Bill Text: IL SB0128 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Creates the Healthy Workplace Act. Requires an employer to provide an employee up to 7 sick days with pay during each 12-month period. Provides that an employee may use the sick days care for physical or mental illness, injury, medical condition, professional medical diagnosis or care, or a medical appointment of the employee or a family member. Contains provisions regarding: accrual; certification; notice; responsibilities of employers; unlawful practices; powers and duties of the Department of Labor; violations; penalties; civil liability; severability; and other matters.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [SB0128 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-SB0128-Amended.html

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Sen. Martin A. Sandoval

Filed: 3/1/2011

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AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 128
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 128 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Healthy Workplace Act.
Section 5. Findings and purpose.
(a) Findings. The General Assembly finds:
(1) Nearly every worker in the State is likely to need
time off to attend to his or her own illness or that of a
family member, or for routine medical care. Almost half of
all private sector workers do not earn a single paid sick
day per year, with low-income workers significantly worse
off. Nationally, over three-quarters of the poorest
families, 77 percent, lack any regular paid sick leave.
(2) Of those workers who receive paid sick days, few
policies, in both the private and public sectors, allow the

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worker to use it to care for a family member who is ill.
(3) The absence of paid sick days forces workers to
make untenable choices between needed income and jobs and
caring for their own health and their family's health.
(4) When parents are available to care for their
children who become sick, the children's recovery is
faster, more serious illnesses are prevented, and the
children's overall mental and physical health is improved.
Parents who cannot afford to miss work must send children
with a contagious illness to child care or school,
contributing to the high rate of infections in child care
centers and schools.
(5) The working population in Illinois contains a high
number of "baby boom" workers approaching retirement age
who are increasingly called upon to care for their parents
or an impaired spouse. Older workers need time off to care
for themselves as well.
(6) Preventive and routine medical care helps avoid
illness and injury by detecting illnesses early and
shortening the duration of illnesses. Providing employees
time off to attend to their own health care needs ensures
that they will be healthier and more efficient employees.
Routine medical care results in savings by detecting and
treating illness and injury early and decreasing the need
for emergency care. These savings benefit public and
private payers of health insurance, including private

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businesses. It will also reduce the spread of disease
within workplaces when sick employees go to work, a
practice known as presenteeism.
(7) Public health is jeopardized as many workers who do
not have paid sick days have the most frequent contact with
the public such as workers in food services, nursing homes,
child care centers and retail establishments. The spread of
contagious diseases such as the flu cannot be stopped
without a universally adopted paid sick days policy.
(8) Providing 7 paid sick days per year to employees
who earn those days is affordable for employers and good
for business. Requiring all employers to provide paid sick
days levels the playing field among employers. Employers
that provide paid sick days see greater retention and avoid
the problems of "presenteeism". Studies have shown that
costs from on-the-job productivity losses as a result of
presenteeism exceed the costs of absenteeism, medical and
disability benefits.
(b) Purpose. This Act is enacted to establish the Healthy
Workplace Act to provide a minimum time-off standard for paid
sick days so that workers can care for their own health and the
health of their families while prospering at work.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
(a) "Child" means a person who is a biological, adopted, or
foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person

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standing in loco parentis, and who is (i) under 18 years of age
or (ii) 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care
because of a mental or physical disability.
(b) "Employee" means any person who performs services for
an employer for wage, remuneration, or other compensation. This
includes persons working any number of hours, including a
full-time or part-time status.
(c) "Employer" means one who employs at least one employee,
including but not limited to, this State and its political
subdivisions, a temporary services agency, employment agency,
or employee organization.
(d) "Family member" means a child, spouse, parent, or
parent-in-law of the employee, or a person with whom the
employee has resided in the same household for 6 months or
longer.
(e) "Healthcare provider" means:
(1) a person who: (i) is licensed to practice medicine
in all of its branches in Illinois and possesses the degree
of doctor of medicine; (ii) is licensed to practice
medicine in Illinois and possesses the degree of doctor of
osteopathy or osteopathic medicine; or (iii) is licensed to
practice medicine in all of its branches or as an
osteopathic physician in another state or jurisdiction; or
(iv) any other person determined by Final Rule of The
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 CFR Part 825 Sec.
118); and

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(2) is not employed by an employer to whom the provider
issues certifications under this Act.
(f) "Parent" means a biological or adoptive parent, a
foster or stepparent, or a person who stands in loco parentis
to an employee or an employee's spouse. Parent may also mean a
person who is the parent of a child as defined in this section.
(g) "Sick day" means a portion of, or a regular workday
when an employee is unable to report to work because of a
reason described in subsection (b) of Section 15.
(h) "Spouse" refers to either member of a married pair as
"marriage" is defined by the marriage laws of Illinois.
Section 15. Provision of paid sick days.
(a) All employees who work in Illinois who are absent from
work for the reasons set forth in subsection (b) shall be
entitled to earn a maximum of 7 sick days with pay during a
12-month period, or a pro rata number of paid sick days or
hours under the provisions of subsection (c). The 12-month
period for an employee shall be calculated from the
date-of-hire or subsequent anniversary date.
(b) Paid sick days shall be provided to an employee by an
employer to:
(1) care for the employee's own physical or mental
illness, or injury or medical condition, or professional
medical diagnosis, or care; or
(2) care for the employee's family member who is

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suffering from a physical or mental illness, or injury, or
medical condition, or professional medical diagnosis or
care; or
(3) attend a medical appointment for himself or herself
or for that of the employee's family member.
(c) Paid sick days shall accrue at the rate of one hour of
paid sick time for every 30 hours worked up to the maximum of 7
paid sick days. Employees who are exempt from overtime
requirements of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 USC
Sec. 213 (a)(1)) will be assumed to work 40 hours in each work
week for purposes of paid sick day accrual unless their normal
work week is less than 40 hours, in which case paid sick days
accrue based upon that normal work week. Paid sick days may be
used as accrued, or be loaned by the employer, at its
discretion, to the employee in advance of such accrual; in such
case an employer shall not require an employee to reimburse it
for any unearned sick days. For periods of paid sick days that
are less than a normal workday, the leave shall be permitted to
be used in hourly increments. It is up to the employee to
determine how much accrued leave to take under this Act.
(d) An employer may require certification of the qualifying
illness, injury or health condition when paid sick days cover
more than 3 consecutive workdays. Any reasonable documentation
signed by a health care provider involved in following or
treating the illness, injury or health condition, and
indicating the need for the amount of sick days taken, shall be

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deemed acceptable certification. The employer shall not delay
the commencement of leave taken for purposes of subsection (b)
or pay for this period on the basis that the employer has not
yet received the certification. Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to require an employee to provide as certification
any information from a healthcare provider that would be in
violation of Section 1177 of the Social Security Act or the
regulations promulgated pursuant to Section 264(c) of the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 42 U.S.C.
1320d-2 note. If an employer possesses health information about
an employee or employee's family member, such information shall
be treated as confidential and not disclosed except with the
permission of the affected employee.
(e) Paid sick days shall be provided upon the oral request
of an employee. If the necessity for sick days under this Act
is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer with
not less than 7 days notice before the date the leave is to
begin. If the necessity for leave is not foreseeable, the
employee shall provide such notice as soon as is practicable
after the employee is aware of the necessity of such leave. An
employer may not require, as a condition of providing paid sick
days under this Act, that the employee search for or find a
replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee
is on paid sick days leave.
(f) Paid sick days shall carry over annually to the extent
not used by the employee, provided that nothing in this Act

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shall be construed to require an employer to allow accumulation
of more than 7 paid sick days for an employee unless an
employer agrees to do so.
(g) It shall be unlawful for an employer to interfere with,
restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise,
any right provided under, or in connection with this Act,
including but not limited to using the taking of paid sick days
as a negative factor in an employment action such as hiring,
termination, evaluation, promotion or a disciplinary action,
or counting the paid sick days under a no-fault attendance
policy.
(h) During any period an employee takes leave under this
Act, the employer shall maintain coverage for the employee and
any family member under any group health plan for the duration
of such leave at at least the level and conditions of coverage
as would have been provided if the employee had not taken the
leave.
(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring
financial or other reimbursement to an employee from an
employer upon the employee's termination, resignation,
retirement, or other separation from employment for accrued
paid sick days that have not been used.
Section 20. Related employer responsibilities.
(a) An employer subject to any provision of this Act shall
make and preserve records documenting hours worked by employees

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and the amount of paid sick days taken by employees, for a
period of not less than 3 years.
(b) An agreement by an employee to waive his or her rights
under this Act is void as against public policy. The benefits
provided to employees under this Act may not be diminished by a
collective bargaining agreement or an employment benefit
program or plan entered into or renewed after the effective
date of this Act.
(c) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage
employers from adopting or retaining paid sick day policies
more generous than policies that comply with the requirements
of this Act and nothing in this Act shall be construed to
diminish the obligation of an employer to comply with any
contract, collective bargaining agreement, or any employment
benefit program or plan that provides greater paid sick day
rights to employees than the rights established under this Act.
(d) Employers who have a paid time off policy that complies
with at least the minimum requirements of this Act shall not be
required to modify such a policy if such policy offers an
employee the option, at the employee's discretion, to take paid
sick days that are at least equivalent to the paid sick days
described in this Act.
Section 25. Unlawful employer practices.
It shall be unlawful for any employer to take any adverse
action against an employee because the employee (1) exercises

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rights or attempts to exercise rights under this Act, (2)
opposes practices which such employee believes to be in
violation of this Act, or (3) supports the exercise of rights
of another under this Act.
Exercising rights under this Act shall include but not be
limited to filing an action, or instituting or causing to be
instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act;
providing or about to provide any information in connection
with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided
under this Act; or testifying to, or about to testify in any
inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under this
Act.
Section 30. Violations and liability.
Any employer that violates this Act is liable in a civil
action in circuit court to any affected individuals for actual,
compensatory, and punitive damages with interest at the
prevailing rate and for such equitable relief as may be
appropriate. The court in such an action shall, in addition to
any judgment awarded to the plaintiff, allow a reasonable
attorney's fee, reasonable expert witness fees, and other costs
of the action to be paid by the defendant. Necessary legal
action may be brought by the employee to collect the judgment,
and the employer shall be required to pay the costs incurred in
collecting the judgment. An action may be brought under this
Act no more than 3 years after the date of the last event

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constituting the alleged violation for which the action is
brought. An employer that violates any provision of this Act or
any rule adopted under this Act is subject to a civil money
penalty not to exceed $2,500 for each separate offense.
Section 40. Severability.
If any provision of this Act or the application of such
provision to any person or circumstance is preempted by or held
to be in violation of Illinois or federal law or regulation,
the remainder of the provisions of this Act and the application
of those provisions to any person or circumstance shall not be
affected.".