State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Illinois > Chapter5 > 108

    (5 ILCS 315/1) (from Ch. 48, par. 1601)
    Sec. 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Illinois Public Labor Relations Act".
(Source: P.A. 83‑1012.)

    (5 ILCS 315/2) (from Ch. 48, par. 1602)
    Sec. 2. Policy. It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to grant public employees full freedom of association, self‑organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours and other conditions of employment or other mutual aid or protection.
    It is the purpose of this Act to regulate labor relations between public employers and employees, including the designation of employee representatives, negotiation of wages, hours and other conditions of employment, and resolution of disputes arising under collective bargaining agreements.
    It is the purpose of this Act to prescribe the legitimate rights of both public employees and public employers, to protect the public health and safety of the citizens of Illinois, and to provide peaceful and orderly procedures for protection of the rights of all. To prevent labor strife and to protect the public health and safety of the citizens of Illinois, all collective bargaining disputes involving persons designated by the Board as performing essential services and those persons defined herein as security employees shall be submitted to impartial arbitrators, who shall be authorized to issue awards in order to resolve such disputes. It is the public policy of the State of Illinois that where the right of employees to strike is prohibited by law, it is necessary to afford an alternate, expeditious, equitable and effective procedure for the resolution of labor disputes subject to approval procedures mandated by this Act. To that end, the provisions for such awards shall be liberally construed.
(Source: P.A. 83‑1012.)

    (5 ILCS 315/2.5)
    Sec. 2.5. Findings and declarations; court reporters. The General Assembly finds and declares:
    (1) It is the public policy of the State of Illinois and the intent of the General Assembly that State employees, including the Illinois official certified court reporters, are granted collective bargaining rights as provided in this Act.
    (2) The Illinois Supreme Court in the case of AOIC v. Teamsters 726 ruled that the Illinois Public Labor Relations Board could not assert jurisdiction over the Illinois official certified court reporters because the Supreme Court is their co‑employer together with the Chief Judges of each judicial circuit.
    (3) As a result of the Supreme Court's decision, the Illinois official certified court reporters have been denied the labor rights afforded all other State employees, including the rights to organize, to obtain recognition of their chosen collective bargaining representative, and to negotiate with respect to the wages, terms, and conditions of their employment.
    (4) The General Assembly intends to create a statutory framework to allow Illinois official court reporters to enjoy the same collective bargaining and other labor rights granted to other public employees.
    (5) Senate Resolution 431 and House Resolution 706, both of the 92nd General Assembly, were adopted, and in enacting this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, the General Assembly is implementing the intent of those resolutions.
(Source: P.A. 94‑98, eff. 7‑1‑05.)

    (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. 95‑331, eff. 8‑21‑07; 96‑1257, eff. 7‑23‑10.)

    (5 ILCS 315/4)(from Ch. 48, par. 1604)
    Sec. 4. Management Rights. Employers shall not be required to bargain over matters of inherent managerial policy, which shall include such areas of discretion or policy as the functions of the employer, standards of services, its overall budget, the organizational structure and selection of new employees, examination techniques and direction of employees. Employers, however, shall be required to bargain collectively with regard to policy matters directly affecting wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment as well as the impact thereon upon request by employee representatives.
    To preserve the rights of employers and exclusive representatives which have established collective bargaining relationships or negotiated collective bargaining agreements prior to the effective date of this Act, employers shall be required to bargain collectively with regard to any matter concerning wages, hours or conditions of employment about which they have bargained for and agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement prior to the effective date of this Act.
    The chief judge of the judicial circuit that employs a public employee who is a court reporter, as defined in the Court Reporters Act, has the authority to hire, appoint, promote, evaluate, discipline, and discharge court reporters within that judicial circuit.
    Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly shall be construed to intrude upon the judicial functions of any court. This amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly applies only to nonjudicial administrative matters relating to the collective bargaining rights of court reporters.
(Source: P.A. 94‑98, eff. 7‑1‑05.)

    (5 ILCS 315/5)(from Ch. 48, par. 1605)
    Sec. 5. Illinois Labor Relations Board; State Panel; Local Panel.
    (a) There is created the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The Board shall be comprised of 2 panels, to be known as the State Panel and the Local Panel.
    (a‑5) The State Panel shall have jurisdiction over collective bargaining matters between employee organizations and the State of Illinois, excluding the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, between employee organizations and units of local government and school districts with a population not in excess of 2 million persons, and between employee organizations and the Regional Transportation Authority.
    The State Panel shall consist of 5 members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint to the State Panel only persons who have had a minimum of 5 years of experience directly related to labor and employment relations in representing public employers, private employers or labor organizations; or teaching labor or employment relations; or administering executive orders or regulations applicable to labor or employment relations. At the time of his or her appointment, each member of the State Panel shall be an Illinois resident. The Governor shall designate one member to serve as the Chairman of the State Panel and the Board.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the term of each member of the State Panel who was appointed by the Governor and is in office on June 30, 2003 shall terminate at the close of business on that date or when all of the successor members to be appointed pursuant to this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly have been appointed by the Governor, whichever occurs later. As soon as possible, the Governor shall appoint persons to fill the vacancies created by this amendatory Act.
    The initial appointments under this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly shall be for terms as follows: The Chairman shall initially be appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2007; 2 members shall be initially appointed for terms ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2006; one member shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2005; and one member shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2004. Each subsequent member shall be appointed for a term of 4 years, commencing on the 4th Monday in January. Upon expiration of the term of office of any appointive member, that member shall continue to serve until a successor shall be appointed and qualified. In case of a vacancy, a successor shall be appointed to serve for the unexpired portion of the term. If the Senate is not in session at the time the initial appointments are made, the Governor shall make temporary appointments in the same manner successors are appointed to fill vacancies. A temporary appointment shall remain in effect no longer than 20 calendar days after the commencement of the next Senate session.
    (b) The Local Panel shall have jurisdiction over collective bargaining agreement matters between employee organizations and units of local government with a population in excess of 2 million persons, but excluding the Regional Transportation Authority.
    The Local Panel shall consist of one person appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate (or, if no such person is appointed, the Chairman of the State Panel) and two additional members, one appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago and one appointed by the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Appointees to the Local Panel must have had a minimum of 5 years of experience directly related to labor and employment relations in representing public employers, private employers or labor organizations; or teaching labor or employment relations; or administering executive orders or regulations applicable to labor or employment relations. Each member of the Local Panel shall be an Illinois resident at the time of his or her appointment. The member appointed by the Governor (or, if no such person is appointed, the Chairman of the State Panel) shall serve as the Chairman of the Local Panel.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the term of the member of the Local Panel who was appointed by the Governor and is in office on June 30, 2003 shall terminate at the close of business on that date or when his or her successor has been appointed by the Governor, whichever occurs later. As soon as possible, the Governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy created by this amendatory Act. The initial appointment under this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly shall be for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2007.
    The initial appointments under this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly shall be for terms as follows: The member appointed by the Governor shall initially be appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2001; the member appointed by the President of the Cook County Board shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2003; and the member appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2004. Each subsequent member shall be appointed for a term of 4 years, commencing on the 4th Monday in January. Upon expiration of the term of office of any appointive member, the member shall continue to serve until a successor shall be appointed and qualified. In the case of a vacancy, a successor shall be appointed by the applicable appointive authority to serve for the unexpired portion of the term.
    (c) Three members of the State Panel shall at all times constitute a quorum. Two members of the Local Panel shall at all times constitute a quorum. A vacancy on a panel does not impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all of the powers of that panel. Each panel shall adopt an official seal which shall be judicially noticed. The salary of the Chairman of the State Panel shall be $82,429 per year, or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater, and that of the other members of the State and Local Panels shall be $74,188 per year, or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater.
    (d) Each member shall devote his or her entire time to the duties of the office, and shall hold no other office or position of profit, nor engage in any other business, employment, or vocation. No member shall hold any other public office or be employed as a labor or management representative by the State or any political subdivision of the State or of any department or agency thereof, or actively represent or act on behalf of an employer or an employee organization or an employer in labor relations matters. Any member of the State Panel may be removed from office by the Governor for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misconduct or malfeasance in office, and for no other cause, and only upon notice and hearing. Any member of the Local Panel may be removed from office by the applicable appointive authority for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misconduct or malfeasance in office, and for no other cause, and only upon notice and hearing.
    (e) Each panel at the end of every State fiscal year shall make a report in writing to the Governor and the General Assembly, stating in detail the work it has done in hearing and deciding cases and otherwise.
    (f) In order to accomplish the objectives and carry out the duties prescribed by this Act, a panel or its authorized designees may hold elections to determine whether a labor organization has majority status; investigate and attempt to resolve or settle charges of unfair labor practices; hold hearings in order to carry out its functions; develop and effectuate appropriate impasse resolution procedures for purposes of resolving labor disputes; require the appearance of witnesses and the production of evidence on any matter under inquiry; and administer oaths and affirmations. The panels shall sign and report in full an opinion in every case which they decide.
    (g) Each panel may appoint or employ an executive director, attorneys, hearing officers, mediators, fact‑finders, arbitrators, and such other employees as it may deem necessary to perform its functions. The governing boards shall prescribe the duties and qualifications of such persons appointed and, subject to the annual appropriation, fix their compensation and provide for reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The Board shall employ a minimum of 16 attorneys and 6 investigators.
    (h) Each panel shall exercise general supervision over all attorneys which it employs and over the other persons employed to provide necessary support services for such attorneys. The panels shall have final authority in respect to complaints brought pursuant to this Act.
    (i) The following rules and regulations shall be adopted by the panels meeting in joint session: (1) procedural rules and regulations which shall govern all Board proceedings; (2) procedures for election of exclusive bargaining representatives pursuant to Section 9, except for the determination of appropriate bargaining units; and (3) appointment of counsel pursuant to subsection (k) of this Section.
    (j) Rules and regulations may be adopted, amended or rescinded only upon a vote of 5 of the members of the State and Local Panels meeting in joint session. The adoption, amendment or rescission of rules and regulations shall be in conformity with the requirements of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
    (k) The panels in joint session shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for the appointment of attorneys or other Board representatives to represent persons in unfair labor practice proceedings before a panel. The regulations governing appointment shall require the applicant to demonstrate an inability to pay for or inability to otherwise provide for adequate representation before a panel. Such rules must also provide: (1) that an attorney may not be appointed in cases which, in the opinion of a panel, are clearly without merit; (2) the stage of the unfair labor proceeding at which counsel will be appointed; and (3) the circumstances under which a client will be allowed to select counsel.
    (1) The panels in joint session may promulgate rules and regulations which allow parties in proceedings before a panel to be represented by counsel or any other representative of the party's choice.
    (m) The Chairman of the State Panel shall serve as Chairman of a joint session of the panels. Attendance of at least 2 members of the State Panel and at least one member of the Local Panel, in addition to the Chairman, shall constitute a quorum at a joint session. The panels shall meet in joint session at least annually.
(Source: P.A. 96‑813, eff. 10‑30‑09.)

    (5 ILCS 315/5.1)
    Sec. 5.1. Dissolution of Illinois State Labor Relations Board and Illinois Local Labor Relations Board; transfer and savings provisions.
    (a) The Illinois State Labor Relations Board is dissolved. The State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, created by this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, shall succeed to all of the powers, duties, rights, and property, including contractual rights and obligations, of the Illinois State Labor Relations Board. Rules, procedures, and decisions of the Illinois State Labor Relations Board in effect at the time of its dissolution shall be deemed to be those of the State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Matters pending before the Illinois State Labor Relations Board at the time of its dissolution shall continue as matters before the State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board shall be deemed successor in interest to the Illinois State Labor Relations Board for the purposes of any pending litigation.
    (b) The Illinois Local Labor Relations Board is dissolved. The Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, created by this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, shall succeed to all of the powers, duties, rights, and property, including contractual rights and obligations, of the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board. Rules, procedures, and decisions of the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board in effect at the time of its dissolution shall be deemed to be those of the Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Matters pending before the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board at the time of its dissolution shall continue as matters before the Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board shall be deemed successor in interest to the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board for the purposes of any pending litigation.
    (c) Rules and procedures adopted jointly by the Illinois State Labor Relations Board and the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board that are in effect at the time of the dissolution of those Boards shall be deemed to have been adopted jointly by the State and Local Panels of the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
    (d) Fiscal Year 2000 appropriations to the Illinois State Labor Relations Board and the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board may be expended by the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
    (e) Persons employed by the Illinois State Labor Relations Board or the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board on the date of the dissolution of those Boards shall thereupon become employees, respectively, of the State Panel or the Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, without loss of seniority or accrued benefits.
(Source: P.A. 91‑798, eff. 7‑9‑00.)

    (5 ILCS 315/6)(from Ch. 48, par. 1606)
    Sec. 6. Right to organize and bargain collectively; exclusive representation; and fair share arrangements.
    (a) Employees of the State and any political subdivision of the State, excluding employees of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, have, and are protected in the exercise of, the right of self‑organization, and may form, join or assist any labor organization, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing on questions of wages, hours and other conditions of employment, not excluded by Section 4 of this Act, and to engage in other concerted activities not otherwise prohibited by law for the purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, free from interference, restraint or coercion. Employees also have, and are protected in the exercise of, the right to refrain from participating in any such concerted activities. Employees may be required, pursuant to the terms of a lawful fair share agreement, to pay a fee which shall be their proportionate share of the costs of the collective bargaining process, contract administration and pursuing matters affecting wages, hours and other conditions of employment as defined in Section 3(g).
    (b) Nothing in this Act prevents an employee from presenting a grievance to the employer and having the grievance heard and settled without the intervention of an employee organization; provided that the exclusive bargaining representative is afforded the opportunity to be present at such conference and that any settlement made shall not be inconsistent with the terms of any agreement in effect between the employer and the exclusive bargaining representative.
    (c) A labor organization designated by the Board as the representative of the majority of public employees in an appropriate unit in accordance with the procedures herein or recognized by a public employer as the representative of the majority of public employees in an appropriate unit is the exclusive representative for the employees of such unit for the purpose of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours and other conditions of employment not excluded by Section 4 of this Act. A public employer is required upon request to furnish the exclusive bargaining representative with a complete list of the names and addresses of the public employees in the bargaining unit, provided that a public employer shall not be required to furnish such a list more than once per payroll period. The exclusive bargaining representative shall use the list exclusively for bargaining representation purposes and shall not disclose any information contained in the list for any other purpose. Nothing in this Section, however, shall prohibit a bargaining representative from disseminating a list of its union members.
    (d) Labor organizations recognized by a public employer as the exclusive representative or so designated in accordance with the provisions of this Act are responsible for representing the interests of all public employees in the unit. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit an exclusive representative's right to exercise its discretion to refuse to process grievances of employees that are unmeritorious.
    (e) When a collective bargaining agreement is entered into with an exclusive representative, it may include in the agreement a provision requiring employees covered by the agreement who are not members of the organization to pay their proportionate share of the costs of the collective bargaining process, contract administration and pursuing matters affecting wages, hours and conditions of employment, as defined in Section 3 (g), but not to exceed the amount of dues uniformly required of members. The organization shall certify to the employer the amount constituting each nonmember employee's proportionate share which shall not exceed dues uniformly required of members. In such case, the proportionate share payment in this Section shall be deducted by the employer from the earnings of the nonmember employees and paid to the employee organization.
    (f) Only the exclusive representative may negotiate provisions in a collective bargaining agreement providing for the payroll deduction of labor organization dues, fair share payment, initiation fees and assessments. Except as provided in subsection (e) of this Section, any such deductions shall only be made upon an employee's written authorization, and continued until revo

State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Illinois > Chapter5 > 108

    (5 ILCS 315/1) (from Ch. 48, par. 1601)
    Sec. 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Illinois Public Labor Relations Act".
(Source: P.A. 83‑1012.)

    (5 ILCS 315/2) (from Ch. 48, par. 1602)
    Sec. 2. Policy. It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to grant public employees full freedom of association, self‑organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours and other conditions of employment or other mutual aid or protection.
    It is the purpose of this Act to regulate labor relations between public employers and employees, including the designation of employee representatives, negotiation of wages, hours and other conditions of employment, and resolution of disputes arising under collective bargaining agreements.
    It is the purpose of this Act to prescribe the legitimate rights of both public employees and public employers, to protect the public health and safety of the citizens of Illinois, and to provide peaceful and orderly procedures for protection of the rights of all. To prevent labor strife and to protect the public health and safety of the citizens of Illinois, all collective bargaining disputes involving persons designated by the Board as performing essential services and those persons defined herein as security employees shall be submitted to impartial arbitrators, who shall be authorized to issue awards in order to resolve such disputes. It is the public policy of the State of Illinois that where the right of employees to strike is prohibited by law, it is necessary to afford an alternate, expeditious, equitable and effective procedure for the resolution of labor disputes subject to approval procedures mandated by this Act. To that end, the provisions for such awards shall be liberally construed.
(Source: P.A. 83‑1012.)

    (5 ILCS 315/2.5)
    Sec. 2.5. Findings and declarations; court reporters. The General Assembly finds and declares:
    (1) It is the public policy of the State of Illinois and the intent of the General Assembly that State employees, including the Illinois official certified court reporters, are granted collective bargaining rights as provided in this Act.
    (2) The Illinois Supreme Court in the case of AOIC v. Teamsters 726 ruled that the Illinois Public Labor Relations Board could not assert jurisdiction over the Illinois official certified court reporters because the Supreme Court is their co‑employer together with the Chief Judges of each judicial circuit.
    (3) As a result of the Supreme Court's decision, the Illinois official certified court reporters have been denied the labor rights afforded all other State employees, including the rights to organize, to obtain recognition of their chosen collective bargaining representative, and to negotiate with respect to the wages, terms, and conditions of their employment.
    (4) The General Assembly intends to create a statutory framework to allow Illinois official court reporters to enjoy the same collective bargaining and other labor rights granted to other public employees.
    (5) Senate Resolution 431 and House Resolution 706, both of the 92nd General Assembly, were adopted, and in enacting this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, the General Assembly is implementing the intent of those resolutions.
(Source: P.A. 94‑98, eff. 7‑1‑05.)

    (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. 95‑331, eff. 8‑21‑07; 96‑1257, eff. 7‑23‑10.)

    (5 ILCS 315/4)(from Ch. 48, par. 1604)
    Sec. 4. Management Rights. Employers shall not be required to bargain over matters of inherent managerial policy, which shall include such areas of discretion or policy as the functions of the employer, standards of services, its overall budget, the organizational structure and selection of new employees, examination techniques and direction of employees. Employers, however, shall be required to bargain collectively with regard to policy matters directly affecting wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment as well as the impact thereon upon request by employee representatives.
    To preserve the rights of employers and exclusive representatives which have established collective bargaining relationships or negotiated collective bargaining agreements prior to the effective date of this Act, employers shall be required to bargain collectively with regard to any matter concerning wages, hours or conditions of employment about which they have bargained for and agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement prior to the effective date of this Act.
    The chief judge of the judicial circuit that employs a public employee who is a court reporter, as defined in the Court Reporters Act, has the authority to hire, appoint, promote, evaluate, discipline, and discharge court reporters within that judicial circuit.
    Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly shall be construed to intrude upon the judicial functions of any court. This amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly applies only to nonjudicial administrative matters relating to the collective bargaining rights of court reporters.
(Source: P.A. 94‑98, eff. 7‑1‑05.)

    (5 ILCS 315/5)(from Ch. 48, par. 1605)
    Sec. 5. Illinois Labor Relations Board; State Panel; Local Panel.
    (a) There is created the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The Board shall be comprised of 2 panels, to be known as the State Panel and the Local Panel.
    (a‑5) The State Panel shall have jurisdiction over collective bargaining matters between employee organizations and the State of Illinois, excluding the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, between employee organizations and units of local government and school districts with a population not in excess of 2 million persons, and between employee organizations and the Regional Transportation Authority.
    The State Panel shall consist of 5 members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint to the State Panel only persons who have had a minimum of 5 years of experience directly related to labor and employment relations in representing public employers, private employers or labor organizations; or teaching labor or employment relations; or administering executive orders or regulations applicable to labor or employment relations. At the time of his or her appointment, each member of the State Panel shall be an Illinois resident. The Governor shall designate one member to serve as the Chairman of the State Panel and the Board.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the term of each member of the State Panel who was appointed by the Governor and is in office on June 30, 2003 shall terminate at the close of business on that date or when all of the successor members to be appointed pursuant to this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly have been appointed by the Governor, whichever occurs later. As soon as possible, the Governor shall appoint persons to fill the vacancies created by this amendatory Act.
    The initial appointments under this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly shall be for terms as follows: The Chairman shall initially be appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2007; 2 members shall be initially appointed for terms ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2006; one member shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2005; and one member shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2004. Each subsequent member shall be appointed for a term of 4 years, commencing on the 4th Monday in January. Upon expiration of the term of office of any appointive member, that member shall continue to serve until a successor shall be appointed and qualified. In case of a vacancy, a successor shall be appointed to serve for the unexpired portion of the term. If the Senate is not in session at the time the initial appointments are made, the Governor shall make temporary appointments in the same manner successors are appointed to fill vacancies. A temporary appointment shall remain in effect no longer than 20 calendar days after the commencement of the next Senate session.
    (b) The Local Panel shall have jurisdiction over collective bargaining agreement matters between employee organizations and units of local government with a population in excess of 2 million persons, but excluding the Regional Transportation Authority.
    The Local Panel shall consist of one person appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate (or, if no such person is appointed, the Chairman of the State Panel) and two additional members, one appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago and one appointed by the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Appointees to the Local Panel must have had a minimum of 5 years of experience directly related to labor and employment relations in representing public employers, private employers or labor organizations; or teaching labor or employment relations; or administering executive orders or regulations applicable to labor or employment relations. Each member of the Local Panel shall be an Illinois resident at the time of his or her appointment. The member appointed by the Governor (or, if no such person is appointed, the Chairman of the State Panel) shall serve as the Chairman of the Local Panel.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the term of the member of the Local Panel who was appointed by the Governor and is in office on June 30, 2003 shall terminate at the close of business on that date or when his or her successor has been appointed by the Governor, whichever occurs later. As soon as possible, the Governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy created by this amendatory Act. The initial appointment under this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly shall be for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2007.
    The initial appointments under this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly shall be for terms as follows: The member appointed by the Governor shall initially be appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2001; the member appointed by the President of the Cook County Board shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2003; and the member appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2004. Each subsequent member shall be appointed for a term of 4 years, commencing on the 4th Monday in January. Upon expiration of the term of office of any appointive member, the member shall continue to serve until a successor shall be appointed and qualified. In the case of a vacancy, a successor shall be appointed by the applicable appointive authority to serve for the unexpired portion of the term.
    (c) Three members of the State Panel shall at all times constitute a quorum. Two members of the Local Panel shall at all times constitute a quorum. A vacancy on a panel does not impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all of the powers of that panel. Each panel shall adopt an official seal which shall be judicially noticed. The salary of the Chairman of the State Panel shall be $82,429 per year, or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater, and that of the other members of the State and Local Panels shall be $74,188 per year, or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater.
    (d) Each member shall devote his or her entire time to the duties of the office, and shall hold no other office or position of profit, nor engage in any other business, employment, or vocation. No member shall hold any other public office or be employed as a labor or management representative by the State or any political subdivision of the State or of any department or agency thereof, or actively represent or act on behalf of an employer or an employee organization or an employer in labor relations matters. Any member of the State Panel may be removed from office by the Governor for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misconduct or malfeasance in office, and for no other cause, and only upon notice and hearing. Any member of the Local Panel may be removed from office by the applicable appointive authority for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misconduct or malfeasance in office, and for no other cause, and only upon notice and hearing.
    (e) Each panel at the end of every State fiscal year shall make a report in writing to the Governor and the General Assembly, stating in detail the work it has done in hearing and deciding cases and otherwise.
    (f) In order to accomplish the objectives and carry out the duties prescribed by this Act, a panel or its authorized designees may hold elections to determine whether a labor organization has majority status; investigate and attempt to resolve or settle charges of unfair labor practices; hold hearings in order to carry out its functions; develop and effectuate appropriate impasse resolution procedures for purposes of resolving labor disputes; require the appearance of witnesses and the production of evidence on any matter under inquiry; and administer oaths and affirmations. The panels shall sign and report in full an opinion in every case which they decide.
    (g) Each panel may appoint or employ an executive director, attorneys, hearing officers, mediators, fact‑finders, arbitrators, and such other employees as it may deem necessary to perform its functions. The governing boards shall prescribe the duties and qualifications of such persons appointed and, subject to the annual appropriation, fix their compensation and provide for reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The Board shall employ a minimum of 16 attorneys and 6 investigators.
    (h) Each panel shall exercise general supervision over all attorneys which it employs and over the other persons employed to provide necessary support services for such attorneys. The panels shall have final authority in respect to complaints brought pursuant to this Act.
    (i) The following rules and regulations shall be adopted by the panels meeting in joint session: (1) procedural rules and regulations which shall govern all Board proceedings; (2) procedures for election of exclusive bargaining representatives pursuant to Section 9, except for the determination of appropriate bargaining units; and (3) appointment of counsel pursuant to subsection (k) of this Section.
    (j) Rules and regulations may be adopted, amended or rescinded only upon a vote of 5 of the members of the State and Local Panels meeting in joint session. The adoption, amendment or rescission of rules and regulations shall be in conformity with the requirements of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
    (k) The panels in joint session shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for the appointment of attorneys or other Board representatives to represent persons in unfair labor practice proceedings before a panel. The regulations governing appointment shall require the applicant to demonstrate an inability to pay for or inability to otherwise provide for adequate representation before a panel. Such rules must also provide: (1) that an attorney may not be appointed in cases which, in the opinion of a panel, are clearly without merit; (2) the stage of the unfair labor proceeding at which counsel will be appointed; and (3) the circumstances under which a client will be allowed to select counsel.
    (1) The panels in joint session may promulgate rules and regulations which allow parties in proceedings before a panel to be represented by counsel or any other representative of the party's choice.
    (m) The Chairman of the State Panel shall serve as Chairman of a joint session of the panels. Attendance of at least 2 members of the State Panel and at least one member of the Local Panel, in addition to the Chairman, shall constitute a quorum at a joint session. The panels shall meet in joint session at least annually.
(Source: P.A. 96‑813, eff. 10‑30‑09.)

    (5 ILCS 315/5.1)
    Sec. 5.1. Dissolution of Illinois State Labor Relations Board and Illinois Local Labor Relations Board; transfer and savings provisions.
    (a) The Illinois State Labor Relations Board is dissolved. The State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, created by this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, shall succeed to all of the powers, duties, rights, and property, including contractual rights and obligations, of the Illinois State Labor Relations Board. Rules, procedures, and decisions of the Illinois State Labor Relations Board in effect at the time of its dissolution shall be deemed to be those of the State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Matters pending before the Illinois State Labor Relations Board at the time of its dissolution shall continue as matters before the State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board shall be deemed successor in interest to the Illinois State Labor Relations Board for the purposes of any pending litigation.
    (b) The Illinois Local Labor Relations Board is dissolved. The Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, created by this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, shall succeed to all of the powers, duties, rights, and property, including contractual rights and obligations, of the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board. Rules, procedures, and decisions of the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board in effect at the time of its dissolution shall be deemed to be those of the Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Matters pending before the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board at the time of its dissolution shall continue as matters before the Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board shall be deemed successor in interest to the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board for the purposes of any pending litigation.
    (c) Rules and procedures adopted jointly by the Illinois State Labor Relations Board and the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board that are in effect at the time of the dissolution of those Boards shall be deemed to have been adopted jointly by the State and Local Panels of the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
    (d) Fiscal Year 2000 appropriations to the Illinois State Labor Relations Board and the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board may be expended by the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
    (e) Persons employed by the Illinois State Labor Relations Board or the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board on the date of the dissolution of those Boards shall thereupon become employees, respectively, of the State Panel or the Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, without loss of seniority or accrued benefits.
(Source: P.A. 91‑798, eff. 7‑9‑00.)

    (5 ILCS 315/6)(from Ch. 48, par. 1606)
    Sec. 6. Right to organize and bargain collectively; exclusive representation; and fair share arrangements.
    (a) Employees of the State and any political subdivision of the State, excluding employees of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, have, and are protected in the exercise of, the right of self‑organization, and may form, join or assist any labor organization, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing on questions of wages, hours and other conditions of employment, not excluded by Section 4 of this Act, and to engage in other concerted activities not otherwise prohibited by law for the purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, free from interference, restraint or coercion. Employees also have, and are protected in the exercise of, the right to refrain from participating in any such concerted activities. Employees may be required, pursuant to the terms of a lawful fair share agreement, to pay a fee which shall be their proportionate share of the costs of the collective bargaining process, contract administration and pursuing matters affecting wages, hours and other conditions of employment as defined in Section 3(g).
    (b) Nothing in this Act prevents an employee from presenting a grievance to the employer and having the grievance heard and settled without the intervention of an employee organization; provided that the exclusive bargaining representative is afforded the opportunity to be present at such conference and that any settlement made shall not be inconsistent with the terms of any agreement in effect between the employer and the exclusive bargaining representative.
    (c) A labor organization designated by the Board as the representative of the majority of public employees in an appropriate unit in accordance with the procedures herein or recognized by a public employer as the representative of the majority of public employees in an appropriate unit is the exclusive representative for the employees of such unit for the purpose of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours and other conditions of employment not excluded by Section 4 of this Act. A public employer is required upon request to furnish the exclusive bargaining representative with a complete list of the names and addresses of the public employees in the bargaining unit, provided that a public employer shall not be required to furnish such a list more than once per payroll period. The exclusive bargaining representative shall use the list exclusively for bargaining representation purposes and shall not disclose any information contained in the list for any other purpose. Nothing in this Section, however, shall prohibit a bargaining representative from disseminating a list of its union members.
    (d) Labor organizations recognized by a public employer as the exclusive representative or so designated in accordance with the provisions of this Act are responsible for representing the interests of all public employees in the unit. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit an exclusive representative's right to exercise its discretion to refuse to process grievances of employees that are unmeritorious.
    (e) When a collective bargaining agreement is entered into with an exclusive representative, it may include in the agreement a provision requiring employees covered by the agreement who are not members of the organization to pay their proportionate share of the costs of the collective bargaining process, contract administration and pursuing matters affecting wages, hours and conditions of employment, as defined in Section 3 (g), but not to exceed the amount of dues uniformly required of members. The organization shall certify to the employer the amount constituting each nonmember employee's proportionate share which shall not exceed dues uniformly required of members. In such case, the proportionate share payment in this Section shall be deducted by the employer from the earnings of the nonmember employees and paid to the employee organization.
    (f) Only the exclusive representative may negotiate provisions in a collective bargaining agreement providing for the payroll deduction of labor organization dues, fair share payment, initiation fees and assessments. Except as provided in subsection (e) of this Section, any such deductions shall only be made upon an employee's written authorization, and continued until revo

State Codes and Statutes

State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Illinois > Chapter5 > 108

    (5 ILCS 315/1) (from Ch. 48, par. 1601)
    Sec. 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Illinois Public Labor Relations Act".
(Source: P.A. 83‑1012.)

    (5 ILCS 315/2) (from Ch. 48, par. 1602)
    Sec. 2. Policy. It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to grant public employees full freedom of association, self‑organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours and other conditions of employment or other mutual aid or protection.
    It is the purpose of this Act to regulate labor relations between public employers and employees, including the designation of employee representatives, negotiation of wages, hours and other conditions of employment, and resolution of disputes arising under collective bargaining agreements.
    It is the purpose of this Act to prescribe the legitimate rights of both public employees and public employers, to protect the public health and safety of the citizens of Illinois, and to provide peaceful and orderly procedures for protection of the rights of all. To prevent labor strife and to protect the public health and safety of the citizens of Illinois, all collective bargaining disputes involving persons designated by the Board as performing essential services and those persons defined herein as security employees shall be submitted to impartial arbitrators, who shall be authorized to issue awards in order to resolve such disputes. It is the public policy of the State of Illinois that where the right of employees to strike is prohibited by law, it is necessary to afford an alternate, expeditious, equitable and effective procedure for the resolution of labor disputes subject to approval procedures mandated by this Act. To that end, the provisions for such awards shall be liberally construed.
(Source: P.A. 83‑1012.)

    (5 ILCS 315/2.5)
    Sec. 2.5. Findings and declarations; court reporters. The General Assembly finds and declares:
    (1) It is the public policy of the State of Illinois and the intent of the General Assembly that State employees, including the Illinois official certified court reporters, are granted collective bargaining rights as provided in this Act.
    (2) The Illinois Supreme Court in the case of AOIC v. Teamsters 726 ruled that the Illinois Public Labor Relations Board could not assert jurisdiction over the Illinois official certified court reporters because the Supreme Court is their co‑employer together with the Chief Judges of each judicial circuit.
    (3) As a result of the Supreme Court's decision, the Illinois official certified court reporters have been denied the labor rights afforded all other State employees, including the rights to organize, to obtain recognition of their chosen collective bargaining representative, and to negotiate with respect to the wages, terms, and conditions of their employment.
    (4) The General Assembly intends to create a statutory framework to allow Illinois official court reporters to enjoy the same collective bargaining and other labor rights granted to other public employees.
    (5) Senate Resolution 431 and House Resolution 706, both of the 92nd General Assembly, were adopted, and in enacting this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, the General Assembly is implementing the intent of those resolutions.
(Source: P.A. 94‑98, eff. 7‑1‑05.)

    (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. 95‑331, eff. 8‑21‑07; 96‑1257, eff. 7‑23‑10.)

    (5 ILCS 315/4)(from Ch. 48, par. 1604)
    Sec. 4. Management Rights. Employers shall not be required to bargain over matters of inherent managerial policy, which shall include such areas of discretion or policy as the functions of the employer, standards of services, its overall budget, the organizational structure and selection of new employees, examination techniques and direction of employees. Employers, however, shall be required to bargain collectively with regard to policy matters directly affecting wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment as well as the impact thereon upon request by employee representatives.
    To preserve the rights of employers and exclusive representatives which have established collective bargaining relationships or negotiated collective bargaining agreements prior to the effective date of this Act, employers shall be required to bargain collectively with regard to any matter concerning wages, hours or conditions of employment about which they have bargained for and agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement prior to the effective date of this Act.
    The chief judge of the judicial circuit that employs a public employee who is a court reporter, as defined in the Court Reporters Act, has the authority to hire, appoint, promote, evaluate, discipline, and discharge court reporters within that judicial circuit.
    Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly shall be construed to intrude upon the judicial functions of any court. This amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly applies only to nonjudicial administrative matters relating to the collective bargaining rights of court reporters.
(Source: P.A. 94‑98, eff. 7‑1‑05.)

    (5 ILCS 315/5)(from Ch. 48, par. 1605)
    Sec. 5. Illinois Labor Relations Board; State Panel; Local Panel.
    (a) There is created the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The Board shall be comprised of 2 panels, to be known as the State Panel and the Local Panel.
    (a‑5) The State Panel shall have jurisdiction over collective bargaining matters between employee organizations and the State of Illinois, excluding the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, between employee organizations and units of local government and school districts with a population not in excess of 2 million persons, and between employee organizations and the Regional Transportation Authority.
    The State Panel shall consist of 5 members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint to the State Panel only persons who have had a minimum of 5 years of experience directly related to labor and employment relations in representing public employers, private employers or labor organizations; or teaching labor or employment relations; or administering executive orders or regulations applicable to labor or employment relations. At the time of his or her appointment, each member of the State Panel shall be an Illinois resident. The Governor shall designate one member to serve as the Chairman of the State Panel and the Board.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the term of each member of the State Panel who was appointed by the Governor and is in office on June 30, 2003 shall terminate at the close of business on that date or when all of the successor members to be appointed pursuant to this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly have been appointed by the Governor, whichever occurs later. As soon as possible, the Governor shall appoint persons to fill the vacancies created by this amendatory Act.
    The initial appointments under this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly shall be for terms as follows: The Chairman shall initially be appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2007; 2 members shall be initially appointed for terms ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2006; one member shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2005; and one member shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2004. Each subsequent member shall be appointed for a term of 4 years, commencing on the 4th Monday in January. Upon expiration of the term of office of any appointive member, that member shall continue to serve until a successor shall be appointed and qualified. In case of a vacancy, a successor shall be appointed to serve for the unexpired portion of the term. If the Senate is not in session at the time the initial appointments are made, the Governor shall make temporary appointments in the same manner successors are appointed to fill vacancies. A temporary appointment shall remain in effect no longer than 20 calendar days after the commencement of the next Senate session.
    (b) The Local Panel shall have jurisdiction over collective bargaining agreement matters between employee organizations and units of local government with a population in excess of 2 million persons, but excluding the Regional Transportation Authority.
    The Local Panel shall consist of one person appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate (or, if no such person is appointed, the Chairman of the State Panel) and two additional members, one appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago and one appointed by the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Appointees to the Local Panel must have had a minimum of 5 years of experience directly related to labor and employment relations in representing public employers, private employers or labor organizations; or teaching labor or employment relations; or administering executive orders or regulations applicable to labor or employment relations. Each member of the Local Panel shall be an Illinois resident at the time of his or her appointment. The member appointed by the Governor (or, if no such person is appointed, the Chairman of the State Panel) shall serve as the Chairman of the Local Panel.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the term of the member of the Local Panel who was appointed by the Governor and is in office on June 30, 2003 shall terminate at the close of business on that date or when his or her successor has been appointed by the Governor, whichever occurs later. As soon as possible, the Governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy created by this amendatory Act. The initial appointment under this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly shall be for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2007.
    The initial appointments under this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly shall be for terms as follows: The member appointed by the Governor shall initially be appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2001; the member appointed by the President of the Cook County Board shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2003; and the member appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago shall be initially appointed for a term ending on the 4th Monday in January, 2004. Each subsequent member shall be appointed for a term of 4 years, commencing on the 4th Monday in January. Upon expiration of the term of office of any appointive member, the member shall continue to serve until a successor shall be appointed and qualified. In the case of a vacancy, a successor shall be appointed by the applicable appointive authority to serve for the unexpired portion of the term.
    (c) Three members of the State Panel shall at all times constitute a quorum. Two members of the Local Panel shall at all times constitute a quorum. A vacancy on a panel does not impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all of the powers of that panel. Each panel shall adopt an official seal which shall be judicially noticed. The salary of the Chairman of the State Panel shall be $82,429 per year, or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater, and that of the other members of the State and Local Panels shall be $74,188 per year, or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater.
    (d) Each member shall devote his or her entire time to the duties of the office, and shall hold no other office or position of profit, nor engage in any other business, employment, or vocation. No member shall hold any other public office or be employed as a labor or management representative by the State or any political subdivision of the State or of any department or agency thereof, or actively represent or act on behalf of an employer or an employee organization or an employer in labor relations matters. Any member of the State Panel may be removed from office by the Governor for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misconduct or malfeasance in office, and for no other cause, and only upon notice and hearing. Any member of the Local Panel may be removed from office by the applicable appointive authority for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misconduct or malfeasance in office, and for no other cause, and only upon notice and hearing.
    (e) Each panel at the end of every State fiscal year shall make a report in writing to the Governor and the General Assembly, stating in detail the work it has done in hearing and deciding cases and otherwise.
    (f) In order to accomplish the objectives and carry out the duties prescribed by this Act, a panel or its authorized designees may hold elections to determine whether a labor organization has majority status; investigate and attempt to resolve or settle charges of unfair labor practices; hold hearings in order to carry out its functions; develop and effectuate appropriate impasse resolution procedures for purposes of resolving labor disputes; require the appearance of witnesses and the production of evidence on any matter under inquiry; and administer oaths and affirmations. The panels shall sign and report in full an opinion in every case which they decide.
    (g) Each panel may appoint or employ an executive director, attorneys, hearing officers, mediators, fact‑finders, arbitrators, and such other employees as it may deem necessary to perform its functions. The governing boards shall prescribe the duties and qualifications of such persons appointed and, subject to the annual appropriation, fix their compensation and provide for reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The Board shall employ a minimum of 16 attorneys and 6 investigators.
    (h) Each panel shall exercise general supervision over all attorneys which it employs and over the other persons employed to provide necessary support services for such attorneys. The panels shall have final authority in respect to complaints brought pursuant to this Act.
    (i) The following rules and regulations shall be adopted by the panels meeting in joint session: (1) procedural rules and regulations which shall govern all Board proceedings; (2) procedures for election of exclusive bargaining representatives pursuant to Section 9, except for the determination of appropriate bargaining units; and (3) appointment of counsel pursuant to subsection (k) of this Section.
    (j) Rules and regulations may be adopted, amended or rescinded only upon a vote of 5 of the members of the State and Local Panels meeting in joint session. The adoption, amendment or rescission of rules and regulations shall be in conformity with the requirements of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
    (k) The panels in joint session shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for the appointment of attorneys or other Board representatives to represent persons in unfair labor practice proceedings before a panel. The regulations governing appointment shall require the applicant to demonstrate an inability to pay for or inability to otherwise provide for adequate representation before a panel. Such rules must also provide: (1) that an attorney may not be appointed in cases which, in the opinion of a panel, are clearly without merit; (2) the stage of the unfair labor proceeding at which counsel will be appointed; and (3) the circumstances under which a client will be allowed to select counsel.
    (1) The panels in joint session may promulgate rules and regulations which allow parties in proceedings before a panel to be represented by counsel or any other representative of the party's choice.
    (m) The Chairman of the State Panel shall serve as Chairman of a joint session of the panels. Attendance of at least 2 members of the State Panel and at least one member of the Local Panel, in addition to the Chairman, shall constitute a quorum at a joint session. The panels shall meet in joint session at least annually.
(Source: P.A. 96‑813, eff. 10‑30‑09.)

    (5 ILCS 315/5.1)
    Sec. 5.1. Dissolution of Illinois State Labor Relations Board and Illinois Local Labor Relations Board; transfer and savings provisions.
    (a) The Illinois State Labor Relations Board is dissolved. The State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, created by this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, shall succeed to all of the powers, duties, rights, and property, including contractual rights and obligations, of the Illinois State Labor Relations Board. Rules, procedures, and decisions of the Illinois State Labor Relations Board in effect at the time of its dissolution shall be deemed to be those of the State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Matters pending before the Illinois State Labor Relations Board at the time of its dissolution shall continue as matters before the State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board shall be deemed successor in interest to the Illinois State Labor Relations Board for the purposes of any pending litigation.
    (b) The Illinois Local Labor Relations Board is dissolved. The Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, created by this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, shall succeed to all of the powers, duties, rights, and property, including contractual rights and obligations, of the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board. Rules, procedures, and decisions of the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board in effect at the time of its dissolution shall be deemed to be those of the Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Matters pending before the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board at the time of its dissolution shall continue as matters before the Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board shall be deemed successor in interest to the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board for the purposes of any pending litigation.
    (c) Rules and procedures adopted jointly by the Illinois State Labor Relations Board and the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board that are in effect at the time of the dissolution of those Boards shall be deemed to have been adopted jointly by the State and Local Panels of the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
    (d) Fiscal Year 2000 appropriations to the Illinois State Labor Relations Board and the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board may be expended by the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
    (e) Persons employed by the Illinois State Labor Relations Board or the Illinois Local Labor Relations Board on the date of the dissolution of those Boards shall thereupon become employees, respectively, of the State Panel or the Local Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, without loss of seniority or accrued benefits.
(Source: P.A. 91‑798, eff. 7‑9‑00.)

    (5 ILCS 315/6)(from Ch. 48, par. 1606)
    Sec. 6. Right to organize and bargain collectively; exclusive representation; and fair share arrangements.
    (a) Employees of the State and any political subdivision of the State, excluding employees of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, have, and are protected in the exercise of, the right of self‑organization, and may form, join or assist any labor organization, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing on questions of wages, hours and other conditions of employment, not excluded by Section 4 of this Act, and to engage in other concerted activities not otherwise prohibited by law for the purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, free from interference, restraint or coercion. Employees also have, and are protected in the exercise of, the right to refrain from participating in any such concerted activities. Employees may be required, pursuant to the terms of a lawful fair share agreement, to pay a fee which shall be their proportionate share of the costs of the collective bargaining process, contract administration and pursuing matters affecting wages, hours and other conditions of employment as defined in Section 3(g).
    (b) Nothing in this Act prevents an employee from presenting a grievance to the employer and having the grievance heard and settled without the intervention of an employee organization; provided that the exclusive bargaining representative is afforded the opportunity to be present at such conference and that any settlement made shall not be inconsistent with the terms of any agreement in effect between the employer and the exclusive bargaining representative.
    (c) A labor organization designated by the Board as the representative of the majority of public employees in an appropriate unit in accordance with the procedures herein or recognized by a public employer as the representative of the majority of public employees in an appropriate unit is the exclusive representative for the employees of such unit for the purpose of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours and other conditions of employment not excluded by Section 4 of this Act. A public employer is required upon request to furnish the exclusive bargaining representative with a complete list of the names and addresses of the public employees in the bargaining unit, provided that a public employer shall not be required to furnish such a list more than once per payroll period. The exclusive bargaining representative shall use the list exclusively for bargaining representation purposes and shall not disclose any information contained in the list for any other purpose. Nothing in this Section, however, shall prohibit a bargaining representative from disseminating a list of its union members.
    (d) Labor organizations recognized by a public employer as the exclusive representative or so designated in accordance with the provisions of this Act are responsible for representing the interests of all public employees in the unit. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit an exclusive representative's right to exercise its discretion to refuse to process grievances of employees that are unmeritorious.
    (e) When a collective bargaining agreement is entered into with an exclusive representative, it may include in the agreement a provision requiring employees covered by the agreement who are not members of the organization to pay their proportionate share of the costs of the collective bargaining process, contract administration and pursuing matters affecting wages, hours and conditions of employment, as defined in Section 3 (g), but not to exceed the amount of dues uniformly required of members. The organization shall certify to the employer the amount constituting each nonmember employee's proportionate share which shall not exceed dues uniformly required of members. In such case, the proportionate share payment in this Section shall be deducted by the employer from the earnings of the nonmember employees and paid to the employee organization.
    (f) Only the exclusive representative may negotiate provisions in a collective bargaining agreement providing for the payroll deduction of labor organization dues, fair share payment, initiation fees and assessments. Except as provided in subsection (e) of this Section, any such deductions shall only be made upon an employee's written authorization, and continued until revo