(820 ILCS 65/1)
Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may
be cited as the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification
Act.
(Source: P.A. 93-915, eff. 1-1-05.)
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(820 ILCS 65/5)
Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in
this Act:
(a) "Affected employees" means
employees who may reasonably be expected to experience an employment
loss as a consequence of a proposed plant closing or mass layoff
by their employer.
(b) "Employment loss" means:
(1) an
employment termination, other than a discharge
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for cause, voluntary departure, or retirement;
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(2)
a layoff exceeding 6 months; or
(3) a reduction
in hours of work of more than 50%
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during each month of any 6-month
period.
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"Employment
loss" does not include instances when the
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plant closing or layoff is the result
of the relocation or consolidation of part
or all of the employer's business and, before
the closing or layoff, the employer offers
to transfer the employee to a different site
of employment within a reasonable commuting
distance with no more than a 6-month
break in employment, or the employer offers
to transfer the employee to any other site
of employment, regardless of distance, with
no more than a 6-month break in employment,
and the employee accepts within 30 days of
the offer or of the closing or layoff, whichever
is later.
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(c) "Employer" means
any business enterprise that employs:
(1) 75
or more employees, excluding part-time
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(2)
75 or more employees who in the aggregate work at
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least 4,000 hours per week (exclusive
of hours of overtime).
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(d) "Mass
layoff" means a reduction in force which:
(1) is
not the result of a plant closing; and
(2) results
in an employment loss at the single site
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of employment during any 30-day
period for:
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(A)
at least 33% of the employees (excluding any
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part-time employees) and at least
25 employees (excluding any part-time
employees); or
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(B)
at least 250 employees (excluding any
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(e) "Part-time
employee" means an employee who is employed for
an average of fewer than 20 hours per week or who has
been employed for fewer than 6 of the 12 months preceding
the date on which notice is required.
(f) "Plant closing" means
the permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment,
or one or more facilities or operating units within a single site
of employment, if the shutdown results in an employment loss at
the single site of employment during any 30-day period for
50 or more employees excluding any part-time employees.
(g) "Representative" means
an exclusive representative of employees within the meaning of
Section 9(a) or 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C.
159(a), 158(f)) or Section 2 of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C.
152).
(Source: P.A. 93-915, eff. 1-1-05.)
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(820 ILCS 65/10)
Sec. 10. Notice.
(a) An employer may not order a
mass layoff, relocation, or employment loss unless, 60
days before the order takes effect, the employer gives
written notice of the order to the following:
(1) affected
employees and representatives of
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(2)
the Department of Commerce and Economic
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Opportunity and
the chief elected official of each municipal
and county government within which the employment
loss, relocation, or mass layoff occurs.
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(b) An employer
required to give notice of any mass
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layoff, relocation, or employment loss
under this Act shall include in its notice
the elements required by the federal Worker
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
(29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.).
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(c) Notwithstanding
the requirements of subsection (a),
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an employer is not required to provide
notice if a mass layoff, relocation, or employment
loss is necessitated by a physical calamity
or an act of terrorism or war.
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(d) The mailing
of notice to an employee's last known
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address or inclusion of notice in the
employee's paycheck shall be considered acceptable
methods for fulfillment of the employer's obligation
to give notice to each affected employee under
this Act.
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(e) In the case
of a sale of part or all of an employer's
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business, the seller shall be responsible
for providing notice for any plant closing
or mass layoff in accordance with this Section,
up to and including the effective date of the
sale. After the effective date of the sale
of part or all of an employer's business, the
purchaser shall be responsible for providing
notice for any plant closing or mass layoff
in accordance with this Section. Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Act, any person
who is an employee of the seller (other than
a part-time employee) as of the effective
date of the sale shall be considered an employee
of the purchaser immediately after the effective
date of the sale.
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(f) An employer
which is receiving State or local
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economic development incentives for
doing or continuing to do business in this
State may be required to provide additional
notice pursuant to Section 15 of the Business
Economic Support Act.
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(g) The rights
and remedies provided to employees by this
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Act are in addition to, and not in lieu
of, any other contractual or statutory rights
and remedies of the employees, and are not
intended to alter or affect such rights and
remedies, except that the period of notification
required by this Act shall run concurrently
with any period of notification required by
contract or by any other law.
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(h) It is the
sense of the General Assembly that an
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employer who is not required to comply
with the notice requirements of this Section
should, to the extent possible, provide notice
to its employees about a proposal to close
a plant or permanently reduce its workforce.
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(Source: P.A. 93-915, eff. 1-1-05.)
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(820 ILCS 65/15)
Sec. 15. Exceptions.
(a) In the case of a plant closing,
an employer is not required to comply with the notice requirement
in subsection (a) of Section 10 if:
(1) the
Department of Labor determines:
(A)
at the time that notice would have been
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required, the employer was actively
seeking capital or business; and
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(B)
the capital or business sought, if obtained,
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would have enabled the employer to avoid
or postpone the relocation or termination;
and
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(C)
the employer reasonably and in good faith
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believed that giving the notice required
by subsection (a) of Section 10 would have
precluded the employer from obtaining the needed
capital or business; or
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(2)
the Department of Labor determines that the need
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for a notice was not reasonably foreseeable
at the time the notice would have been required.
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(b) To determine
whether the employer was actively
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seeking capital or business, or that
the need for notice was not reasonably foreseeable
under subsection (a), the employer shall provide
to the Department of Labor:
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(1)
a written record consisting of those documents
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relevant to the determination of whether
the employer was actively seeking capital or
business, or that the need for notice was not
reasonably foreseeable; and
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(2)
an affidavit verifying the contents of the
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documents contained in the record.
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(c) An employer
is not required to comply with the notice
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requirement in subsection (a) of Section
10 if:
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(1)
the plant closing is of a temporary facility or
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the plant closing or layoff is the result
of the completion of a particular project or
undertaking, and the affected employees were
hired with the understanding that their employment
was limited to the duration of the facility
or the project or undertaking; or
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(2)
the closing or layoff constitutes a strike or
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constitutes a lockout not intended to
evade the requirements of this Act. Nothing
in this Act shall require an employer to serve
written notice when permanently replacing a
person who is deemed to be an economic striker
under the National Labor Relations Act (29
U.S.C. 151 et seq.). Nothing in this Act shall
be deemed to validate or invalidate any judicial
or administrative ruling relating to the hiring
of permanent replacements for economic strikers
under the National Labor Relations Act.
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(d) An employer
relying on this Section shall provide as
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much notice as is practicable and at
that time shall provide a brief statement of
the basis for reducing the notification period.
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(Source: P.A. 93-915, eff. 1-1-05.)
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(820 ILCS 65/20)
Sec. 20. Extension of layoff period.
A layoff of more than 6 months which, at its outset, was
announced to be a layoff of 6 months or less shall be treated
as an employment loss under this Act unless:
(1) the
extension beyond 6 months is caused by
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business circumstances (including unforeseeable
changes in price or cost) not reasonably foreseeable
at the time of the initial layoff; and
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(2)
notice is given at the time it becomes reasonably
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foreseeable that the extension beyond
6 months will be required.
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(Source: P.A. 93-915, eff. 1-1-05.)
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(820 ILCS 65/25)
Sec. 25. Determinations with respect
to employment loss. In determining whether a plant closing
or mass layoff has occurred or will occur, employment losses
for 2 or more groups at a single site of employment, each
of which is less than the minimum number of employees specified
in subsection (d) or (f) of Section 5 of this Act but which
in the aggregate exceed that minimum number, and which
occur within any 90-day period shall be considered
to be a plant closing or mass layoff unless the employer
demonstrates that the employment losses are the result
of separate and distinct actions and causes and are not
an attempt by the employer to evade the requirements of
this Act.
(Source: P.A. 93-915, eff. 1-1-05.)
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(820 ILCS 65/30)
Sec. 30. Powers of Director of
Labor.
(a) Pursuant to the Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act, the Director of Labor shall prescribe such rules
as may be necessary to carry out this Act. The rules shall, at
a minimum, include provisions that allow the parties access to
administrative hearings for any actions of the Department under
this Act. The provisions of the Administrative Review Law, and
the rules adopted pursuant thereto, apply to and govern all proceedings
for the judicial review of decisions under this Act.
(b) In any investigation or proceeding
under this Act, the Director of Labor has, in addition to all
other powers granted by law, the authority to examine the books
and records of an employer, but only to the extent to determine
whether a violation of this Act has occurred.
(c) Except as provided in this
Section, information obtained from any employer subject to this
Act regarding the books, records, or wages paid to workers during
the administration of this Act shall:
(1) be
confidential;
(2) not
be published or open to public inspection;
(3) not
be used in any court in any pending action or
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(4)
not be admissible in evidence in any action or
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proceeding other than one arising out
of this Act.
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(d) No finding,
determination, decision, ruling, or
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order (including any finding of fact,
statement, or conclusion made therein) issued
pursuant to this Act shall be admissible or
used in evidence in any action other than one
arising out of this Act, nor shall it be binding
or conclusive except as provided in the Act,
nor shall it constitute res judicata, regardless
of whether the actions were between the same
or related parties or involved the same facts.
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(e) Any officer
or employer of this State, any officer or
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employee of any entity authorized to
obtain information pursuant to this Section,
and any agent of this State or of such entity
who, except with authority of the Director
under this Section, discloses information is
guilty of a Class B misdemeanor and is disqualified
from holding any appointment or employment
by the State.
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(f) The Director
of Labor has the authority to determine
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any liabilities or civil penalties under
Section 35 and Section 40 of this Act.
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(Source: P.A. 93-915, eff. 1-1-05.)
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