Bill Text: IL SB2217 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Paid Family Leave Insurance Program Act. Requires the Department of Employment Security to establish and administer a Family Leave Insurance Program that provides family leave insurance benefits to eligible employees. Sets forth eligibility requirements for benefits under the Act. Provides that a self-employed individual may elect to be covered under the Act. Contains provisions concerning disqualification from benefits; compensation for family leave; the amount and duration of benefits; employer equivalent plans; an annual report by the Department; hearings; penalties; notice; the coordination of family leave; and rules. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the State Benefits Fund. Effective immediately, except that provisions concerning the State Benefits Fund take effect June 1, 2024 and provisions concerning the amount and duration of paid family leave take effect June 1, 2025.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-05-16 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Mike Simmons [SB2217 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB2217-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB2217 Introduced 2/10/2023, by Sen. Cristina Castro SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.990 new
Creates the Paid Family Leave Insurance Program Act. Requires the Department of Employment Security to establish and administer a Family Leave Insurance Program that provides family leave insurance benefits to eligible employees. Sets forth eligibility requirements for benefits under the Act. Provides that a self-employed individual may elect to be covered under the Act. Contains provisions concerning disqualification from benefits; compensation for family leave; the amount and duration of benefits; employer equivalent plans; an annual report by the Department; hearings; penalties; notice; the coordination of family leave; and rules. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the State Benefits Fund. Effective immediately, except that provisions concerning the State Benefits Fund take effect June 1, 2024 and provisions concerning the amount and duration of paid family leave take effect June 1, 2025.
LRB103 30689 SPS 57160 b
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning employment.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Paid
Family Leave Insurance Program Act.
Section 5. Declaration of policy and intent.
(a) Many employees do not have access to family and
medical leave programs, and those who do may not be in a
financial position to take family or medical leave that is
unpaid, and employer-paid benefits meet only a relatively
small part of this need. It is the public policy of this State
to protect working families against the economic hardship
caused by the need to take time off from work to care for
themselves or family members who are suffering from serious
illness or to care for a newborn or a newly adopted child.
Moreover, many women are single mothers or the primary
breadwinners for their families. If any of these women take
unpaid maternity leave, their families and Illinois suffer.
The United States is the only industrialized nation in the
world that does not have a mandatory workplace-based program
for such income support.
It is therefore desirable and necessary to develop systems
that help families adapt to the competing interests of work

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and home and that not only benefit workers but also benefit
employers by reducing employee turnover and increasing worker
productivity.
(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to create a
paid family leave program to relieve the serious menace to the
health, morals, and welfare of Illinois families, to increase
workplace productivity, and to alleviate the enormous and
growing stress on working families of balancing the demands of
work and family needs.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Assisted reproduction" means a method of achieving a
pregnancy through the handling of human oocytes, sperm,
zygotes, or embryos for the purpose of establishing a
pregnancy. "Assisted reproduction" includes, but is not
limited to, methods of artificial insemination, in vitro
fertilization, embryo transfer, zygote transfer, embryo
biopsy, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, embryo
cryopreservation, oocyte, gamete, zygote, and embryo donation,
and gestational surrogacy.
"Average weekly wage" means the amount derived by dividing
by 12 an employee's total earnings, including wages,
gratuities, bonuses, commissions, and any other compensation
that constitutes remuneration, earned during the quarter with
the highest earnings in the applicable benefit year, or the
amount derived by dividing by 12 an employee's total earnings,

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including wages, gratuities, bonuses, commissions, and any
other compensation that constitutes remuneration, to fulfill a
contract for a covered business entity, earned in the quarter
with the highest earnings in the applicable benefit year, or
for individuals not currently employed or under contract, the
amount derived by dividing by 12 an individual's total
earnings, including wages, gratuities, bonuses, commissions,
and any other compensation that constitutes remuneration,
earned during the quarter with the highest earnings earned in
the 4 quarters prior to the last day of employment or the end
of the contract.
"Base hours" means the hours of work for which an employee
receives compensation. "Base hours" includes overtime hours
for which the employee is paid additional or overtime
compensation and hours for which the employee receives
workers' compensation benefits. "Base hours" also includes
hours an employee would have worked except for having been in
military service. At the option of the employer, "base hours"
may include hours for which the employee receives other types
of compensation, such as administrative, personal, vacation,
or paid leave.
"Care" includes, but is not limited to, physical care,
emotional support, visitation, arranging for a change in care,
assistance with essential daily living matters, and personal
attendant services.
"Child" means a biological, adopted, or foster child,

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stepchild, or legal ward of an eligible employee, child of a
spouse of the eligible employee, child of a legal parent, or
child of a civil union partner of the eligible employee, who is
less than 18 years of age or is 18 years of age or older, but
incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical
impairment.
"Civil union" means a civil union as defined in the
Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act.
"Consecutive leave" means leave that is taken without
interruption based upon an employee's regular work schedule
and does not include breaks in employment in which an employee
is not regularly scheduled to work.
"Covered business entity" means a business or trade that
contracts with one or more individuals for services and is
required to report the payment of services to such individuals
on IRS Form 1099-MISC or IRS Form 1099-K for more than 25% of
its Illinois workforce. Such individuals are included in the
covered business entity's workforce if the contracts for
services include, but are not limited to, oral or written
contracts, and services arranged through application software
designed to run on smartphones and other mobile devices and
software designed to run inside a web browser.
"Day and temporary labor service agency" has the meaning
set forth in Section 5 of the Day and Temporary Labor Services
Act.
"Department" means the Department of Employment Security.

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"Director" means the Director of Employment Security.
"Domestic violence" has the same meaning as provided in
Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act.
"Domestic worker" has the meaning set forth in Section 10
of the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights Act.
"Eligible employee" means an employee, other than an
employee of the State of Illinois, its political subdivisions,
or instrumentalities, employed in the State of Illinois for 12
months or more who has worked 1,200 or more base hours during
the preceding 12-month period. An employee is considered to be
employed in the State of Illinois if:
(A) the employee works in Illinois; or
(B) the employee routinely performs some work in
Illinois and the employee's base of operations or the
place from which the work is directed and controlled is in
Illinois.
"Eligible employee" includes domestic workers.
"Employer" means any partnership, association, trust,
estate, joint-stock company, insurance company, or
corporation, whether domestic or foreign, or the receiver,
trustee in bankruptcy, trustee, or person that has in its
employ one or more employees performing services for it within
this State. "Employer" also includes any employer subject to
the Unemployment Insurance Act, except the State, its
political subdivisions, and any instrumentality of the State.
"Employer" includes a day and temporary labor service agency

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that provides employees on a temporary basis to its customers
and its customers.
"Family member" means an eligible employee's child,
spouse, party to a civil union, parent, or any other
individual related by blood or whose close relationship with
the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
"Family leave benefits" means any payments that are
payable to an eligible employee for all or part of a period of
paid family leave.
"Health care provider" means any person licensed under
federal, State, or local law or the laws of a foreign nation to
provide health care services or any other person who has been
authorized to provide health care by a licensed health care
provider.
"Intermittent leave" means a non-consecutive leave
consisting of intervals, each of which is at least one, but
fewer than 12, weeks within a consecutive 12-month period.
"Legal Parent" means the parent of a child listed on the
certificate of birth.
"Medical procedure" means a course of action intended to
achieve a result in the delivery of healthcare.
"Miscarriage" means the loss of a pregnancy before 20
weeks of gestation.
"Paid family leave" means leave taken by an eligible
employee from work with an employer:
(A) to participate in the providing of care, including

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physical or psychological care, for the employee or a
family member of the eligible employee made necessary by a
serious health condition or medical procedure of the
family member;
(B) to be with a child during the first 12 months after
the child's birth, if the employee, the employee's spouse,
or the party to a civil union with the employee, is a
biological parent of the child, or the first 12 months
after the placement of the child for adoption or foster
care with the employee;
(C) for the employee's own serious health condition
including stillbirth or miscarriage;
(D) for the employee's own reproductive health care;
(E) as a result of the employee being subjected to
domestic violence; or
(F) because of any qualifying exigency as interpreted
under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C.
2612(a)(1)(E) and 29 CFR 825.126) arising out of the fact
that the spouse, party to a civil union, child, parent of
the employee, or any other individual related by blood or
whose close relationship with the employee is equivalent
to a family relationship is on active duty (or has been
notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in
the armed forces as of the United States.
"Paid family leave" does not include any period of time
during which an eligible employee is paid benefits pursuant to

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the Workers' Compensation Act or the Unemployment Insurance
Act because the employee is unable to perform the duties of the
employee's employment due to the employee's own disability.
"Parent of an eligible employee" means a biological
parent, foster parent, adoptive parent, or stepparent of the
eligible employee or a person who was a legal guardian of, or
who stood in loco parentis to, the eligible employee when the
eligible employee was a child.
"Placement for adoption" means the time when an eligible
employee adopts a child or becomes responsible for a child
pending adoption by the eligible employee.
"Reproductive health care" means health care offered,
arranged, or furnished for the purpose of preventing
pregnancy, terminating a pregnancy, managing pregnancy loss,
or improving maternal health and birth outcomes. "Reproductive
health care" includes, but is not limited to, contraception,
sterilization, preconception care, assisted reproduction,
maternity care, abortion care, and counseling regarding
reproductive health care.
"Self-employed individual" means an individual who
receives self-employment income as defined in Section 1402(b)
of the Internal Revenue Code. "Self-employed individual" also
includes independent contractors, sole proprietors, and
partnerships who engage in domestic work as defined in Section
10 of the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights Act.
"Serious health condition" means an illness, injury,

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impairment, or physical or mental condition that requires
inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical
care facility or continuing medical treatment or continuing
supervision by a health care provider.
"Stillbirth" means the loss of a pregnancy at 20 weeks of
gestation or later.
"12-month period" means, with respect to an employee who
establishes a valid claim for paid family leave benefits
during a period of paid family leave, the 365 consecutive days
that begin with the first day that the employee first
establishes the claim.
Section 15. Paid family leave program.
(a) The Department shall establish and administer a paid
family leave program.
(b) The Department shall establish procedures and forms
for filing claims for benefits under this Act.
(c) The Department shall use information sharing and
integration technology to facilitate the disclosure of
relevant information or records by the Department of
Employment Security.
(d) Information contained in the files and records
pertaining to an employee under this Act is confidential and
not open to public inspection, other than to public employees
in the performance of their official duties. An employer must
keep at its place of business records of employment from which

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the information needed by the Department for purposes of this
Act may be obtained. The records shall at all times be open to
the inspection of the Department pursuant to rules adopted by
the Department.
(e) The Department shall develop and implement an outreach
program to ensure that individuals who may be eligible to
receive family leave benefits under this Act are made aware of
these benefits. Outreach information shall explain, in an easy
to understand format, eligibility requirements, the claims
process, weekly benefit amounts, maximum benefits payable,
notice requirements, reinstatement and nondiscrimination
rights, confidentiality, and coordination of leave under this
Act and other laws, collective bargaining agreements, and
employer policies. Outreach information shall be available in
English and in languages other than English that are spoken as
a primary language by a significant portion of the State's
population, as determined by the Department.
(f) Any local, county, or municipal ordinance that
provides for paid family and medical leave enacted or amended
on or after the effective date of this Act must comply with the
requirements of this Act.
Section 20. Eligibility for benefits.
(a) The Department may require that a claim for family
leave benefits under this Section be supported by a
certification issued by a health care provider who is

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providing care to the employee or the employee's family member
if applicable.
(b) An employee is not eligible for family leave benefits
under this Section for any week for which the employee
receives any paid leave from their employer. If an employer
provides paid leave, the employee may elect whether first to
use the paid leave or to receive family leave benefits under
this Section. An employee may not be required to use paid leave
to which the employee is entitled before receiving family
leave benefits under this Section.
(c) This Section does not limit an employee's right to
take leave from employment under other laws or employer
policy.
(d) The eligibility of an employee for benefits is not
affected by a strike or lockout at the factory, establishment,
or other premises at which the employee is or was last
employed.
(e) An employee who has received benefits under this
Section may not lose any other employment benefits, including
seniority or pension rights, accrued before the date that paid
family leave commenced. However, this Section does not entitle
an employee to accrue employment benefits during a period of
paid family leave or to a right, benefit, or position of
employment other than a right, benefit, or position to which
the employee would have been entitled had the employee not
taken paid family leave.

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(f) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to interfere with,
impede, or in any way diminish the right of employees to
bargain collectively with their employers through
representatives of their own choosing in order to establish
wages or other conditions of work in excess of the applicable
minimum standards established in this Act. The paid family
leave requirements of this Act may be waived in a bona fide
collective bargaining agreement, but only if the waiver is set
forth explicitly in such agreement in clear and unambiguous
terms.
(g) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to affect the
validity or change the terms of bona fide collective
bargaining agreements in force on the effective date of this
Act. After that date, requirements of this Act may be waived in
a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, but only if the
waiver is set forth explicitly in such agreement in clear and
unambiguous terms.
(h) This Section does not create a continuing entitlement
or contractual right.
(i) Nothing in the Section shall limit the eligibility of
an employee for benefits upon the change of employment as long
as the employee remains an eligible employee.
Section 25. Self-employed benefits.
(a) A self-employed individual or individual who contracts
to perform services with a covered business entity may elect

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to be covered under this Act. The self-employed individual or
individual who contracts to perform services with a covered
business entity must file a notice of election in writing with
the Department and contribute to the State Benefits Fund as
described in Section 35. The self-employed individual or
individual who contracts to perform services with a covered
business entity must agree to supply any information
concerning taxable income that the Department deems necessary.
(b) A self-employed individual who has elected to be
covered or an individual who has elected to be covered and who
contracts to perform services with a covered business entity
may terminate coverage by filing written notice with the
Department at such times as the Director prescribes by rule,
including at the time of a change in the employment status of
the self-employed individual or individual who contracts to
perform services with a covered business entity employment
status. The termination may not take effect sooner than 30
days after the notice is filed.
(c) A self-employed individual who has elected to be
covered or an individual who has elected to be covered and who
contracts to perform services with a covered business entity
may terminate coverage on the date of the filing of a voluntary
or involuntary bankruptcy petition. The selective coverage of
a self-employed individual or individual who contracts to
perform services with a covered business entity terminates on
the date the self-employed individual or individual who

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contracts to perform services with a covered business entity
provides to the Department documentation to support the
bankruptcy petition filing of the self-employed individual or
individual who contracts to perform services with a covered
business entity and files written notice with the Director. At
any time thereafter, the self-employed individual or
individual who contracts to perform services with a covered
business entity may re-elect coverage under this Section.
Section 30. Disqualification from benefits.
(a) An employee is disqualified from family leave benefits
under this Act if the employee:
(1) willfully makes a false statement to obtain
benefits; or
(2) seeks benefits based on a serious health condition
that resulted from the employee's commission of a felony.
(b) A disqualification for family leave benefits is for a
period of 2 years, and commences on the first day of the
calendar week in which the employee filed a claim for benefits
under this Act. An employee who is disqualified for benefits
is liable to the Department for a penalty in an amount equal to
15% of the amount of benefits received by the employee.
Section 35. State Benefits Fund.
(a) The State Benefits Fund is created as a special fund in
the State treasury. Moneys in the Fund may be used for the

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payment of family leave benefits and for the administration of
this Act. All interest and other earnings that accrue from
investment of moneys in the Fund shall be credited to the Fund.
(b) An employer shall retain from all employees a payroll
premium deduction in the amount of 0.3% of wages as defined in
subsection (b) of Section 235 of the Unemployment Insurance
Act. The Department shall provide for the collection of this
payroll premium deduction by rule. The amount of the payroll
premium imposed under this Section, less refunds authorized by
this Act, and all assessments and penalties collected under
this Act shall be deposited into and credited to the Fund.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit an employer
from providing additional voluntary employer contributions
toward the cost of benefits provided under this Act. These
voluntary contributions may be in addition to employee payroll
deductions or used to replace in whole or in part employee
payroll deductions. Voluntary employer contributions may
result in eligibility to apply for any established Paid Family
Medical Leave tax credit.
(c) A separate account, to be known as the Administration
Account, shall be maintained in the Fund. An amount determined
by the Department sufficient for proper administration, not to
exceed, however, 0.1% of wages as defined in this Section,
shall be credited to the Administration Account. The expenses
of the Department in administering the Fund and its accounts
shall be charged against the Administration Account. The costs

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of administration of this Act shall be charged to the
Administration Account.
(d) A separate account, to be known as the Family Leave
Benefits Account, shall be maintained in the Fund. The account
shall be charged with all benefit payments. Prior to July 1 of
each calendar year, the Department shall determine the average
rate of interest and other earnings on all investments of the
Fund for the preceding calendar year. If there is an
accumulated deficit in the Family Leave Benefits Account in
excess of $200,000 at the end of any calendar year after
interest and other earnings have been credited as provided in
this Section, the Department shall determine the ratio of the
deficit to the total of all taxable wages paid during the
preceding calendar year and shall increase the employee
payroll premium for the next calendar year. In no event shall
such increase exceed .01%. Once the accumulated deficit has
been cured, the employee payroll premium shall be reduced to
the premium outlined in (b) and (c) of this Section.
(e) A board of trustees, consisting of the State
Treasurer, the Secretary of State, the Director of Labor, the
Director of Employment Security, and the State Comptroller, is
hereby created. The board shall invest and reinvest all moneys
in the Fund in excess of its cash requirements in obligations
legal for savings banks.
(f) The Department may adjust rates, not to exceed the
amount established in subsection (b) of this Section, for the

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collection of premiums pursuant to subsection (b) of this
Section. The Department shall set rates for premiums in a
manner that minimizes the volatility of the rates assessed and
so that at the end of the period for which the rates are
effective, the cash balance shall be an amount approximating
12 months of projected expenditures from the Fund, considering
the functions and duties of the Department under this Act.
Section 40. Compensation for family leave.
(a) An eligible employee's weekly benefit rate shall be
two-thirds of his or her average weekly wage, subject to a
maximum of the Statewide average weekly wage paid to workers
by employers, as determined pursuant to Section 401 of the
Unemployment Insurance Act, provided that the employee's
benefit rate shall be computed to the next lower multiple of $1
if not already a multiple thereof. The amount of benefits for
each day of paid family leave for which benefits are payable
shall be one-seventh of the corresponding weekly benefit
amount, provided that the total benefits for a fractional part
of a week shall be computed to the next lower multiple of $1 if
not already a multiple thereof.
(b) With respect to any period of paid family leave and
while an individual is an eligible employee, family benefits
not in excess of the eligible employee's maximum benefits
shall be payable with respect to the first day of leave taken
after the first one-week period following the commencement of

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the period of paid family leave and each subsequent day of paid
family leave during that period of paid family leave; and if
benefits become payable on any day after the first 3 weeks in
which leave is taken, then benefits shall also be payable with
respect to any leave taken during the first one-week period in
which leave is taken. The maximum total benefits payable to
any eligible employee commencing on or after the effective
date of this Act shall be 12 times the eligible employee's
weekly benefit amount or one-third of his or her total wages in
his or her base year, whichever is the lesser; provided that
the maximum amount shall be computed in the next lower
multiple of $1 if not already a multiple thereof.
(c) All of the family leave benefits paid to an eligible
employee during a period of paid family leave with respect to
any one birth or adoption shall be for a single continuous
period of time, except that the employer of the eligible
employee may permit the eligible employee to receive the paid
family leave benefits during non-consecutive weeks in a manner
mutually agreed to by the employer and the eligible employee
and disclosed to the Department by the employer.
(d) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the
establishment by an employer, without approval by the
Department, of a supplementary plan or plans providing for the
payment to employees, or to any class or classes of employees,
of benefits in addition to the benefits provided by this Act or
to prohibit the collection or receipt of additional voluntary

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contributions from employees toward the cost of the additional
benefits. The rights, duties, and responsibilities of all
interested parties under the supplementary plans shall be
unaffected by any provision of this Act.
Section 45. Paid family leave; duration. An eligible
employee may take 12 weeks of paid family leave within any
12-month period in order to provide care made necessary by
reasons identified in Section 10. An eligible employee may
take paid family leave on an intermittent schedule in which
all of the leave authorized under this Act is not taken
sequentially.
Section 50. Employer equivalent plans.
(a) An employer may apply to the Department for approval
of an employer-offered benefit plan that provides family and
medical leave insurance benefits to the employer's employees.
(b) An employer that seeks approval of a plan shall submit
an application to the Department in the form and manner
prescribed by the Department by rule, accompanied by an
application fee not to exceed $250.
(c) The Department shall review and approve an application
for a plan if the Director finds that:
(1) the plan is made available to all employees who
have been continuously employed with an employer and meet
the definition of eligible employee under Section 10 of

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this Act; and
(2) the benefits afforded to employees covered under
the plan are equal to or greater than the weekly benefits
and the duration of leave that an eligible employee would
qualify for under this Act.
(d) An employee covered under an employer plan is not
subject to the requirements of this Act and not required to
make the contributions pursuant to Section 35.
(e) An employer may assume all or a part of the costs
related to a plan approved under this Section.
(f) If an employer assumes only part of the costs, the
employer may deduct employee contributions from the wages of
employees to finance the costs related to the plan, except
that any contribution amounts deducted may not exceed the
amount that an eligible employee would otherwise be required
to contribute under Section 35.
(g) Employee contributions received or retained by an
employer under this subsection must be used for plan expenses
and are not considered to be a part of an employer's assets for
any purpose.
(h) An employee who takes leave pursuant to a plan
approved under this section shall provide notice to an
employer of such leave in the same manner as provided in
Section 80 of this Act.
(i) An employer that offers a plan approved under this
Section shall:

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(1) maintain all reports, information and records
relating to the plan, including payroll and account
records that document employee contributions and expenses,
in the manner established by the Director by rule; and
(2) provide written notice to employees that includes:
(A) information about benefits available under the
approved plan, including the duration of leave;
(B) the process for filing a claim to receive
benefits under the plan;
(C) the process for employee deductions used to
finance the costs of the plan, if any;
(D) the right to job protection and benefits
continuation, if applicable; and
(E) a statement that discrimination and
retaliatory actions against an employee for inquiring
about the family and medical leave insurance program
established under this Act, giving notification of
leave under the program, taking leave under the
program, or claiming family and medical leave
insurance benefits are prohibited.
(j) An employer may be subjected to penalties under
Section 70 where they fail to maintain an approved equivalency
plan or provide benefits to employees under an approved
equivalency plan that are inconsistent with this Act.
Section 55. Annual reports; contents.

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(a) The Department shall issue and make available to the
public, not later than June 1, 2026 and June 1 of each
subsequent year, annual reports providing data on family leave
benefits including separate data for each of the paid family
leave category outlined in Section 10 of this Act. The reports
shall include, for each category of claims, the number of
workers receiving the benefits, the amount of benefits paid,
the average duration of benefits, the average weekly benefit,
and any reported amount of paid leave, vacation, or other
fully paid time which resulted in reduced benefit duration.
The report shall provide data by gender and by any other
demographic factors determined to be relevant by the
Department. The reports shall also provide, for all family
leave benefits, the total costs of benefits and the total cost
of administration, the portion of benefits for claims during
paid family leave, and the total revenues from employer
assessments, where applicable; employee assessments; and other
sources. Any and all data made available to the public shall be
de-identified and anonymized.
(b) The Department may, in its discretion, conduct surveys
and other research regarding, and include in the annual
reports descriptions and evaluations of the impact and
potential future impact of the costs and benefits resulting
from the provisions of this Act for:
(1) employees and their families, including surveys
and evaluations of what portion of the total number of

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employees taking leave would not have taken leave, or
would have taken less leave, without the availability of
benefits; what portion of employees return to work after
receiving benefits and what portion are not permitted to
return to work; and what portion of employees who are
eligible for benefits do not claim or receive them and why
they do not;
(2) employers, including benefits such as reduced
training and other costs related to reduced turnover of
personnel, and increased affordability of paid family
leave through the State, with special attention given to
small businesses; and
(3) the public, including savings caused by any
reduction in the number of people receiving public
assistance.
(c) The total amount of any expenses that the Department
determines are necessary to carry out its duties pursuant to
this Section shall be charged to the Administration Account of
the Fund.
Section 60. Hearings. A person aggrieved by a decision of
the Department under this Act may request a hearing. The
Department shall adopt rules governing hearings and the
issuance of final orders under this Act in accordance with the
provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. All
final administrative decisions of the Department under this

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Act are subject to judicial review under the Administrative
Review Law.
Section 65. Prohibited acts.
(a) No employer, temporary employment agency, employment
agency, employee organization, or other person shall
discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against a person
because the person has filed or communicated to the employer
an intent to file a claim, a complaint, or an appeal or has
testified or is about to testify or has assisted in any
proceeding, under this Act, at any time.
(b) It is unlawful for any employer to threaten to take or
to take any adverse action against an employee because the
employee (1) exercises rights or attempts to exercise rights
under this Act; (2) opposes practices which the employee
believes to be in violation of this Act; or (3) supports the
exercise of rights of another under this Act. It is unlawful
for any employer to consider the use of paid family and medical
leave by an employee as a negative factor in any employment
action that involves evaluating, promoting, disciplining, or
counting paid leave under a no-fault attendance policy. Such
retaliation shall subject an employer to civil penalties
pursuant to this Act.
Section 70. Penalties.
(a) A person who makes a false statement or

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representation, knowing it to be false, or increase any paid
family leave benefit during a period of paid family leave,
either for himself or herself or for any other person, shall be
liable for a civil penalty of $250 to be paid to the
Department. Each such false statement or representation shall
constitute a separate offense. Upon refusal to pay such civil
penalty, the civil penalty shall be recovered in a civil
action by the Attorney General on behalf the Department in the
name of the State of Illinois. If, in any case in which
liability for the payment of a civil penalty has been
determined, any person who has received any benefits under
this Act by reason of the making of such false statements or
representations shall not be entitled to any benefits under
this Act for any leave occurring prior to the time he or she
has discharged his or her liability to pay the civil penalty.
(b) A person, employing unit, employer, or entity who
willfully violates any provision of this Act or any rule
adopted under this Act for which a civil penalty is neither
prescribed in this Act nor provided by any other applicable
law shall be subject to a civil penalty of $500 to be paid to
the Department. Upon the refusal to pay such civil penalty,
the civil penalty shall be recovered in a civil action by the
Attorney General on behalf of the Department in the name of the
State of Illinois.
(c) A person, employing unit, employer, or entity
violating any provision of this Section with intent to defraud

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the Department is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor. The fine
upon conviction shall be payable to the Fund. Any penalties
imposed by this subsection shall be in addition to those
otherwise prescribed in this Section.
Section 75. Leave and employment protection.
(a) During a period in which an employee receives family
leave benefits under this Act, the employee is entitled to
paid family leave and, at the established ending date of
leave, to be restored to a position of employment with the
employer from whom leave was taken as provided under
subsection (b).
(b) Except as provided in subsection (f), an employee who
receives family leave benefits under this Act for the intended
purpose of the paid family leave is entitled, on return from
the leave:
(1) to be restored by the employer to the position of
employment held by the employee when the paid family leave
commenced; or
(2) to be restored to an equivalent position with
equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and
conditions of employment at the employee's workplace
immediately prior to when the paid family leave commenced.
(c) The taking of paid family leave under this Act may not
result in the loss of any employment benefits accrued before
the date on which the paid family leave commenced.

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(d) Nothing in this Section entitles a restored employee
to:
(1) the accrual of any seniority or employment
benefits during any period of paid family leave; or
(2) any right, benefit, or position of employment
other than any right, benefit, or position to which the
employee would have been entitled to had the employee not
taken the paid family leave.
(e) Nothing in this Section prohibits an employer from
requiring an employee on paid family leave to report
periodically to the employer on the status and intention of
the employee to return to work.
(f) During any period an employee takes paid family leave
under this Act, if the employer provides insurance for
employees, the employer shall maintain coverage for the
employee and any family member under any group health plan for
the duration of such leave at no less than the level and
conditions of coverage that would have been provided if the
employee had not taken the leave. The employer shall notify
the employee that the employee is still responsible for paying
the employee's share of the cost of the health care coverage,
if any.
Section 80. Notice to employer.
(a) If the necessity for paid family leave for the birth or
placement of a child is foreseeable based on an expected birth

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or placement, the employee shall provide the employer with not
less than 30 days' notice, before the date the leave is to
begin, of the employee's intention to take leave for the birth
or placement of a child, except that if the date of the birth
or placement requires leave to begin in less than 30 days, the
employee shall provide such notice as is practicable.
(b) If the necessity for paid family leave for an
employee's, a family member's serious health condition,
employee's own medical procedure or the employee's own
reproductive health care is foreseeable based on planned
medical treatment, the employee:
(1) must make a reasonable effort to schedule the
treatment so as not to disrupt unduly the operations of
the employer; and
(2) must provide the employer with not less than 30
days' notice, before the date the leave is to begin, of the
employee's intention to take leave, except that if the
date of the treatment requires leave to begin in less than
30 days, the employee must provide such notice as is
practicable.
Section 85. Employment by same employer. If spouses who
are entitled to leave under this Act are employed by the same
employer, the employer may require that the spouses not take
more than 6 weeks of such leave concurrently.

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Section 90. Coordination of leave.
(a) Paid family leave taken under this Act must be taken
concurrently with any leave taken under the federal Family and
Medical Leave Act of 1993, collective bargaining agreement, or
any local county or municipal ordinance.
(b) An employer may require that paid family leave taken
under this Act be taken concurrently or otherwise coordinated
with leave allowed under the terms of a collective bargaining
agreement, local county or municipal ordinance, or employer
policy. The employer must give their employees written notice
of this requirement. In adopting rules, the Department shall
maintain consistency with the regulations adopted to implement
the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to the extent
such regulations are not in conflict with this Act.
Section 95. Rules. The Department shall adopt any rules
necessary to implement the provisions of this Act.
Section 100. Authority to contract. The Department may
contract or enter into interagency agreements with other State
agencies for the initial administration of the Paid Family
Leave Program.
Section 900. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.990 as follows:

SB2217 - 30 - LRB103 30689 SPS 57160 b
(30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)
Sec. 5.990. The State Benefits Fund.
Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law, except that Section 35 becomes effective June 1,
2024, and Sections 40 and 45 become