Public Act 1257 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2497 Enrolled LRB096 14969 JAM 29873 b

Public Act 096-1257

AN ACT concerning government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act is amended by changing Section 3 as follows:

(5 ILCS 315/3) (from Ch. 48, par. 1603)

Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Board" means the Illinois Labor Relations Board or, with respect to a matter over which the jurisdiction of the Board is assigned to the State Panel or the Local Panel under Section 5, the panel having jurisdiction over the matter.

(b) "Collective bargaining" means bargaining over terms and conditions of employment, including hours, wages, and other conditions of employment, as detailed in Section 7 and which are not excluded by Section 4.

(c) "Confidential employee" means an employee who, in the regular course of his or her duties, assists and acts in a confidential capacity to persons who formulate, determine, and effectuate management policies with regard to labor relations or who, in the regular course of his or her duties, has authorized access to information relating to the effectuation or review of the employer's collective bargaining policies.

(d) "Craft employees" means skilled journeymen, crafts persons, and their apprentices and helpers.

(e) "Essential services employees" means those public employees performing functions so essential that the interruption or termination of the function will constitute a clear and present danger to the health and safety of the persons in the affected community.

(f) "Exclusive representative", except with respect to non-State fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire departments and fire protection districts, non-State peace officers, and peace officers in the Department of State Police, means the labor organization that has been (i) designated by the Board as the representative of a majority of public employees in an appropriate bargaining unit in accordance with the procedures contained in this Act, (ii) historically recognized by the State of Illinois or any political subdivision of the State before July 1, 1984 (the effective date of this Act) as the exclusive representative of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, (iii) after July 1, 1984 (the effective date of this Act) recognized by an employer upon evidence, acceptable to the Board, that the labor organization has been designated as the exclusive representative by a majority of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit; (iv) recognized as the exclusive representative of personal care attendants or personal assistants under Executive Order 2003-8 prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, and the organization shall be considered to be the exclusive representative of the personal care attendants or personal assistants as defined in this Section; or (v) recognized as the exclusive representative of child and day care home providers, including licensed and license exempt providers, pursuant to an election held under Executive Order 2005-1 prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, and the organization shall be considered to be the exclusive representative of the child and day care home providers as defined in this Section.

With respect to non-State fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire departments and fire protection districts, non-State peace officers, and peace officers in the Department of State Police, "exclusive representative" means the labor organization that has been (i) designated by the Board as the representative of a majority of peace officers or fire fighters in an appropriate bargaining unit in accordance with the procedures contained in this Act, (ii) historically recognized by the State of Illinois or any political subdivision of the State before January 1, 1986 (the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1985) as the exclusive representative by a majority of the peace officers or fire fighters in an appropriate bargaining unit, or (iii) after January 1, 1986 (the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1985) recognized by an employer upon evidence, acceptable to the Board, that the labor organization has been designated as the exclusive representative by a majority of the peace officers or fire fighters in an appropriate bargaining unit.

(g) "Fair share agreement" means an agreement between the employer and an employee organization under which all or any of the employees in a collective bargaining unit are required to pay their proportionate share of the costs of the collective bargaining process, contract administration, and pursuing matters affecting wages, hours, and other conditions of employment, but not to exceed the amount of dues uniformly required of members. The amount certified by the exclusive representative shall not include any fees for contributions related to the election or support of any candidate for political office. Nothing in this subsection (g) shall preclude an employee from making voluntary political contributions in conjunction with his or her fair share payment.

(g-1) "Fire fighter" means, for the purposes of this Act only, any person who has been or is hereafter appointed to a fire department or fire protection district or employed by a state university and sworn or commissioned to perform fire fighter duties or paramedic duties, except that the following persons are not included: part-time fire fighters, auxiliary, reserve or voluntary fire fighters, including paid on-call fire fighters, clerks and dispatchers or other civilian employees of a fire department or fire protection district who are not routinely expected to perform fire fighter duties, or elected officials.

(g-2) "General Assembly of the State of Illinois" means the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois, as provided for under Article IV of the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and includes but is not limited to the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Joint Committee on Legislative Support Services and any legislative support services agency listed in the Legislative Commission Reorganization Act of 1984.

(h) "Governing body" means, in the case of the State, the State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, the Director of the Department of Central Management Services, and the Director of the Department of Labor; the county board in the case of a county; the corporate authorities in the case of a municipality; and the appropriate body authorized to provide for expenditures of its funds in the case of any other unit of government.

(i) "Labor organization" means any organization in which public employees participate and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with a public employer concerning wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, including the settlement of grievances.

(j) "Managerial employee" means an individual who is engaged predominantly in executive and management functions and is charged with the responsibility of directing the effectuation of management policies and practices.

(k) "Peace officer" means, for the purposes of this Act only, any persons who have been or are hereafter appointed to a police force, department, or agency and sworn or commissioned to perform police duties, except that the following persons are not included: part-time police officers, special police officers, auxiliary police as defined by Section 3.1-30-20 of the Illinois Municipal Code, night watchmen, "merchant police", court security officers as defined by Section 3-6012.1 of the Counties Code, temporary employees, traffic guards or wardens, civilian parking meter and parking facilities personnel or other individuals specially appointed to aid or direct traffic at or near schools or public functions or to aid in civil defense or disaster, parking enforcement employees who are not commissioned as peace officers and who are not armed and who are not routinely expected to effect arrests, parking lot attendants, clerks and dispatchers or other civilian employees of a police department who are not routinely expected to effect arrests, or elected officials.

(l) "Person" includes one or more individuals, labor organizations, public employees, associations, corporations, legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers, or the State of Illinois or any political subdivision of the State or governing body, but does not include the General Assembly of the State of Illinois or any individual employed by the General Assembly of the State of Illinois.

(m) "Professional employee" means any employee engaged in work predominantly intellectual and varied in character rather than routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical work; involving the consistent exercise of discretion and adjustment in its performance; of such a character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of time; and requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general academic education or from apprenticeship or from training in the performance of routine mental, manual, or physical processes; or any employee who has completed the courses of specialized intellectual instruction and study prescribed in this subsection (m) and is performing related work under the supervision of a professional person to qualify to become a professional employee as defined in this subsection (m).

(n) "Public employee" or "employee", for the purposes of this Act, means any individual employed by a public employer, including (i) interns and residents at public hospitals, (ii) as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, but not before, personal care attendants and personal assistants working under the Home Services Program under Section 3 of the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act, subject to the limitations set forth in this Act and in the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act, and (iii) as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, but not before, child and day care home providers participating in the child care assistance program under Section 9A-11 of the Illinois Public Aid Code, subject to the limitations set forth in this Act and in Section 9A-11 of the Illinois Public Aid Code, but excluding all of the following: employees of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois; elected officials; executive heads of a department; members of boards or commissions; the Executive Inspectors General; any special Executive Inspectors General; employees of each Office of an Executive Inspector General; commissioners and employees of the Executive Ethics Commission; the Auditor General's Inspector General; employees of the Office of the Auditor General's Inspector General; the Legislative Inspector General; any special Legislative Inspectors General; employees of the Office of the Legislative Inspector General; commissioners and employees of the Legislative Ethics Commission; employees of any agency, board or commission created by this Act; employees appointed to State positions of a temporary or emergency nature; all employees of school districts and higher education institutions except firefighters and peace officers employed by a state university and except peace officers employed by a school district in its own police department in existence on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly; managerial employees; short-term employees; confidential employees; independent contractors; and supervisors except as provided in this Act.

Personal care attendants and personal assistants shall not be considered public employees for any purposes not specifically provided for in the amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of vicarious liability in tort and purposes of statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. Personal care attendants and personal assistants shall not be covered by the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971 (5 ILCS 375/).

Child and day care home providers shall not be considered public employees for any purposes not specifically provided for in this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of vicarious liability in tort and purposes of statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. Child and day care home providers shall not be covered by the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971.

Notwithstanding Section 9, subsection (c), or any other provisions of this Act, all peace officers above the rank of captain in municipalities with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants shall be excluded from this Act.

(o) Except as otherwise in subsection (o-5), "public employer" or "employer" means the State of Illinois; any political subdivision of the State, unit of local government or school district; authorities including departments, divisions, bureaus, boards, commissions, or other agencies of the foregoing entities; and any person acting within the scope of his or her authority, express or implied, on behalf of those entities in dealing with its employees. As of the effective date of the amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, but not before, the State of Illinois shall be considered the employer of the personal care attendants and personal assistants working under the Home Services Program under Section 3 of the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act, subject to the limitations set forth in this Act and in the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act. The State shall not be considered to be the employer of personal care attendants and personal assistants for any purposes not specifically provided for in this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of vicarious liability in tort and purposes of statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. Personal care attendants and personal assistants shall not be covered by the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971 (5 ILCS 375/). As of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly but not before, the State of Illinois shall be considered the employer of the day and child care home providers participating in the child care assistance program under Section 9A-11 of the Illinois Public Aid Code, subject to the limitations set forth in this Act and in Section 9A-11 of the Illinois Public Aid Code. The State shall not be considered to be the employer of child and day care home providers for any purposes not specifically provided for in this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of vicarious liability in tort and purposes of statutory retirement or health insurance benefits. Child and day care home providers shall not be covered by the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971.

"Public employer" or "employer" as used in this Act, however, does not mean and shall not include the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, the Executive Ethics Commission, the Offices of the Executive Inspectors General, the Legislative Ethics Commission, the Office of the Legislative Inspector General, the Office of the Auditor General's Inspector General, and educational employers or employers as defined in the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, except with respect to a state university in its employment of firefighters and peace officers and except with respect to a school district in the employment of peace officers in its own police department in existence on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. County boards and county sheriffs shall be designated as joint or co-employers of county peace officers appointed under the authority of a county sheriff. Nothing in this subsection (o) shall be construed to prevent the State Panel or the Local Panel from determining that employers are joint or co-employers.

(o-5) With respect to wages, fringe benefits, hours, holidays, vacations, proficiency examinations, sick leave, and other conditions of employment, the public employer of public employees who are court reporters, as defined in the Court Reporters Act, shall be determined as follows:

(1) For court reporters employed by the Cook County Judicial Circuit, the chief judge of the Cook County Circuit Court is the public employer and employer representative.

(2) For court reporters employed by the 12th, 18th, 19th, and, on and after December 4, 2006, the 22nd judicial circuits, a group consisting of the chief judges of those circuits, acting jointly by majority vote, is the public employer and employer representative.

(3) For court reporters employed by all other judicial circuits, a group consisting of the chief judges of those circuits, acting jointly by majority vote, is the public employer and employer representative.

(p) "Security employee" means an employee who is responsible for the supervision and control of inmates at correctional facilities. The term also includes other non-security employees in bargaining units having the majority of employees being responsible for the supervision and control of inmates at correctional facilities.

(q) "Short-term employee" means an employee who is employed for less than 2 consecutive calendar quarters during a calendar year and who does not have a reasonable assurance that he or she will be rehired by the same employer for the same service in a subsequent calendar year.

(r) "Supervisor" is an employee whose principal work is substantially different from that of his or her subordinates and who has authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, direct, reward, or discipline employees, to adjust their grievances, or to effectively recommend any of those actions, if the exercise of that authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the consistent use of independent judgment. Except with respect to police employment, the term "supervisor" includes only those individuals who devote a preponderance of their employment time to exercising that authority, State supervisors notwithstanding. In addition, in determining supervisory status in police employment, rank shall not be determinative. The Board shall consider, as evidence of bargaining unit inclusion or exclusion, the common law enforcement policies and relationships between police officer ranks and certification under applicable civil service law, ordinances, personnel codes, or Division 2.1 of Article 10 of the Illinois Municipal Code, but these factors shall not be the sole or predominant factors considered by the Board in determining police supervisory status.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, in determining supervisory status in fire fighter employment, no fire fighter shall be excluded as a supervisor who has established representation rights under Section 9 of this Act. Further, in new fire fighter units, employees shall consist of fire fighters of the rank of company officer and below. If a company officer otherwise qualifies as a supervisor under the preceding paragraph, however, he or she shall not be included in the fire fighter unit. If there is no rank between that of chief and the highest company officer, the employer may designate a position on each shift as a Shift Commander, and the persons occupying those positions shall be supervisors. All other ranks above that of company officer shall be supervisors.

(s) (1) "Unit" means a class of jobs or positions that are held by employees whose collective interests may suitably be represented by a labor organization for collective bargaining. Except with respect to non-State fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire departments and fire protection districts, non-State peace officers, and peace officers in the Department of State Police, a bargaining unit determined by the Board shall not include both employees and supervisors, or supervisors only, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection (s) and except for bargaining units in existence on July 1, 1984 (the effective date of this Act). With respect to non-State fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire departments and fire protection districts, non-State peace officers, and peace officers in the Department of State Police, a bargaining unit determined by the Board shall not include both supervisors and nonsupervisors, or supervisors only, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection (s) and except for bargaining units in existence on January 1, 1986 (the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1985). A bargaining unit determined by the Board to contain peace officers shall contain no employees other than peace officers unless otherwise agreed to by the employer and the labor organization or labor organizations involved. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a bargaining unit, including a historical bargaining unit, containing sworn peace officers of the Department of Natural Resources (formerly designated the Department of Conservation) shall contain no employees other than such sworn peace officers upon the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1990 or upon the expiration date of any collective bargaining agreement in effect upon the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1990 covering both such sworn peace officers and other employees.

(2) Notwithstanding the exclusion of supervisors from bargaining units as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection (s), a public employer may agree to permit its supervisory employees to form bargaining units and may bargain with those units. This Act shall apply if the public employer chooses to bargain under this subsection.

(3) Public employees who are court reporters, as defined in the Court Reporters Act, shall be divided into 3 units for collective bargaining purposes. One unit shall be court reporters employed by the Cook County Judicial Circuit; one unit shall be court reporters employed by the 12th, 18th, 19th, and, on and after December 4, 2006, the 22nd judicial circuits; and one unit shall be court reporters employed by all other judicial circuits.

(Source: P.A. 94-98, eff. 7-1-05; 94-320, eff. 1-1-06; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.