Federal & State Regulations | Unions - Illinois | J. J. Keller® Compliance Network

State Info

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

Illinois has no major laws differing from the National Labor Relations Act or Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act regarding unions in private sector employment.

The state does require that where a collective bargaining agreement between an employer and a labor organization contains a successor clause, such clause shall be binding upon and enforceable against any successor employer who succeeds to the contracting employer's business, until the expiration date of the agreement therein stated.

Also, employers may not willfully fail to transfer employee entitled funds (those amounts that an employer is legally committed, through a collective bargaining agreement, to contribute) to the designated employee trust fund that is lawfully entitled to receive the employee entitled funds.

Public sector employment

Illinois does have substantial laws governing labor relations and collective bargaining for public sector employment. The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act governs relations between unions and public employers. The statute guarantees the right of employees to organize and to bargain collectively with their employers or to refrain from all such activity. The Illinois Labor Relations Board administers the Act.

Also, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act sets forth the rules, regulations and procedures for labor relations and collective bargaining between public educational employers and educational employees in Illinois.

Right to work

The state has no right to work law.

Captive audience law

Employers cannot require employees to attend meetings or listen to communications about religious or political topics. They cannot take or threaten to take adverse action against employees for refusing to attend employer-sponsored meetings, or refusing to listen to communications, where the primary purpose is to share employer opinions about religious or political matters.