Our legislature has been at it again, passing a slew of new bills that have now been enacted into law.
Mandatory paid leave
Perhaps the most significant new law is the "Paid Leave for All Workers Act." Illinois was the third state to pass a law requiring employers to provide paid leave to employees that can be used for any reason whatsoever. Employees will be provided with 40 hours of paid leave per year. Employers can make the 40 hours available at once, or can opt to have it accrue at one hour for every 40 hours worked. If an employer decides to use the accrual method, employees may carry over unused time from year to year. If not, an employer can enforce a use-it-or-lose-it policy.
Although employers may decide to permit employees to use paid leave earlier, workers must be permitted to do so by the latter of 90 days from hiring or March 31, 2024. Employers can require seven calendar days' notice if the leave is foreseeable. Where it's not, it must be provided as soon as practicable.
Employers are required to place notice of these rights and are also required to maintain certain records for each employee.
Violations of the act are punished harshly – employees have a private cause of action for compensatory damages, including attorneys' fees. And there is a $2,500 civil penalty for each separate offense that goes to the state for use in enforcing this new law.
Wage transparency
Although this one isn't set to go into force until 2025, it's a law that other progressive states like California, Colorado and New York have passed. There's also an effort being made at the federal level to enact a similar law.
Essentially, any employer with more than 15 employees is required to include pay scale and benefits in all job postings. Job postings are not required, but if they are employed the act has to be followed.
The policy behind the law is to remove barriers to equal pay. Those in support believe that pay secrecy keeps minorities and marginalized groups at a disadvantage when negotiating for salaries, which in term perpetuates gender and racial wage gaps. In my experience, which is anecdotal, those employers who are familiar with the law oppose it.
As with mandatory paid time off, there are still penalties for non-compliance which can include, in certain cases, fines as high as $10,000.
So, get ready to develop a pay scale if you want to use job postings to help find employees.
Corporate Transparency Act
This is a big one that most people don't know about yet, although it was addressed in the March issue of SBJ. Starting Jan. 1, 2024, all corporations, limited liability companies and other entities will be required to provide information about those that own or control the entity to the federal government. That information includes the owner's full name, date of birth, address, a unique identifying number and issuing jurisdiction from a current photo identification document issued by the U.S. government or a non-expired foreign passport, and an image of the same identification document. The reporting extends to me and my legal assistant if s/he was the one who submitted the formation documents to the state of Illinois. Failure to comply with these reporting requirements can result in penalties ranging from $25,000 to approximately $250,000 and also criminal liability. Those subject to the law have until Jan. 1, 2025, to comply. Reporting will be done through an online portal that has not yet been set up. The feds estimate that 32,556,929 entities will be subject to this law in this first year. What could possibly go wrong?
Child social media influencers
Illinois is the first state to pass a law mandating that minor social media influencers must be compensated. Effective as of July 1, 2024, anyone under 16 years of age that appears in at least 30% of the content for which an adult receives compensation is entitled to a portion of the gross earnings, which the adult must place in a trust account for the benefit of the child upon reaching 18 years of age. The minimum amount required to be set aside is one-half of the content that includes the minor. For example, if the minor is in 100% of the content, then one-half of the earnings must be set aside in trust. The act allows the minor to sue the adult if the law is not followed.
In connection with the signing of the bill, the governor's office stated that children "deserve to be shielded from parents who would attempt to take advantage of their child's talents and use them for their own financial gain."
Expect to see more legislation along these lines, especially regarding the issue of a minor's informed consent to allow his or her likeness to be used online for all to see.
No Zoom while driving
Although one would think this would be self-evident, the Illinois Vehicle Code prohibits video conferencing while driving.
Digitally altered sexual images
AI and the ever-evolving cyber landscape drove Illinois to enact a law entitling victims of a sexual digital forgery to sue the perpetrator for $10,000. Frankly, I am saddened that things have come so far that we need such a law.
Firearms
Under the Firearm Industry Responsibility Act,
effective as of August of this year, gun manufacturers that engage in unsafe and unlawful marketing and sale will be held accountable for actions
contributing to gun violence in Illinois communities. The act prohibits advertising and marketing that encourages para-military or unlawful private militia activity and advertising to individuals under 18 that encourages the use of a firearm in an unlawful manner including advertising the uses of cartoons, stuffed animals and clothing targeted toward children.
Education
In another first in the United States, starting in 2024 public libraries face a loss of funding if books are
removed from circulation for personal, political or religious reasons. Also, within 24 hours of learning of an alleged incident of bullying, schools must now inform the parents or guardians of such conduct. The law also expands the definition of bullying to include harassment based on physical appearance, socioeconomic status or homelessness.
