Bill Text: IL SR1158 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges the Department of Employment Security to collect data, where practicable, regarding incidents of employer misclassification and regarding applicants who are found by the Department to qualify for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance as self-employed, independent contractors, and sole proprietors.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SR1158 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SR1158-Introduced.html

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SR1158 LRB101 21442 MST 72094 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, There have been growing concerns that an
increasing number of workers in the State of Illinois are being
misclassified by their employers, but limited data currently
exists to support or abate these concerns; and
WHEREAS, Employee misclassification creates a host of
issues that deny workers in Illinois basic labor standards,
including, but not limited to, wage and hour protections,
discrimination protections, health and safety standards,
workers' compensation, retirement security, and unemployment
insurance; and
WHEREAS, The misclassification of workers also enables
unscrupulous employers and hiring entities to gain an unfair
advantage over other employers that obey the law and permits
such employers to shift the cost of providing benefits, such as
a safe workplace, retirement security, and unemployment
insurance, to governmental bodies and, ultimately, the
taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, The harms caused by misclassification are only
exacerbated in times of economic downturn, such as the current
state of the global economy in the wake of the COVID-19
pandemic; and

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WHEREAS, The spread of COVID-19 has resulted in
unprecedented job loss and an increase in unemployment
insurance claims in the State; and
WHEREAS, The Department of Employment Security previously
adopted the practice of verifying employment classification
when processing claims for unemployment insurance benefits;
and
WHEREAS, Through this process, the Department of
Employment Security has the capability of identifying employee
misclassification, however, only where workers voluntarily
seek regular unemployment benefits from the Department; and
WHEREAS, Federal unemployment insurance programs, such as
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, have recently expanded
eligibility to workers who were previously ineligible to
receive unemployment insurance benefits, including individuals
who are self-employed, independent contractors, and sole
proprietors; and
WHEREAS, Workers who are self-employed, independent
contractors, and sole proprietors, and their hiring entities
have not traditionally been required to contribute to federal
or state unemployment insurance programs; and

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WHEREAS, The Department of Employment Security is
presently receiving and processing claims for unemployment
benefits under both the State and federal programs, gaining
access to information and data from a larger sample of the
workforce in the State, including those thought to be
non-employees; and
WHEREAS, Absent the Pandemic Unemployment Insurance
program providing assistance to workers who are self-employed,
independent contractors, or sole proprietors, it is difficult
to collect data about this type of employment and earnings;
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Department of
Employment Security is urged to collect data, where
practicable, regarding incidents of employer
misclassification, including, but not limited to, job titles,
employment industry, wages, hours, and dollar amount of
unemployment benefits paid from the state unemployment fund;
"Employer misclassification" in this paragraph shall mean a
case in which a worker is classified by his or her employer as
an independent contractor and paid 1099 wages but is later
deemed by IDES to qualify as an employee, based upon the legal
standard applicable to State of Illinois unemployment law; and

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be it further
RESOLVED, That the Department of Employment Security is
urged to collect data, where practicable, regarding applicants
who are found by the Department to qualify for Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance as self-employed, independent
contractors, and sole proprietors, including, but not limited
to, job titles, employment industry, hours, and wages or
earnings; and be it further
RESOLVED, That such data, to the greatest extent permitted
under the law, should be presented in a meaningful and workable
electronic format that excludes private and personally
identifying information of Unemployment Insurance applicants
to be shared with the members of the Senate of the One Hundred
First General Assembly of the State of Illinois on or before
the last day of the 101st General Assembly; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
delivered to Governor JB Pritzker and Thomas Chan, Acting
Director of the Department of Employment Security.