(820 ILCS 180/20)
Sec. 20. Entitlement to leave due to domestic or sexual violence.
(a) Leave requirement.
(1) Basis. An employee who is a victim of domestic or
sexual violence or has a family or household member who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence whose interests are not adverse to the employee as it relates to the domestic or sexual violence may take unpaid leave from work to address domestic or sexual violence by:
(A) seeking medical attention for, or recovering
from, physical or psychological injuries caused by domestic or sexual violence to the employee or the employee's family or household member;
(B) obtaining services from a victim services
organization for the employee or the employee's family or household member;
(C) obtaining psychological or other counseling
for the employee or the employee's family or household member;
(D) participating in safety planning, temporarily
or permanently relocating, or taking other actions to increase the safety of the employee or the employee's family or household member from future domestic or sexual violence or ensure economic security; or
(E) seeking legal assistance or remedies to
ensure the health and safety of the employee or the employee's family or household member, including preparing for or participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or derived from domestic or sexual violence.
(2) Period. Subject to subsection (c), an employee
working for an employer that employs at least 50 employees shall be entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period. Subject to subsection (c), an employee working for an employer that employs at least 15 but not more than 49 employees shall be entitled to a total of 8 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period. The total number of workweeks to which an employee is entitled shall not decrease during the relevant 12-month period. This Act does not create a right for an employee to take unpaid leave that exceeds the unpaid leave time allowed under, or is in addition to the unpaid leave time permitted by, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).
(3) Schedule. Leave described in paragraph (1) may be
taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule.
(b) Notice. The employee shall provide the employer with at least 48 hours' advance notice of the employee's intention to take the leave, unless providing such notice is not practicable. When an unscheduled absence occurs, the employer may not take any action against the employee if the employee, upon request of the employer and within a reasonable period after the absence, provides certification under subsection (c).
(c) Certification.
(1) In general. The employer may require the employee
to provide certification to the employer that:
(A) the employee or the employee's family or
household member is a victim of domestic or sexual violence; and
(B) the leave is for one of the purposes
enumerated in paragraph (a)(1).
The employee shall provide such certification to the
employer within a reasonable period after the employer requests certification.
(2) Contents. An employee may satisfy the
certification requirement of paragraph (1) by providing to the employer a sworn statement of the employee, and upon obtaining such documents the employee shall provide:
(A) documentation from an employee, agent, or
volunteer of a victim services organization, an attorney, a member of the clergy, or a medical or other professional from whom the employee or the employee's family or household member has sought assistance in addressing domestic or sexual violence and the effects of the violence;
(B) a police or court record; or
(C) other corroborating evidence.
(d) Confidentiality. All information provided to the employer pursuant to subsection (b) or (c), including a statement of the employee or any other documentation, record, or corroborating evidence, and the fact that the employee has requested or obtained leave pursuant to this Section, shall be retained in the strictest confidence by the employer, except to the extent that disclosure is:
(1) requested or consented to in writing by the
employee; or
(2) otherwise required by applicable federal or State
law.
(e) Employment and benefits.
(1) Restoration to position.
(A) In general. Any employee who takes leave
under this Section for the intended purpose of the leave shall be entitled, on return from such leave:
(i) to be restored by the employer to the
position of employment held by the employee when the leave commenced; or
(ii) to be restored to an equivalent position
with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.
(B) Loss of benefits. The taking of leave under
this Section shall not result in the loss of any employment benefit accrued prior to the date on which the leave commenced.
(C) Limitations. Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to entitle any restored employee to:
(i) the accrual of any seniority or
employment benefits during any period of leave; or
(ii) any right, benefit, or position of
employment other than any right, benefit, or position to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee not taken the leave.
(D) Construction. Nothing in this paragraph shall
be construed to prohibit an employer from requiring an employee on leave under this Section to report periodically to the employer on the status and intention of the employee to return to work.
(2) Maintenance of health benefits.
(A) Coverage. Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), during any period that an employee takes leave under this Section, the employer shall maintain coverage for the employee and any family or household member under any group health plan for the duration of such leave at the level and under the conditions coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued in employment continuously for the duration of such leave.
(B) Failure to return from leave. The employer
may recover the premium that the employer paid for maintaining coverage for the employee and the employee's family or household member under such group health plan during any period of leave under this Section if:
(i) the employee fails to return from leave
under this Section after the period of leave to which the employee is entitled has expired; and
(ii) the employee fails to return to work for
a reason other than:
(I) the continuation, recurrence, or
onset of domestic or sexual violence that entitles the employee to leave pursuant to this Section; or
(II) other circumstances beyond the
control of the employee.
(C) Certification.
(i) Issuance. An employer may require an
employee who claims that the employee is unable to return to work because of a reason described in subclause (I) or (II) of subparagraph (B)(ii) to provide, within a reasonable period after making the claim, certification to the employer that the employee is unable to return to work because of that reason.
(ii) Contents. An employee may satisfy the
certification requirement of clause (i) by providing to the employer:
(I) a sworn statement of the employee;
(II) documentation from an employee,
agent, or volunteer of a victim services organization, an attorney, a member of the clergy, or a medical or other professional from whom the employee has sought assistance in addressing domestic or sexual violence and the effects of that violence;
(III) a police or court record; or
(IV) other corroborating evidence.
(D) Confidentiality. All information provided to
the employer pursuant to subparagraph (C), including a statement of the employee or any other documentation, record, or corroborating evidence, and the fact that the employee is not returning to work because of a reason described in subclause (I) or (II) of subparagraph (B)(ii) shall be retained in the strictest confidence by the employer, except to the extent that disclosure is:
(i) requested or consented to in writing by
the employee; or
(ii) otherwise required by applicable federal
or State law.
(f) Prohibited acts.
(1) Interference with rights.
(A) Exercise of rights. It shall be unlawful for
any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise any right provided under this Section.
(B) Employer discrimination. It shall be unlawful
for any employer to discharge or harass any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment of the individual (including retaliation in any form or manner) because the individual:
(i) exercised any right provided under this
Section; or
(ii) opposed any practice made unlawful by
this Section.
(C) Public agency sanctions. It shall be unlawful
for any public agency to deny, reduce, or terminate the benefits of, otherwise sanction, or harass any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to the amount, terms, or conditions of public assistance of the individual (including retaliation in any form or manner) because the individual:
(i) exercised any right provided under this
Section; or
(ii) opposed any practice made unlawful by
this Section.
(2) Interference with proceedings or inquiries. It
shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or in any other manner discriminate (as described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1)) against any individual because such individual:
(A) has filed any charge, or has instituted or
caused to be instituted any proceeding, under or related to this Section;
(B) has given, or is about to give, any
information in connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under this Section; or
(C) has testified, or is about to testify, in any
inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 96-635, eff. 8-24-09.)
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Last modified: February 18, 2015