July 21, 2023

This Week in Illinois

Illinois Chamber Veto Request: HB 2862, Temporary Laborers

The Illinois Chamber has submitted a veto request of HB 2862 which concerns the use of temporary and day laborers. Provided below is the letter sent to the Governor.

We are writing to respectfully request your veto of House Bill 2862 which interferes with the contractual agreements between day labor staffing agencies and their third-party clients. HB 2862 also unreasonably inserts itself into the wage market of temporary and day laborers with the potential consequence of reduced wages and lost employment opportunities for the nearly 650,000 workers of day labor agencies. In addition, it mandates overly punitive and litigious penalties against third party clients which will ultimately disincentivize these employers from using day labor services harming day labor workers many of whom are women and minorities.

Industries that often use day labor services such as manufacturing, construction, warehousing and distribution provide day laborers with potential permanent employment with good pay and benefits.

House Bill 2862 places an arbitrary ceiling of 90 days after which third-party clients are required to pay these workers the same wages and benefits as the lowest paid permanent employee doing similar work. This language creates uncertainty and instability in pay as it may lead to reductions in pay for temporary hires who work for more than 90 days. It also likely will lead to third party clients from continuing the employment of marginal performing day laborers who might otherwise later transition into permanent employment. Additionally, these pay and benefit requirements fail to recognize an individual’s unique skill set and experience to be considered when determining wage and benefit levels.

HB 2862 also creates an unreasonably litigious environment by allowing for an overly broad right to sue by allowing an interested party makes an allegation against a third-party client for an alleged violation of the Act. If signed into law, it essentially guarantees a right to sue letter from the Department of Labor. This occurs regardless of whether the third-party client demonstrates a cure to the alleged violation, if the Department finds the allegation unfounded or is unable to make a determination, or if the Department does not respond within a certain number of days. Thus, the language allows for no extra-judicial mediation and has little to no threshold for legal action which will lead to costly and unreasonable civil actions.

Finally, the bill language provides for punitive penalty enhancements of 200% above current law. This, coupled with the higher legal costs due to the increased litigation, will disincentivize thirdparty clients from utilizing day labor services which will also lead to a loss of employment opportunities for day labor workers.

Due to the negative impact these provisions will have on third-party clients and day labor workers, we respectfully request a veto of HB 2862. This action will show your support of an industry which provides significant employment opportunities, especially people of color and women. We appreciate your consideration.

View a copy of the letter here.

Illinois Chamber Speaks on Temporary Workers and the Gig Economy

Pluribus News published a story earlier this week detailing initiatives in state legislatures to insert new employment mandates on the gig economy, and in the case of Illinois, on the temp worker industry.

Clark Kaericher, Illinois Chamber Senior VP of Government Affairs, spoke to Pluribus News on this subject. Provided below is a relevant excerpt.

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce is urging Pritzker to veto a bill that would require businesses to pay temporary workers assigned to a job for more than 90 days the same as equivalent full-time employees. The law also would let groups that advocate for workers sue businesses that don’t comply with the state’s temporary worker protection law and increase penalties for businesses that violate it.

“Anything that creates a new private right of action is going to give us heartburn, and is going to scare away private companies from using these services,” said Clark Kaericher, senior vice president of government affairs at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.

Illinois already requires staffing agencies to give workers job details in writing and prohibits them from charging fees for required transportation, among other provisions. The law does not apply to temps engaged in “clerical” or “professional” work. 

View the full article here.

Letter of Support: Navigator CO₂ Heartland Greenway Project

Clark Kaericher, Illinois Chamber Senior VP of Government Affairs, wrote a letter of support to the County Boards of DeWitt and Sangamon County on behalf of Navigator CO₂ and the Heartland Greenway Project. Provided below is a portion of the letter.

I write today to proudly register the Illinois Chamber of Commerce’s support of the proposed Heartland Greenway project, the carbon dioxide pipeline-carbon sequestration project that will traverse five states, including parts of Sangamon County. I ask for your support of this project, as this project and others like it are critical economic development tools that will bring significant benefits to your county and our State.

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce is proud to support the premier carbon capture pipeline project spanning across the Midwest. Navigator CO₂’s Heartland Greenway operation will capture carbon emissions from over 30 ethanol facilities and transport them over a mile underground for permanent and safe storage.

The construction of such a project provides Illinois corn growers and ethanol producers with the opportunity to expand their market reach and receive a premium for their clean, renewable bioethanol. Participating ethanol facilities have the potential to increase their annual revenue gains between $20 and $40 million per plant. And rural processors who purchase corn from local farmers end up paying a premium for each bushel to supply that corn to those facilities.

The economic benefits from this large-scale clean energy operation reaches a variety of sectors. In Illinois, the capital investment for this project is estimated to be $795 million and create 3,565 employment opportunities during peak construction.

View the full letter here.

BIPA Update

Two recent court decisions in the high-profile White Castle and BNSF Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) matters have created additional uncertainty about damages in BIPA matters. The impact of these decisions will likely lead to increased settlement amounts and even more lawsuits initiated.

Tuesday, the Illinois Supreme Court denied White Castle’s petition for rehearing in the infamous Cothron case. You’ll recall that Cothron upheld damages on a per-scan basis, leading to potential of absurd liability amounts in cases of no actual harm (into the billions of dollars). This decision is now final, barring an unexpected intervention from the United States Supreme Court.

Illinois Chamber's Clark Kaericher spoke with Jim Sams of the Claims Journal right after this decision was issued. You can read the full article here.

Here’s a snippet: The Illinois Chamber of Commerce was among several business groups that filed amicus briefs urging the Supreme Court to reconsider its interpretation of when violations occur under the law. Clark Kaericher, senior vice president of government affairs for the Chamber, said White Castle is not the only business that failed to notice that the methods they were using to verify employees’ identities violated a state law. It’s not unusual for large national employers to be uninformed about the passage of “obscure state laws,” he said.

Yesterday, Clark spoke with CenterSquare once again on BIPA. View the article here.

Chamber Op-Ed: There's a stealth campaign to lure business away from Illinois. Lawmakers must halt it.

Earlier this week, Illinois Chamber Interim President and CEO Keith Staats was joined by the Greater Springfield Chamber, Chicagoland Chamber, and Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in an op-ed opposing changes to the federal perimeter rule at Raegan National Airport. Provided below is a portion of that editorial published in Crain's.

Today in Washington, D.C., the fourth phase of a multi-decade strategy to entice business from Illinois and other Midwest states using legislative stealth continues apace. Utilizing the "boiling frog" approach — moving sufficiently small to not draw attention until it is too late — hostile business interests work through their federal representatives to quietly nullify small advantages of Midwest commercial interests. In so doing, they cripple a critical component of regional air travel, which raises their odds of capturing high-value meetings and conference business.

Two troubling signs indicate these efforts are successful: the migration of corporations from less-populous areas of Illinois to larger cities, and the migration of major conferences and meetings to destinations west of the Rockies.

Multiple Illinois airports prioritize direct access to Washington airports because business views getting into and out of D.C. frequently and easily as fundamental to their operation. (See Boeing's relocation to Arlington, Va., as exhibit A.) Key to this access is Reagan National Airport, designated for short-haul flights, and the federal "perimeter rule" that governs its operations, along with its long-haul sibling, Dulles International Airport.

Congress governs operations at the two Washington airports through the perimeter rule. It segregated short-haul flights within a 1,250-mile perimeter of the smaller Reagan, which requires smaller jets and overall less infrastructure to handle passenger traffic. The larger, more expansive Dulles was designated for long-haul flights to the far western U.S. and overseas. As a result, Dulles was built to handle the largest passenger jets and the dense passenger traffic and luggage that comes with them.

Starting in 2000, at the behest of far-west business interests, congressional representatives from west of the Rockies initiated a sustained effort to amend the perimeter rule so that slots at the already maxed-out Reagan could be flipped to long haul: to Texas, California, Washington state, etc. A handful of slots were flipped, then again and yet again.

And what was the result? Multiple regional airports saw a reduction or elimination of direct flights to Washington, D.C. And many larger corporations relocated their headquarters to larger cities where air travel is more accessible, leaving behind extensive negative economic effects.

It would be a mistake to look at the steady decline of regional air transportation and think that larger cities are immune. It would be akin to the frog thinking that the warmer water temperature was tolerable. And this would deliver the exact result that the architects of this plan hoped to realize.

The cumulative effect of perimeter rule flips dramatically increased traffic to far-west destinations intent on expanding their tourism and conference industries at the expense of traditional conference destinations, such as Chicago's McCormick Place. More than 3,000 associations are based in Washington, D.C., and many hold an annual conference.

Read the full piece here.

Deadline Today: U.S. Chamber Continues the Search for America's Top Small Business

Our friends at the US Chamber have continued their search for America's top small business:

The deadline has been extended to nominate a small business for the U.S. Chamber’s new awards program for small businesses: America's Top Small Business (ATSB). ATSB aims to recognize small businesses doing big things in their industries and communities through innovation, job creation and a commitment to being an integral part of a thriving business ecosystem. We’ll be choosing Top Small Businesses across America (10 in each of seven regions). The highest scoring business in each region will be named one of America’s Top Small Businesses and one finalist will win America’s Top Small Business of the Year Award — a $25,000 cash prize! Find out everything you need to know about the ATSB program, including who is eligible to apply, how winners are chosen, important dates and deadlines, and more on our FAQ page. The extended deadline is Friday, July 21, 2023.

Illinois Chamber 2023 Annual Luncheon - Register Today!

We at the Illinois Chamber are thrilled as we look forward to our 2023 annual meeting taking place on September 28th in Oak Brook. As every year, we invite you to join us for a wonderful lineup of speakers and activity in support of the Illinois business community.

We are thrilled that Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza will help us kick off the annual meeting with a fireside chat with Secretary of the Chamber Board, Kelly Edwards - State Council for Illinois and Indiana at State Farm Insurance Companies. After lunch has been plated, our keynote speaker, Vice Chair of Inland Real Estate Group and President of Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, Joe Cosenza will address attendees. The event will conclude with a time of remembrance and a tribute to Illinois Chamber President and CEO Todd Maisch who we sadly lost earlier this summer. 

When

• Sep. 28th, 10:30am - 2:00pm

Where

• Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Chicago in Oak Brook

Register HERE - we can't wait to see you at the luncheon!

Local Chambers: 2023 Legislative Presentation Opportunity

The Illinois Chamber is pleased to offer in-person and virtual legislative recap presentations to local chambers across the state. This opportunity, offered exclusively as a benefit to local chambers within our membership, provides insight into the major legislative action that occurred this spring at the statehouse and what it means for Illinois businesses.

If you are putting together programming for the rest of this summer and fall we are happy to offer our services on this topic to keep your members legislatively informed.

For any questions please contact Andrew Cunningham, at acunningham@ilchamber.org

Bills of Interest Signed into Law

No bills of interest were signed into law this week.

Session Update

The General Assembly adjourned in the early morning of Saturday, May 27th. Per SJR 42, the House and Senate have adjourned until the call of the Speaker and the Senate President. The 2023 fall veto session has been announced for October 24th-26th and November 7th-9th. View the calendar here.