Bill Text: IL HB5795 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. In provisions regarding the right to organize and bargain collectively, provides that, at the request of any labor organization or public employer, bargaining sessions shall be open to the public for viewing.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-28 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB5795 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB5795-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026HB5795 Introduced , by Rep. Norma Hernandez SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 315/6 from Ch. 48, par. 1606
Amends the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. In provisions regarding the right to organize and bargain collectively, provides that, at the request of any labor organization or public employer, bargaining sessions shall be open to the public for viewing.
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A BILL FOR
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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 Section 6 as follows:
(5 ILCS 315/6) (from Ch. 48, par. 1606)
Sec. 6. Right to organize and bargain collectively;
exclusive representation; and fair share arrangements.
(a) Employees of the State and any political subdivision
of the State, excluding employees of the General Assembly of
the State of Illinois and employees excluded from the
definition of "public employee" under subsection (n) of
Section 3 of this Act, have, and are protected in the exercise
of, the right of self-organization, 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, not excluded by
Section 4 of this Act, and to engage in other concerted
activities not otherwise prohibited by law for the purposes of
collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, free
from interference, restraint or coercion. Employees also have,
and are protected in the exercise of, the right to refrain from
participating in any such concerted activities. Employees may

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be required, pursuant to the terms of a lawful fair share
agreement, to pay a fee which shall be their proportionate
share of the costs of the collective bargaining process,
contract administration and pursuing matters affecting wages,
hours and other conditions of employment as defined in Section
3(g). At the request of any labor organization or public
employer, bargaining sessions shall be open to the public for
viewing.
(b) Nothing in this Act prevents an employee from
presenting a grievance to the employer and having the
grievance heard and settled without the intervention of an
employee organization; provided that the exclusive bargaining
representative is afforded the opportunity to be present at
such conference and that any settlement made shall not be
inconsistent with the terms of any agreement in effect between
the employer and the exclusive bargaining representative.
(c) A labor organization designated by the Board as the
representative of the majority of public employees in an
appropriate unit in accordance with the procedures herein or
recognized by a public employer as the representative of the
majority of public employees in an appropriate unit is the
exclusive representative for the employees of such unit for
the purpose of collective bargaining with respect to rates of
pay, wages, hours and other conditions of employment not
excluded by Section 4 of this Act. Unless otherwise mutually
agreed, a public employer is required at least once each month

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and upon request, to furnish the exclusive bargaining
representative with a complete list of the names and addresses
of the public employees in the bargaining unit, provided that
a public employer shall not be required to furnish such a list
more than once per payroll period. The exclusive bargaining
representative shall use the list exclusively for bargaining
representation purposes and shall not disclose any information
contained in the list for any other purpose. Nothing in this
Section, however, shall prohibit a bargaining representative
from disseminating a list of its union members.
At the time the public employer provides such list, it
shall also provide to the exclusive representative, in an
Excel file or other mutually agreed upon editable digital file
format, the employee's job title, worksite location, work
telephone numbers, identification number if available, and any
home and personal cellular telephone numbers on file with the
employer, date of hire, work email address, and any personal
email address on file with the employer. In addition, unless
otherwise mutually agreed, within 10 calendar days from the
date of hire of a bargaining unit employee, the public
employer shall provide to the exclusive representative, in an
electronic file or other mutually agreed upon format, the
following information about the new employee: the employee's
name, job title, worksite location, home address, work
telephone numbers, and any home and personal cellular
telephone numbers on file with the employer, date of hire,

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work email address, and any personal email address on file
with the employer.
(c-5) No employer shall disclose the following information
of any employee: (1) the employee's home address (including
ZIP code and county); (2) the employee's date of birth; (3) the
employee's home and personal phone number; (4) the employee's
personal email address; (5) 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 (including
whether employees are members of such organization, the
identity of such organization, whether or not employees pay or
authorize the payment of any dues or moneys to such
organization, and the amounts of such dues or moneys); and (6)
emails or other communications between a labor organization
and its members.
As soon as practicable after receiving a request for any
information prohibited from disclosure under this subsection
(c-5), excluding a request from the exclusive bargaining
representative of the employee, the employer must provide a
written copy of the request, or a written summary of any oral
request, to the exclusive bargaining representative of the
employee or, if no such representative exists, to the
employee. The employer must also provide a copy of any
response it has made within 5 business days of sending the
response to any request.

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If an employer discloses information in violation of this
subsection (c-5), an aggrieved employee of the employer or his
or her exclusive bargaining representative may file an unfair
labor practice charge with the Illinois Labor Relations Board
pursuant to Section 10 of this Act or commence an action in the
circuit court to enforce the provisions of this Act, including
actions to compel compliance, if an employer willfully and
wantonly discloses information in violation of this
subsection. The circuit court for the county in which the
complainant resides, in which the complainant is employed, or
in which the employer is located shall have jurisdiction in
this matter.
This subsection does not apply to disclosures (i) required
under the Freedom of Information Act, (ii) for purposes of
conducting public operations or business, or (iii) to the
exclusive representative.
(c-10) Employers shall provide to exclusive
representatives, including their agents and employees,
reasonable access to employees in the bargaining units they
represent. This access shall at all times be conducted in a
manner so as not to impede normal operations.
(1) Access includes the following:
(A) the right to meet with one or more employees on
the employer's premises during the work day to
investigate and discuss grievances and
workplace-related complaints without charge to pay or

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leave time of employees or agents of the exclusive
representative;
(B) the right to conduct worksite meetings during
lunch and other non-work breaks, and before and after
the workday, on the employer's premises to discuss
collective bargaining negotiations, the administration
of collective bargaining agreements, other matters
related to the duties of the exclusive representative,
and internal matters involving the governance or
business of the exclusive representative, without
charge to pay or leave time of employees or agents of
the exclusive representative;
(C) the right to meet with newly hired employees,
without charge to pay or leave time of the employees or
agents of the exclusive representative, on the
employer's premises or at a location mutually agreed
to by the employer and exclusive representative for up
to one hour either within the first two weeks of
employment in the bargaining unit or at a later date
and time if mutually agreed upon by the employer and
the exclusive representative; and
(D) the right to use the facility mailboxes and
bulletin boards of the employer to communicate with
bargaining unit employees regarding collective
bargaining negotiations, the administration of the
collective bargaining agreements, the investigation of

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grievances, other workplace-related complaints and
issues, and internal matters involving the governance
or business of the exclusive representative.
(2) Nothing in this Section shall prohibit an employer
and exclusive representative from agreeing in a collective
bargaining agreement to provide the exclusive
representative greater access to bargaining unit
employees, including through the use of the employer's
email system.
(d) Labor organizations recognized by a public employer as
the exclusive representative or so designated in accordance
with the provisions of this Act are responsible for
representing the interests of all public employees in the
unit. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit an exclusive
representative's right to exercise its discretion to refuse to
process grievances of employees that are unmeritorious.
(e) When a collective bargaining agreement is entered into
with an exclusive representative, it may include in the
agreement a provision requiring employees covered by the
agreement who are not members of the organization to pay their
proportionate share of the costs of the collective bargaining
process, contract administration and pursuing matters
affecting wages, hours and conditions of employment, as
defined in Section 3 (g), but not to exceed the amount of dues
uniformly required of members. The organization shall certify
to the employer the amount constituting each nonmember

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employee's proportionate share which shall not exceed dues
uniformly required of members. In such case, the proportionate
share payment in this Section shall be deducted by the
employer from the earnings of the nonmember employees and paid
to the employee organization.
(f) Employers shall make payroll deductions of labor
organization dues, initiation fees, assessments, and other
payments for a labor organization that is the exclusive
representative. Such deductions shall be made in accordance
with the terms of an employee's written authorization, and
shall be paid to the exclusive representative. Written
authorization 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 Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.
There is no impediment to an employee's right to resign
union membership at any time. However, notwithstanding any
other provision of law to the contrary regarding authorization
and deduction of dues or other payments to a labor
organization, the exclusive representative and a public
employee may agree to reasonable limits on the right of the
employee to revoke such authorization, including a period of
irrevocability that exceeds one year. An authorization that is
irrevocable for one year, which may be automatically renewed
for successive annual periods in accordance with the terms of
the authorization, and that contains at least an annual 10-day

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period of time during which the employee may revoke the
authorization, shall be deemed reasonable.
This Section shall apply to all claims that allege that a
labor organization or a public employer has improperly
deducted or collected dues from an employee without regard to
whether the claims or the facts upon which they are based
occurred before, on, or after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly and shall apply
retroactively to the maximum extent permitted by law.
(f-5) Where a collective bargaining agreement is
terminated, or continues in effect beyond its scheduled
expiration date pending the negotiation of a successor
agreement or the resolution of an impasse under Section 14,
the employer shall continue to honor and abide by any dues
deduction or fair share clause contained therein until a new
agreement is reached including dues deduction or a fair share
clause. For the benefit of any successor exclusive
representative certified under this Act, this provision shall
be applicable, provided the successor exclusive
representative:
(i) certifies to the employer the amount constituting
each non-member's proportionate share under subsection
(e); or
(ii) presents the employer with employee written
authorizations for the deduction of dues, assessments, and
fees under this subsection.

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Failure to so honor and abide by dues deduction or fair
share clauses for the benefit of any exclusive representative,
including a successor, shall be a violation of the duty to
bargain and an unfair labor practice.
(f-10) Upon receiving written notice of authorization, the
public employer must commence dues deductions as soon as
practicable, but in no case later than 30 days after receiving
notice from the labor organization. Employee deductions shall
be transmitted to the labor organization no later than 30 days
after they are deducted unless a shorter period is mutually
agreed to.
(f-15) Deductions shall remain in effect until:
(1) the public employer receives notice that a public
employee has revoked their authorization in writing in
accordance with the terms of the authorization; or
(2) the individual employee is no longer employed by
the public employer in a bargaining unit position
represented by the same exclusive representative, provided
that if the employee is, within a period of one year,
employed by the same public employer in a position
represented by the same labor organization, the right to
dues deduction shall be automatically reinstated.
Nothing in this subsection prevents an employee from
continuing to authorize payroll deductions when no longer
represented by the exclusive representative that would receive
such deduction.

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Should the individual employee who has signed a dues
deduction authorization card either be removed from a public
employer's payroll or otherwise placed on any type of
involuntary or voluntary leave of absence, whether paid or
unpaid, the public employee's dues deduction shall be
continued upon that public employee's return to the payroll in
a bargaining unit position represented by the same exclusive
representative or restoration to active duty from such a leave
of absence.
(f-20) Unless otherwise mutually agreed by the public
employer and the exclusive representative, employee requests
to authorize, revoke, cancel, or change authorizations for
payroll deductions for labor organizations shall be directed
to the labor organization rather than to the public employer.
The labor organization shall be responsible for initially
processing and notifying the public employer of proper
requests or providing proper requests to the employer. If the
requests are not provided to the public employer, the employer
shall 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 shall 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.
(f-25) Upon receipt by the exclusive representative of an

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appropriate written authorization from an employee, written
notice of authorization shall be provided to the employer and
any authorized deductions shall be made in accordance with
law. The labor organization shall 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 its notification.
(f-30) The failure of an employer to comply with the
provisions of this Section shall be a violation of the duty to
bargain and an unfair labor practice. Relief for the violation
shall be reimbursement by the public employer of dues that
should have been deducted or paid based on a valid
authorization given by the employee or employees. In addition,
the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement that
contain the obligations set forth in this Section may be
enforced in accordance with Sections 8 and 16.
(f-35) The Illinois Labor Relations Board shall have
exclusive jurisdiction over claims under Illinois law that
allege that a labor organization has unlawfully collected dues
from a public employee in violation of this Act. The Board
shall by rule require that in cases in which a public employee
alleges that a labor organization has unlawfully collected
dues, the public employer shall continue to deduct the
employee's dues from the employee's pay, but shall transmit
the dues to the Board for deposit in an escrow account
maintained by the Board. If the exclusive representative

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maintains an escrow account for the purpose of holding dues to
which an employee has objected, the employer shall transmit
the entire amount of dues to the exclusive representative, and
the exclusive representative shall hold in escrow the dues
that the employer would otherwise have been required to
transmit to the Board for escrow; provided that the escrow
account maintained by the exclusive representative complies
with rules adopted by the Board or that the collective
bargaining agreement requiring the payment of the dues
contains an indemnification provision for the purpose of
indemnifying the employer with respect to the employer's
transmission of dues to the exclusive representative.
(f-40) If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or subparagraph
of this Section shall be adjudged by a court of competent
jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, that
judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder
thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
sentence, paragraph, or subparagraph of this Section directly
involved in the controversy in which that judgment shall have
been rendered.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of a signed
authorization for payroll deductions shall be adjudged by a
court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or
otherwise invalid, that judgment shall not affect, impair, or
invalidate the remainder of the signed authorization, but
shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence,

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paragraph, or part of the signed authorization directly
involved in the controversy in which that judgment shall have
been rendered.
(g) Agreements containing a fair share agreement must
safeguard the right of nonassociation of employees based upon
bona fide religious tenets or teachings of a church or
religious body of which such employees are members. Such
employees may be required to pay an amount equal to their fair
share, determined under a lawful fair share agreement, to a
nonreligious charitable organization mutually agreed upon by
the employees affected and the exclusive bargaining
representative to which such employees would otherwise pay
such service fee. If the affected employees and the bargaining
representative are unable to reach an agreement on the matter,
the Board may establish an approved list of charitable
organizations to which such payments may be made.
(Source: P.A. 101-620, eff. 12-20-19; 102-38, eff. 6-25-21.)