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91_HB1823eng HB1823 Engrossed LRB9105185WHdv 1 AN ACT in relation to leave for employees who have sought 2 relief under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 6 Domestic Violence Leave Act. 7 Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: 8 (a) "Employee" means a person who: 9 (1) has sought relief under the Illinois Domestic 10 Violence Act of 1986; and 11 (2) performs services for hire for an employer for: 12 (A) at least 6 consecutive months immediately 13 preceding a request for leave under this Act; and 14 (B) an average number of hours per week equal 15 to at least one-half the full-time equivalent 16 position in the employer's job classification, as 17 defined by the employer's personnel policies or 18 practices or in accordance with a collective 19 bargaining agreement, during those 6 months. 20 "Employee" includes all individuals meeting the above 21 criteria but does not include an independent contractor. 22 (b) "Employer" means any of the following: a State 23 agency, officer, or department, a unit of local government, a 24 school district, an individual, a corporation, a limited 25 liability company, a partnership, an association, or a 26 nonprofit organization, subject to the limitation in Section 27 30. 28 Section 10. Domestic violence leave. 29 (a) An employer must grant an employee who has sought 30 relief under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 leave HB1823 Engrossed -2- LRB9105185WHdv 1 of up to a total of 20 hours during any calendar year for 2 attendance at court hearings, legal consultations, counseling 3 sessions, or physician or hospital visits related to domestic 4 violence or the consequences of domestic violence if they 5 cannot be scheduled during non-work hours; however, no leave 6 may be taken by an employee of an employer that is subject to 7 this Act unless the employee has exhausted all accrued 8 vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory leave and any 9 other leave that may be granted to the employee except sick 10 leave and disability leave. Before using leave under this 11 Section, the employee shall provide the employer with a 12 written request for leave at least 24 hours in advance of the 13 time the employee is required to use the leave, except in 14 emergency situations. The employee must consult with the 15 employer to schedule the leave so as not to disrupt unduly 16 the operations of the employer. 17 (b) Nothing in this Act requires that the leave be paid. 18 Section 15. Compensation. An employee who uses or seeks 19 to use the rights afforded by this Act may choose the 20 opportunity to make up the time so taken as guaranteed by 21 this Act on a different day or shift as directed by the 22 employer. An employee who exercises his or her rights under 23 this Act shall not be required to make up the time taken, but 24 if the employee does not make up the time taken, the employee 25 shall not be compensated for the time taken. An employee who 26 does make up the time taken shall be paid at the same rate as 27 paid for normal working time. Employers shall make a good 28 faith effort to permit an employee to make up the time taken 29 for the purposes of this Act. If no reasonable opportunity 30 exists for the employee to make up the time taken, the 31 employee shall not be paid for the time. A reasonable 32 opportunity to make up the time taken does not include the 33 scheduling of make-up time in a manner that would require the HB1823 Engrossed -3- LRB9105185WHdv 1 payment of wages on an overtime basis. Notwithstanding any 2 other provision of this Section, if unpaid leave under this 3 Act conflicts with the unreduced compensation requirement for 4 exempt employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 5 an employer may require an employee to make up the leave 6 hours within the same pay period. 7 Section 20. Verification. Upon request by an employer, an 8 employee who uses leave under this Act shall obtain 9 verification and submit it to the employer. The Department of 10 Labor shall adopt a standard form of documentation for 11 verification purposes, which shall include, but not be 12 limited to, the exact time and date the court hearing, legal 13 consultation, counseling session, or physician or hospital 14 visit occurred and ended. Failure of an employee to submit 15 the verification statement to his or her employer within 2 16 working days of the leave under this Act subjects the 17 employee to the standard disciplinary procedures imposed by 18 the employer for unexcused absences from work. 19 Section 25. Employee rights. No employee shall lose any 20 employee benefits, except as provided in Section 15 of this 21 Act, for exercising his or her rights under this Act. Nothing 22 in this Act shall be construed to affect an employer's 23 obligation to comply with any collective bargaining agreement 24 or employee benefit plan. Nothing in this Act shall prevent 25 an employer from providing rights in excess of the 26 requirements of this Act. The rights afforded by this Act 27 shall not be diminished by any collective bargaining act or 28 by any employee benefit plan. 29 Section 30. Applicability. This Act applies solely to 30 public and private employers that employ at least 50 or more 31 individuals in Illinois, and to their employees. HB1823 Engrossed -4- LRB9105185WHdv 1 Section 35. Violation. Any employer who violates this Act 2 is guilty of a petty offense and may be fined not more than 3 $100 for each offense. 4 Section 40. Limits on leave. No employer that is subject 5 to this Act is required to grant leave under this Act to an 6 employee if granting the leave would result in more than 5% 7 of the employer's work force or 5% of an employer's work 8 force shift taking leave under this Act at the same time.