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Illinois House Bill HB3131

Illinois 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB3131 Compare Versions

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11 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3131 Introduced , by Rep. Lilian Jimnez SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act Creates the Workplace COVID-19 Safety Committees Act. Provides that each private employer of at least 30 employees shall establish a safety committee at each of the employer's primary places of employment. Establishes requirements for composition of committees and meetings, records, reporting, and training. Provides for the duties of committees relating to hazard assessment and control, safety and health planning, development of procedures for accident investigations, and other specified matters. Provides that the safety committee shall assist the employer in providing information, instruction, training, and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety of employees at work and individuals affected by their activities. Provides that the Department of Labor may levy a civil penalty upon an employer that violates the Act as established by rule. LRB103 26027 SPS 52381 b A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3131 Introduced , by Rep. Lilian Jimnez SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act New Act Creates the Workplace COVID-19 Safety Committees Act. Provides that each private employer of at least 30 employees shall establish a safety committee at each of the employer's primary places of employment. Establishes requirements for composition of committees and meetings, records, reporting, and training. Provides for the duties of committees relating to hazard assessment and control, safety and health planning, development of procedures for accident investigations, and other specified matters. Provides that the safety committee shall assist the employer in providing information, instruction, training, and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety of employees at work and individuals affected by their activities. Provides that the Department of Labor may levy a civil penalty upon an employer that violates the Act as established by rule. LRB103 26027 SPS 52381 b LRB103 26027 SPS 52381 b A BILL FOR
22 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3131 Introduced , by Rep. Lilian Jimnez SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
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55 Creates the Workplace COVID-19 Safety Committees Act. Provides that each private employer of at least 30 employees shall establish a safety committee at each of the employer's primary places of employment. Establishes requirements for composition of committees and meetings, records, reporting, and training. Provides for the duties of committees relating to hazard assessment and control, safety and health planning, development of procedures for accident investigations, and other specified matters. Provides that the safety committee shall assist the employer in providing information, instruction, training, and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety of employees at work and individuals affected by their activities. Provides that the Department of Labor may levy a civil penalty upon an employer that violates the Act as established by rule.
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1111 1 AN ACT concerning employment.
1212 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
1313 3 represented in the General Assembly:
1414 4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
1515 5 Workplace COVID-19 Safety Committees Act.
1616 6 Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that
1717 7 hundreds of thousands of Illinois workers have contracted the
1818 8 disease related to the COVID-19 virus in the workplace, and
1919 9 that also hundreds are disabled each year from work-related
2020 10 injuries and diseases. The General Assembly finds that many
2121 11 COVID-19 infections, deaths, and workplace injury and illness
2222 12 losses are needless, costly, and could have been prevented.
2323 13 The General Assembly concludes that the establishment of joint
2424 14 management and worker safety committees will help prevent such
2525 15 losses and may reduce workers' compensation costs in this
2626 16 State.
2727 17 Section 10. Purpose. It is the purpose of this Act to bring
2828 18 workers and management together in a non-adversarial,
2929 19 cooperative effort to promote safety and health in the
3030 20 workplace during the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and
3131 21 beyond. The workplace safety committees established by this
3232 22 Act shall consist of management and employee representatives
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3939 Creates the Workplace COVID-19 Safety Committees Act. Provides that each private employer of at least 30 employees shall establish a safety committee at each of the employer's primary places of employment. Establishes requirements for composition of committees and meetings, records, reporting, and training. Provides for the duties of committees relating to hazard assessment and control, safety and health planning, development of procedures for accident investigations, and other specified matters. Provides that the safety committee shall assist the employer in providing information, instruction, training, and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety of employees at work and individuals affected by their activities. Provides that the Department of Labor may levy a civil penalty upon an employer that violates the Act as established by rule.
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6767 1 who have an interest in the general promotion of safety and
6868 2 health in the workplace.
6969 3 Section 15. Establishment of safety committees.
7070 4 (a) Every public and private employer of 30 or more
7171 5 employees shall establish and administer a safety committee.
7272 6 (b) To determine the employment levels under subsection
7373 7 (a), the employer shall count all permanent, contract,
7474 8 temporary, and seasonal workers under the employer's direction
7575 9 and control and shall base the number on peak employment.
7676 10 (c) Temporary services employers and labor contractors
7777 11 shall establish safety committees based upon the total number
7878 12 of workers over which the employer or contractor exercises
7979 13 direction and control.
8080 14 (d) Employers who hire only seasonal workers shall hold
8181 15 crew safety meetings prior to the commencement of work at each
8282 16 job site. The meetings shall promote discussions of safety and
8383 17 health issues. All workers shall be informed of their right to
8484 18 inspect and report workplace hazards and shall be encouraged
8585 19 to make those inspections and reports during the meetings
8686 20 according to provisions established in the federal
8787 21 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
8888 22 Section 20. Location of safety committees.
8989 23 (a) Safety committees shall be established at each of an
9090 24 employer's primary places of employment. As used in this Act,
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101101 1 "primary place of employment" means a major economic unit at a
102102 2 single geographic location, comprised of a building or group
103103 3 of buildings, and all surrounding facilities, having the
104104 4 following characteristics: it has both management and workers
105105 5 present; it has control over a portion of a budget; and it has
106106 6 the ability to take action on the majority of the
107107 7 recommendations made by a safety committee.
108108 8 (b) An employer's auxiliary, mobile, or satellite
109109 9 locations, such as those found in construction operations,
110110 10 trucking, branch or field offices, sales operations, or highly
111111 11 mobile activities, may be combined into a single, centralized
112112 12 safety committee. This centralized safety committee shall
113113 13 represent the safety and health concerns of all the locations.
114114 14 Section 25. Recognition and approval of certain safety
115115 15 committees. Upon application, the Department of Labor and the
116116 16 Department of Public Health may recognize and approve safety
117117 17 committees that are innovative or differ in form or function
118118 18 if those safety committees meet the intent of this Act.
119119 19 Section 30. Safety committee formation and membership.
120120 20 (a) The safety committees required under this Act shall be
121121 21 composed of an equal number of employer and employee
122122 22 representatives. Employee representatives shall be selected by
123123 23 their exclusive representative for collective bargaining
124124 24 purposes or, if there is no exclusive representative, employee
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135135 1 representatives shall be volunteers or shall be elected by
136136 2 their peers. When agreed upon by workers and management, the
137137 3 number of employees on the safety committee may be greater
138138 4 than the number of employer representatives. Seasonal workers
139139 5 shall not be counted for the purpose of determining the number
140140 6 of members who will serve on the safety committee.
141141 7 (b) The safety committees shall consist of:
142142 8 (1) no fewer than 2 members for each employer with 30
143143 9 or fewer employees; or
144144 10 (2) no fewer than 4 members for each employer with
145145 11 more than 30 employees.
146146 12 The safety committees shall have a chairperson elected by
147147 13 the safety committee members.
148148 14 (c) Employee representatives attending safety committee
149149 15 meetings required by this Act or participating in safety
150150 16 committee instruction or training required by this Act shall
151151 17 be compensated by the employer at the regular hourly wage.
152152 18 (d) Employee representatives shall serve a continuous term
153153 19 of at least one year. Length of membership shall be alternated
154154 20 or staggered so that at least one experienced member is always
155155 21 serving on the safety committee.
156156 22 (e) Reasonable efforts shall be made to ensure that safety
157157 23 committee members are representative of the major work
158158 24 activities of the firm.
159159 25 Section 35. Safety committee meetings.
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170170 1 (a) The safety committee shall develop a written agenda
171171 2 for conducting safety committee meetings. The agenda shall
172172 3 prescribe the order in which safety committee business will be
173173 4 addressed during the meeting.
174174 5 (b) The safety committee shall hold regular meetings at
175175 6 least once a month.
176176 7 (c) Quarterly safety committee meetings may be substituted
177177 8 for monthly meetings when the safety committee's sole area of
178178 9 responsibility involves low hazard work environments. A low
179179 10 hazard workplace is a work environment that has not had a
180180 11 workplace accident, injury, or reportable medical disease
181181 12 causing the loss of working days for any worker during a
182182 13 3-month period.
183183 14 (d) Small farms with 5 or fewer full time employees may
184184 15 substitute quarterly meetings for monthly meetings during the
185185 16 farms' off season. "Off season" means that period of time when
186186 17 only routine farm upkeep is being done.
187187 18 (e) Minutes shall be made of each meeting. The employer
188188 19 shall maintain the minutes for 3 years for inspection by the
189189 20 Department of Labor and the Department of Public Health.
190190 21 Copies of the minutes shall be posted or made available for all
191191 22 employees and shall be sent to each safety committee member.
192192 23 All reports, evaluations, and recommendations of the safety
193193 24 committee shall be made a part of the minutes of the safety
194194 25 committee meeting.
195195 26 (f) For each recommendation made at the safety committee
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206206 1 meetings, a reasonable time limit shall be established for the
207207 2 employer to respond in writing. The response should include
208208 3 the action taken to comply with the recommendations, and, in
209209 4 any case, the reasons why implementing the action was not
210210 5 accomplished and a time frame to comply.
211211 6 Section 40. Employee involvement. The safety committee
212212 7 shall establish a system to allow the members to obtain
213213 8 safety-related suggestions, reports of hazards, or other
214214 9 information directly from all persons involved in the
215215 10 operations of the workplace. The information obtained shall be
216216 11 reviewed at the next safety committee meeting and shall be
217217 12 recorded in the minutes for review and necessary action by the
218218 13 employer.
219219 14 Section 45. Hazard assessment and control.
220220 15 (a) The safety committee shall assist the employer in
221221 16 evaluating the employer's accident and illness prevention
222222 17 program and shall make written recommendations to improve the
223223 18 program when applicable. The safety committee shall also:
224224 19 (1) include employer and employee representatives in
225225 20 inspection teams, shall document in writing the location
226226 21 and identity of the hazards, and shall make
227227 22 recommendations to the employer regarding correction of
228228 23 the hazards; and
229229 24 (2) conduct quarterly inspections of satellite
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240240 1 locations by the safety committee team or by a person
241241 2 designated at the location.
242242 3 (b) The person designated to carry out inspection
243243 4 activities at the locations identified in items (1) and (2) of
244244 5 subsection (a) shall be selected by the employer and shall
245245 6 receive training in hazard identification in the workplace.
246246 7 Section 50. Safety and health planning. The safety
247247 8 committee shall establish procedures for the review of all
248248 9 safety and health inspection reports made by the safety
249249 10 committee. Based on the results of the review, the safety
250250 11 committee shall make recommendations for improvement of the
251251 12 employer's accident and illness prevention program. The safety
252252 13 committee shall evaluate the employer's accountability system
253253 14 and make recommendations to implement supervisor and employee
254254 15 accountability for safety and health.
255255 16 Section 55. Accident investigation. The safety committee
256256 17 shall establish procedures for investigating all
257257 18 safety-related incidents including injury accidents,
258258 19 illnesses, and deaths. This Section shall not be construed to
259259 20 require the safety committee to conduct the investigations.
260260 21 Section 60. Safety and health training and instruction.
261261 22 (a) The following items shall be discussed with all safety
262262 23 committee members:
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273273 1 (1) safety committee purposes and operation;
274274 2 (2) rules adopted by the Department of Labor under
275275 3 this Act; and
276276 4 (3) methods of conducting safety committee meetings.
277277 5 (b) Safety committee members shall have ready access to
278278 6 Occupational Safety and Health Codes that apply to the
279279 7 particular establishment and verbal instructions regarding
280280 8 their use.
281281 9 (c) All safety committee members shall receive training
282282 10 based upon the type of business activity. At a minimum,
283283 11 members shall receive training regarding:
284284 12 (1) hazard identification in the workplace; and
285285 13 (2) principles regarding effective accident and
286286 14 incident investigations.
287287 15 (d) The safety committee shall assist the employer in
288288 16 providing information, instruction, training, and supervision
289289 17 as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably
290290 18 practicable, the health and safety of employees at work and
291291 19 individuals affected by their activities. This may include
292292 20 training concerning hazard communication standards, emergency
293293 21 action plans, fire safety, emergency exit routes, walking and
294294 22 working surfaces, medical emergencies and first aid, blood
295295 23 borne pathogens, fall protection, general safety and health,
296296 24 lockout/tagout, powered industrial trucks, confined spaces,
297297 25 and respiratory protection. The training shall be provided in
298298 26 the primary languages used in the workplace as determined by
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309309 1 the Department of Labor by rule.
310310 2 Section 65. Special COVID-19 pandemic provisions. During
311311 3 the COVID-19 pandemic, until the health authorities declare an
312312 4 end to it, the safety committee shall have the following
313313 5 special functions:
314314 6 (1) Collect and post in conspicuous places, such as
315315 7 bulletin boards, lunch rooms, and dressing rooms at each
316316 8 location, information issued by the Centers for Disease
317317 9 Control and Prevention of the United States Department of
318318 10 Health and Human Services, the United States Department of
319319 11 Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
320320 12 the Department of Public Health, and others concerning
321321 13 prevention and measures to avoid contagion with COVID-19.
322322 14 The postings shall be printed in the primary languages
323323 15 used in the workplace as determined by the Department of
324324 16 Labor by rule.
325325 17 (2) Collect and post in such locations, and deliver to
326326 18 all workers, executive orders regarding COVID-19 issued by
327327 19 the Governor of Illinois. The postings shall be printed in
328328 20 the primary languages used in the workplace as determined
329329 21 by the Department of Labor by rule.
330330 22 (3) Prepare and implement a response plan to be
331331 23 executed in case an outbreak occurs in the workplace. An
332332 24 outbreak of COVID-19 means the existence of 2 or more
333333 25 workers presenting symptoms related to COVID-19 infection.
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344344 1 (4) Make sure all mandated reporting of outbreaks to
345345 2 the Department of Public Health is implemented.
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