Illinois Employment Law Update – September 2018

Iowa Employment Law Update – September 2018
September 10, 2018
Delaware Employment Law Update – September 2018
September 10, 2018
Iowa Employment Law Update – September 2018
September 10, 2018
Delaware Employment Law Update – September 2018
September 10, 2018

Employee Reimbursement

On August 26, 2018, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed legislation (S.B. 2999) amending the state’s Wage Payment and Collection Act. Under the law, employers must reimburse employees for all the necessary expenditures or losses they incurred that are directly related to the services they performed for the employer. However, an employee is not entitled to reimbursement if the employer has an established written expense reimbursement policy and the employee failed to comply with the policy.

The law is effective January 1, 2019.

Read IL S.B. 2999

Day of Rest

On August 24, 2018, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed legislation (S.B. 200) amending the state’s One Day Rest in Seven Act by adding an exception for emergency medical service (EMS) workers.

Under the act, every employer must permit its employees who work for seven and one-half continuous hours or longer at least 20 minutes for a meal period beginning no later than five hours after the start of the work period. Per S.B. 200, the 20-minute required meal period does not apply to employees of a private company who are licensed under the Emergency Medical Services Systems Act who:

  • Are required to be on-call during an entire eight-hour work period; and
  • Are not local government employees.

These EMS workers may eat a meal during the eight-hour work period while on call.

The law became effective August 24, 2018.

Read IL S.B. 200

Human Rights Act Amended

On August 24, 2018, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed legislation (S.B. 20) modifying the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) as follows:

  • Procedures and requirements related to administrative dismissal of charges.
  • Charges of alleged civil right violations must be filed with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 300 calendar days of its occurrence rather than 180 days.
  • The IDHR must provide notice to a complainant within 10 business days after the EEOC’s release of a determination of:
    • A violation of federal law;
    • No violation but a notice of the complainant’s right to sue is issued; or
    • No violation.
  • If a complainant does not file a written request with the IDHR to review the EEOC’s determination within 35 days after receipt of the IDHR’s notice, the IDHR must notify the complainant, within 10 business days after the expiration of the 35-day period, that the EEOC’s decision was adopted as a dismissal for lack of substantial evidence and that the complainant has the right, within 90 days after receipt of the IDHR’s notice, to bring a civil action.
  • The IDHR’s failure to meet the 10 business days’ notification deadlines does not impair the rights of any party.
  • The IDHR must, within 10 days of the date on which a charge was filed, serve a copy of the charge on the respondent and must also provide all parties with a notice of the complainant’s right to opt-out of an IDHR investigation within 60 days. By opting-out of an investigation the complainant would instead bring a civil action.
  • The IDHR must respond to a complainant’s opt-out request within 10 business days by issuing the complainant a notice of the right to bring a civil action.

The modifications became effective on August 24, 2018.

Read IL S.B. 20

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