreement, civil union, domestic partnership, or | ||||||
10 | custody agreement. Any such purported waiver is considered | ||||||
11 | against public policy, void, and severable from an otherwise | ||||||
12 | valid and enforceable agreement.
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