Illinois 2023 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB2547 Engrossed / Bill

Filed 03/24/2023

                    HB2547 EngrossedLRB103 30799 RPS 57292 b   HB2547 Engrossed  LRB103 30799 RPS 57292 b
  HB2547 Engrossed  LRB103 30799 RPS 57292 b
1  AN ACT concerning regulation.
2  Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3  represented in the General Assembly:
4  Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5  Warehouse Worker Protection Act.
6  Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7  "Aggregated work speed data" means a compilation of
8  employee work speed data for multiple employees, in summary
9  form, assembled in full or in another form such that the data
10  cannot be identified with any individual.
11  "Controlled group of corporations" has the meaning given
12  to that term under Section 1563 of the Internal Revenue Code,
13  26 U.S.C. 1563, except that 50% shall be substituted for 80%
14  where 80% is specified in that definition.
15  "Defined time period" means any unit of time measurement
16  equal to or less than the duration of an employee's shift,
17  including hours, minutes, seconds, and any fraction thereof.
18  "Designated employee representative" means any employee
19  representative, including, but not limited to, an authorized
20  employee representative who has a collective bargaining
21  relationship with the employer.
22  "Director" means the Director of Labor.
23  "Employee" means a nonadministrative employee who is not

 

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1  exempt from the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the
2  federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, and who
3  works at a warehouse distribution center and is subject to a
4  quota as defined in this Section. "Employee" does not include
5  a driver or courier to or from a warehouse distribution
6  center.
7  "Employee work speed data" means information an employer
8  collects, stores, analyzes, or interprets relating to an
9  individual employee's performance of a quota, including, but
10  not limited to, quantities of tasks performed, quantities of
11  items or materials handled or produced, rates or speeds of
12  tasks performed, measurements or metrics of employee
13  performance in relation to a quota, and time categorized as
14  performing tasks or not performing tasks. "Employee work speed
15  data" does not include itemized wage statements or data that
16  does not relate to the performance of a quota, except for any
17  content of those records that includes employee work speed
18  data.
19  "Employer" means a person who directly or indirectly, or
20  through an agent or any other person, including through the
21  services of a third-party employer, temporary services or
22  staffing agency, independent contractor, or any similar
23  entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or
24  working conditions of 100 or more employees at a single
25  warehouse distribution center in the State or 1,000 or more
26  employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the

 

 

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1  State. For the purposes of this definition, all employees of a
2  controlled group of corporations shall be counted in
3  determining the number of employees employed at a single
4  warehouse distribution center or at one or more warehouse
5  distribution centers in the State.
6  "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership,
7  limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited
8  liability company, business trust, estate, trust, association,
9  joint venture, agency, instrumentality, or any other legal or
10  commercial entity, whether domestic or foreign.
11  "Quota" means a work performance standard under which:
12  (1) an employee is assigned or required to perform at
13  a specified productivity speed or a quantified number of
14  tasks or to handle or produce a quantified amount of
15  material within a defined time period and under which the
16  employee may suffer an adverse employment action if the
17  employee fails to complete or meet the performance
18  standard; or
19  (2) categorizes and measures an employee's actions
20  between time performing tasks and not performing tasks,
21  and the employee's failure to complete or meet a task
22  performance standard may lead to an adverse employment
23  action.
24  "Warehouse distribution center" means an establishment as
25  defined by any of the following North American Industry
26  Classification System (NAICS) codes, however such

 

 

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1  establishment is denominated:
2  (1) 493 for Warehousing and Storage, but does not
3  include 493130 for Farm Product Warehousing and Storage;
4  (2) 423 for Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods;
5  (3) 424 for Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods,
6  but does not include 424510 for Grain and Field Bean
7  Merchant Wholesalers, 424520 for Livestock Merchant
8  Wholesalers, and 424590 for Other Farm Product Raw
9  Material Wholesalers;
10  (4) 454110 for Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order
11  Houses; or
12  (5) 492110 for Couriers and Express Delivery Services.
13  Section 10. Disclosure of quotas. Each employer shall
14  provide to each employee, upon hire or within 30 days after the
15  effective date of this Act, whichever is later, a written
16  description of each quota to which the employee is subject,
17  including the quantified number of tasks to be performed or
18  materials to be produced or handled within the defined time
19  period, and any potential adverse employment action that could
20  result from failure to meet the quota. Each time the quota
21  changes thereafter, the employer shall provide an updated
22  written description of each quota to which the employee is
23  subject within 2 business days of the quota change. If an
24  employer takes an adverse employment action against an
25  employee based on a quota, the employee has a right to request,

 

 

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1  and the employer shall provide, a written explanation
2  regarding the manner in which the employee failed to perform,
3  including the applicable quota and comparison of the
4  employee's work performance in relation to that quota. If an
5  employee requests a written description of the quotas to which
6  the employee was subject and a copy of the employee's own
7  personal work speed data pursuant to this Section, the
8  employer shall comply with this request as soon as
9  practicable, but no later than 3 calendar days after the date
10  of the request.
11  Section 15. Protection from quotas. An employee shall not
12  be required to meet a quota that prevents compliance with meal
13  or rest periods or use of bathroom facilities, including
14  reasonable travel time to and from bathroom facilities. An
15  employer shall not take adverse employment action against an
16  employee for failure to meet a quota that does not allow a
17  worker to comply with meal and rest periods or for failure to
18  meet a quota that has not been disclosed to the employee
19  pursuant to Section 10.
20  Section 20. Time on task. Consistent with existing law,
21  paid and unpaid breaks shall not be considered productive time
22  for the purpose of any quota or monitoring system unless the
23  employee is required to remain on call.

 

 

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1  Section 25. Recordkeeping. Each employer shall establish,
2  maintain, and preserve for 3 years contemporaneous, true, and
3  accurate records to ensure compliance with employee and
4  Director requests for data. Nothing in this Section shall
5  require an employer to keep such records if such employer does
6  not use quotas or monitor work speed data as a performance
7  standard that leads to an adverse employment action. An
8  employer is not obligated to produce data that does not
9  constitute employee work speed data.
10  Section 30. Employee's right to request records.
11  (a) A current employee has the right to request a written
12  description of each quota to which the employee is subject. If
13  a current or former employee believes that the current or
14  former employee has received an adverse employment action as
15  the result of failing to meet a quota, or that meeting a quota
16  caused a violation of the employee's right to a meal or rest
17  period or use of bathroom facilities, the current or former
18  employee has the right to request, and the employer shall
19  provide, a written description of each quota to which the
20  employee is subject, a copy of the most recent 90 days of the
21  employee's own personal work speed data, and a copy of the
22  aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same
23  establishment for the same time period.
24  (b) Requested records under this Section shall be provided
25  at no cost to the current or former employee.

 

 

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1  (c) Nothing in this Section shall require an employer to
2  use quotas or monitor work speed data. An employer that does
3  not monitor this data has no obligation to provide it.
4  (d) The rights afforded under this Section are independent
5  of any other right afforded to an employee or former employee
6  under any State or federal law, including, but not limited to,
7  the Personnel Records Review Act, to access documents
8  maintained by an employer.
9  Section 35. Unlawful retaliation. For purposes of this
10  Act, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful
11  retaliation if an employer takes any adverse employment action
12  against an employee within 90 days of the employee doing
13  either of the following:
14  (1) Initiating the employee's first request in a
15  calendar year for information about a quota or personal
16  work speed data pursuant to Section 30 of this Act.
17  (2) Making a complaint related to a quota alleging any
18  violation of Sections 10, 15, or 20 of this Act,
19  inclusive, to the Director, the Department, or the
20  employer.
21  Section 40. Notice to employees. Every employer covered by
22  this Act shall post and keep posted, in conspicuous places on
23  the premises of the employer where notices to employees are
24  customarily posted, a notice, to be prepared or approved by

 

 

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1  the Director of Labor, regarding employees' rights under this
2  Act, including what constitutes a permissible quota and
3  employees' right to request quota and work speed data
4  information, and making a complaint to various State
5  authorities regarding a violation of an employee's quota
6  rights under this Act.
7  Section 45. Enforcement. The Department of Labor shall
8  adopt rules to implement and enforce this Act. The Director
9  shall be authorized to enforce this Act and to assess damages
10  payable to the employee and civil penalties.
11  Section 50. Workplace inspections. If a particular work
12  site or employer that uses quotas as a performance standard to
13  determine adverse employment actions and is subject to this
14  Act is found to have an annual employee injury rate of at least
15  1.5 times as high as the warehousing industry's average annual
16  injury rate as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics'
17  most recent fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries and
18  illnesses data, the Director shall determine whether an
19  investigation of violations pursuant to this Act, if relevant
20  to the Director's authority, is appropriate.
21  Section 55. Private right of action. A current or former
22  employee or his or her designated employee representative may
23  bring an action for injunctive relief to obtain compliance

 

 

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1  with Sections 10, 15, 20, and 30 and may, upon prevailing in
2  the action, recover costs and reasonable attorney's fees in
3  such action. In any action involving a quota that prevented
4  the compliance with applicable regulations on workplace safety
5  and health or meal or rest break requirements, the injunctive
6  relief shall be limited to suspension of the quota and any
7  adverse action that resulted from its enforcement by the
8  employer.
9  Section 60. Attorney General; powers. The Attorney
10  General, pursuant to the authority under Section 6.3 of the
11  Attorney General Act, may initiate or intervene in a civil
12  action in the name of the People of the State in any circuit
13  court to obtain all appropriate relief for violations
14  established under this Act.
15  Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
16  severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

 

 

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