(The Center Square) – About a dozen new Illinois laws set to take effect Jan. 1 impact employers.
House Bill 5561 prohibits employers from taking retaliatory action against an employee who discloses information related to an activity, policy or practice of the employer if the employee has a good faith belief that the activity, policy or practice violates state or federal law.
State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, opposed the measure.
“[This bill] provides for interest rates prior to any judgment having occurred, as well as attorney fees, litigation costs, we’re really just deterring business from doing what it is they need to do here,” said Ugaste. “I don’t know that we need to increase the cost of business that they already incur here in the state of Illinois, just by chance that there may or may not be an adverse finding. If they deserve an adverse finding, well, they do. We have laws in place for that. If they don’t, though, this could add extra to their costs.”
Taking effect Jan. 1, is Senate Bill 3649, which seeks to safeguard employees from facing negative consequences for standing up against actions that go against their religious or political beliefs. State Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, carried the measure in the House.
“Employers have tremendous power over workers and can require them to attend captive audience meetings. When the workers decline to participate in these meetings, there’s nothing that prevents them from being fired or disciplined. Workers go to work, not to discuss politics or religion,” said Evans.
Opponents say the law violates the First Amendment rights of employers by prohibiting discussions of “religious or political matters” in mandatory meetings, even when those matters are relevant to the organization’s operations or employees’ work.
Another law taking effect Jan. 1 impacting employers is House Bill 3129, which mandates employers with 15 or more employees to include the pay and benefits for a position listed in a specific job posting.
Also taking effect Jan. 1, is House Bill 2161, which prohibits discrimination, harassment and retaliation based on family responsibilities. State Sen. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, expressed opposition on the Senate floor.
“If you look at federal law, Title VII, the U.S. Supreme Court has over and over interpreted that act to cover family responsibilities. It covers gender discrimination. It just covers sex discrimination and family responsibilities fit within that. What this bill will do is allow an employer who violates Title VII to also incur a human rights violation and it will be burdensome to handle two different lawsuits at the same time,” said Tracy.
Also taking effect Jan. 1 is Senate Bill 3646 which requires all minors to end work by 7 p.m. on school nights, and provides more guidance surrounding child labor. Ugaste opposed the measure during the spring legislative session.
“I don’t know why as a state we think we know better than parents as to how to raise their kids or when they should start working, or what they should be doing. With the exception of working around hazardous equipment or material, I don’t think it is a space we belong in,” said Ugaste. “This bill goes over the top, it has limitations on hours and they don’t need to be as drastic as they are.”
Also going into effect is Senate Bill 2930, which requires larger nonprofit organizations to disclose on their websites the race, gender and sexual orientation make-up of their board.
Similarly, in 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law that requires private companies with a principal executive office located in Illinois to provide the gender, racial and ethnic diversity of its board members.
