New laws boost employee rights

What a difference a governor can make,” says Steve Preckwinkle, director of political activities for the Illinois Federation of Teachers/AFT (IFT), hailing Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich for signing two important pieces of worker-friendly legislation into law.

First, the governor’s signature stripped the state, as an employer, of immunity from lawsuits under federal labor and civil rights laws.

Under the new law, any current, former or prospective employee can sue the state in state circuit court or federal court for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Preckwinkle notes that the law giving state employees the right to sue under federal labor and civil rights laws “is important for state workers and their basic employment rights.”

Restoration of state employee rights to sue under these federal laws has been an AFT Public Employees priority in state legislatures since a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the past few years has effectively barred state employees from suing for violations of these laws.

The second new law strengthens public and education employees’ rights to unionize by automatically recognizing a union that receives signature cards from a simple majority of employees in the bargaining unit being organized.

The IFT is gearing up for new organizing campaigns in its state employee division, says Preckwinkle.