Illinois state workers, like state employees nationwide, won a victory Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they could sue their employers under the federal law that guarantees time off for childbirth and family emergencies.þþBut state employees in Illinois are poised for an even larger win under a bill that needs only the governor's approval to become law.þþThe bill, pushed by plaintiffs' lawyers and state employee unions, would let state workers sue under federal laws that bar discrimination on the basis of age and disability and set standards regarding overtime pay.þþIn a series of rulings in 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court held that states--unlike private companies--were immune from suits under laws such as the Americans with Disabilities and Age Discrimination in Employment acts.þþThe bill, which passed the House in March and the Senate this month, would make Illinois one of a few states to waive its immunity and allow the suits.þþÿState workers should have the same rights as other workers in Illinois,ÿ said state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), a sponsor of the bill. ÿPeople who work for the Ford Motor Co. or the city of Chicago have the right to sue ... but the Supreme Court barred state employees from suing their states.ÿþþGov. Rod Blagojevich has not taken a position on the bill, a spokesman said. Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan supports the bill, a spokeswoman said.þþIf it becomes law, the measure probably would trigger more lawsuits by employees of state agencies, as well as state hospitals, universities and prisons. But no one knows how many, and no cost analysis has been done, Currie said.þþSome employment lawyers say the number of employees affected could be significant.þþÿIn Springfield, the State of Illinois is the largest employer,ÿ said Howard Feldman, a plaintiffs lawyer in Springfield who represents state workers. ÿThere are employees who raise these issues on a regular basis.ÿþþAaron Maduff, a Chicago employment lawyer, said his firm has turned away potential clients because their cases raised problems of state immunity.þþIf the bill passes, ÿI don't have to turn to that [state worker] and give my speech about, `It may be wrong, but it's not illegal,'ÿ said Maduff, who lobbied for the measure on behalf of the Illinois chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association.þþThe bill is part of a nationwide debate on how states should react to the Supreme Court's 1999 rulings, which expanded the immunity that states have under the 11th Amendment. The court held that states could not be sued, unless they specifically allowed it, under several major federal employment laws. The laws include the Fair Labor Standards Act, which deals with the right to overtime pay.þþSome legal scholars had expected the court to extend that immunity to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, but on Tuesday the court ruled otherwise.þþState workers who believe they have been discriminated against can now file a complaint with the state Department of Human Rights. If the department finds enough evidence of a violation, it will refer the case to the state Human Rights Commission. The employee can then get a hearing before an administrative law judge.þþThat provides some remedy, but isn't comparable to access to the courts, say supporters of the bill.þþÿYour claim is really being handled by somebody else, and you don't have much in the way of individual control,ÿ Feldman said.þþNot every state wants the added protection. Minnesota, for example, passed a law waiving its immunity in 2001. A bill to give up the immunity in Illinois passed the House two years ago, but it died in the then-Republican-controlled Senate, Currie said.þ
Source: Chicago Tribune
