Bill Text: IL SB2616 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that it is the public policy of the State to secure for all individuals the freedom from discrimination against any individual because of his or her family responsibilities in employment. Provides that it is a civil rights violation for a person, or 2 or more persons, to conspire to retaliate against a person because he or she has opposed that which he or she reasonably and in good faith believes to be discrimination based on family responsibilities. Changes the definition of "harassment" to include any unwelcome conduct on the basis of an individual's actual or perceived family responsibilities. Defines "family responsibilities" as an employee's actual or perceived provision of personal care to a family member. Defines "personal care" and "family member".

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-10-24 - Referred to Assignments [SB2616 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB2616-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB2616 Introduced 10/24/2023, by Sen. Natalie Toro SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
775 ILCS 5/1-102 from Ch. 68, par. 1-102
775 ILCS 5/2-101
775 ILCS 5/6-101 from Ch. 68, par. 6-101
Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that it is the public policy of the State to secure for all individuals the freedom from discrimination against any individual because of his or her family responsibilities in employment. Provides that it is a civil rights violation for a person, or 2 or more persons, to conspire to retaliate against a person because he or she has opposed that which he or she reasonably and in good faith believes to be discrimination based on family responsibilities. Changes the definition of "harassment" to include any unwelcome conduct on the basis of an individual's actual or perceived family responsibilities. Defines "family responsibilities" as an employee's actual or perceived provision of personal care to a family member. Defines "personal care" and "family member".
LRB103 34532 LNS 64366 b
A BILL FOR
SB2616 LRB103 34532 LNS 64366 b
AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by
changing Sections 1-102, 2-101, and 6-101 as follows:
(775 ILCS 5/1-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 1-102)
Sec. 1-102. Declaration of Policy. It is the public
policy of this State:
(A) Freedom from Unlawful Discrimination. To secure for
all individuals within Illinois the freedom from
discrimination against any individual because of his or her
race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age,
order of protection status, marital status, physical or mental
disability, military status, sexual orientation, pregnancy,
family responsibilities in employment, or unfavorable
discharge from military service in connection with employment,
real estate transactions, access to financial credit, and the
availability of public accommodations.
(B) Freedom from Sexual Harassment-Employment and
Elementary, Secondary, and Higher Education. To prevent sexual
harassment in employment and sexual harassment in elementary,
secondary, and higher education.
(C) Freedom from Discrimination Based on Citizenship

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Status-Employment. To prevent discrimination based on
citizenship status in employment.
(C-5) Freedom from Discrimination Based on Work
Authorization Status-Employment. To prevent discrimination
based on the specific status or term of status that
accompanies a legal work authorization.
(D) Freedom from Discrimination Based on Familial Status
or Source of Income-Real Estate Transactions. To prevent
discrimination based on familial status or source of income in
real estate transactions.
(E) Public Health, Welfare and Safety. To promote the
public health, welfare and safety by protecting the interest
of all people in Illinois in maintaining personal dignity, in
realizing their full productive capacities, and in furthering
their interests, rights and privileges as citizens of this
State.
(F) Implementation of Constitutional Guarantees. To secure
and guarantee the rights established by Sections 17, 18 and 19
of Article I of the Illinois Constitution of 1970.
(G) Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action. To establish
Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action as the policies of
this State in all of its decisions, programs and activities,
and to assure that all State departments, boards, commissions
and instrumentalities rigorously take affirmative action to
provide equality of opportunity and eliminate the effects of
past discrimination in the internal affairs of State

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government and in their relations with the public.
(H) Unfounded Charges. To protect citizens of this State
against unfounded charges of unlawful discrimination, sexual
harassment in employment and sexual harassment in elementary,
secondary, and higher education, and discrimination based on
citizenship status or work authorization status in employment.
(Source: P.A. 102-233, eff. 8-2-21; 102-896, eff. 1-1-23.)
(775 ILCS 5/2-101)
Sec. 2-101. Definitions. The following definitions are
applicable strictly in the context of this Article.
(A) Employee.
(1) "Employee" includes:
(a) Any individual performing services for
remuneration within this State for an employer;
(b) An apprentice;
(c) An applicant for any apprenticeship.
For purposes of subsection (D) of Section 2-102 of
this Act, "employee" also includes an unpaid intern. An
unpaid intern is a person who performs work for an
employer under the following circumstances:
(i) the employer is not committed to hiring the
person performing the work at the conclusion of the
intern's tenure;
(ii) the employer and the person performing the
work agree that the person is not entitled to wages for

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the work performed; and
(iii) the work performed:
(I) supplements training given in an
educational environment that may enhance the
employability of the intern;
(II) provides experience for the benefit of
the person performing the work;
(III) does not displace regular employees;
(IV) is performed under the close supervision
of existing staff; and
(V) provides no immediate advantage to the
employer providing the training and may
occasionally impede the operations of the
employer.
(2) "Employee" does not include:
(a) (Blank);
(b) Individuals employed by persons who are not
"employers" as defined by this Act;
(c) Elected public officials or the members of
their immediate personal staffs;
(d) Principal administrative officers of the State
or of any political subdivision, municipal corporation
or other governmental unit or agency;
(e) A person in a vocational rehabilitation
facility certified under federal law who has been
designated an evaluee, trainee, or work activity

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client.
(B) Employer.
(1) "Employer" includes:
(a) Any person employing one or more employees
within Illinois during 20 or more calendar weeks
within the calendar year of or preceding the alleged
violation;
(b) Any person employing one or more employees
when a complainant alleges civil rights violation due
to unlawful discrimination based upon his or her
physical or mental disability unrelated to ability,
pregnancy, or sexual harassment;
(c) The State and any political subdivision,
municipal corporation or other governmental unit or
agency, without regard to the number of employees;
(d) Any party to a public contract without regard
to the number of employees;
(e) A joint apprenticeship or training committee
without regard to the number of employees.
(2) "Employer" does not include any place of worship,
religious corporation, association, educational
institution, society, or non-profit nursing institution
conducted by and for those who rely upon treatment by
prayer through spiritual means in accordance with the
tenets of a recognized church or religious denomination
with respect to the employment of individuals of a

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particular religion to perform work connected with the
carrying on by such place of worship, corporation,
association, educational institution, society or
non-profit nursing institution of its activities.
(C) Employment Agency. "Employment Agency" includes both
public and private employment agencies and any person, labor
organization, or labor union having a hiring hall or hiring
office regularly undertaking, with or without compensation, to
procure opportunities to work, or to procure, recruit, refer
or place employees.
(D) Labor Organization. "Labor Organization" includes any
organization, labor union, craft union, or any voluntary
unincorporated association designed to further the cause of
the rights of union labor which is constituted for the
purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of
dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or
conditions of employment, or apprenticeships or applications
for apprenticeships, or of other mutual aid or protection in
connection with employment, including apprenticeships or
applications for apprenticeships.
(E) Sexual Harassment. "Sexual harassment" means any
unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or any
conduct of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct
is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of
an individual's employment, (2) submission to or rejection of
such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for

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employment decisions affecting such individual, or (3) such
conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering
with an individual's work performance or creating an
intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.
For purposes of this definition, the phrase "working
environment" is not limited to a physical location an employee
is assigned to perform his or her duties.
(E-1) Harassment. "Harassment" means any unwelcome conduct
on the basis of an individual's actual or perceived race,
color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, marital
status, order of protection status, disability, military
status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, unfavorable discharge
from military service, citizenship status, or work
authorization status, or family responsibilities that has the
purpose or effect of substantially interfering with the
individual's work performance or creating an intimidating,
hostile, or offensive working environment. For purposes of
this definition, the phrase "working environment" is not
limited to a physical location an employee is assigned to
perform his or her duties.
(F) Religion. "Religion" with respect to employers
includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as
well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is
unable to reasonably accommodate an employee's or prospective
employee's religious observance or practice without undue
hardship on the conduct of the employer's business.

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(G) Public Employer. "Public employer" means the State, an
agency or department thereof, unit of local government, school
district, instrumentality or political subdivision.
(H) Public Employee. "Public employee" means an employee
of the State, agency or department thereof, unit of local
government, school district, instrumentality or political
subdivision. "Public employee" does not include public
officers or employees of the General Assembly or agencies
thereof.
(I) Public Officer. "Public officer" means a person who is
elected to office pursuant to the Constitution or a statute or
ordinance, or who is appointed to an office which is
established, and the qualifications and duties of which are
prescribed, by the Constitution or a statute or ordinance, to
discharge a public duty for the State, agency or department
thereof, unit of local government, school district,
instrumentality or political subdivision.
(J) Eligible Bidder. "Eligible bidder" means a person who,
prior to contract award or prior to bid opening for State
contracts for construction or construction-related services,
has filed with the Department a properly completed, sworn and
currently valid employer report form, pursuant to the
Department's regulations. The provisions of this Article
relating to eligible bidders apply only to bids on contracts
with the State and its departments, agencies, boards, and
commissions, and the provisions do not apply to bids on

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contracts with units of local government or school districts.
(K) Citizenship Status. "Citizenship status" means the
status of being:
(1) a born U.S. citizen;
(2) a naturalized U.S. citizen;
(3) a U.S. national; or
(4) a person born outside the United States and not a
U.S. citizen who is lawfully present and who is protected
from discrimination under the provisions of Section 1324b
of Title 8 of the United States Code, as now or hereafter
amended.
(L) Work Authorization Status. "Work authorization status"
means the status of being a person born outside of the United
States, and not a U.S. citizen, who is authorized by the
federal government to work in the United States.
(M) Family Responsibilities. "Family responsibilities"
means an employee's actual or perceived provision of personal
care to a family member.
(N) "Personal care" has the meaning given to that term in
the Employee Sick Leave Act.
(O) "Family member" has the meaning given to the term
"covered family member" in the Employee Sick Leave Act.
(Source: P.A. 101-221, eff. 1-1-20; 101-430, eff. 7-1-20;
102-233, eff. 8-2-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-1030, eff.
5-27-22.)

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(775 ILCS 5/6-101) (from Ch. 68, par. 6-101)
Sec. 6-101. Additional civil rights violations under
Articles 2, 4, 5, and 5A. It is a civil rights violation for a
person, or for 2 or more persons, to conspire to:
(A) Retaliation. Retaliate against a person because he
or she has opposed that which he or she reasonably and in
good faith believes to be unlawful discrimination, sexual
harassment in employment, sexual harassment in elementary,
secondary, and higher education, or discrimination based
on arrest record, citizenship status, or work
authorization status, or family responsibilities in
employment under Articles 2, 4, 5, and 5A, because he or
she has made a charge, filed a complaint, testified,
assisted, or participated in an investigation, proceeding,
or hearing under this Act, or because he or she has
requested, attempted to request, used, or attempted to use
a reasonable accommodation as allowed by this Act;
(B) Aiding and Abetting; Coercion. Aid, abet, compel,
or coerce a person to commit any violation of this Act;
(C) Interference. Wilfully interfere with the
performance of a duty or the exercise of a power by the
Commission or one of its members or representatives or the
Department or one of its officers or employees.
Definitions. For the purposes of this Section, "sexual
harassment", "citizenship status", and "work authorization
status", and "family responsibilities" shall have the same

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