The Illinois legislature is scheduled to return to town next week for week one of a two week fall veto session. Typically, the fall veto session is a time for the legislature to take up action on bills that were passed during the spring and vetoed by the governor. However, given the governor did not veto too many bills this summer, expect legislative action to fall outside of actions on vetoes.
See below for a brief synopsis of what we are expecting in each subject matter area.
Cannabis
With the January 1, 2020 effective date for recreational marijuana becoming lawful for adult use, there has been a great deal of speculation about the impact of Section 10-50 of PA 101-27 on Illinois employers. This section provides for workplace protections regarding employer zero tolerance, drug-free workplace and drug testing policies.
The negotiation process during the legislative consideration of legalizing marijuana did not result in perfect protections for employers. However, in several key areas we were able to obtain legislative intent that helps provide guidance for employers when reviewing their workplace policies regarding marijuana and drug testing.
We continue to work on legislative clarifications to Section 10-50 to including:
- Clarifying that an employer has the ability to take disciplinary action against applicants for failing a pre-employment drug test and against employees for failing a random drug test;
- Clarifying that if the employer has a zero tolerance, drug-free workplace or drug testing policy, proof of impairment is not needed to allow the employer to take disciplinary action;
- Clarifying that employers may continue to take disciplinary action when an employee who is a medical marijuana cardholder violates an employer’s drug-testing policy; and
- Clarifying that the Act does not interfere with any collective bargaining agreements.
We are seeking inclusion of these issues in a potential “trailer” bill during the upcoming Veto Session.
Tax
House Revenue Committee is posted for next week. Among the bills posted is HB 3902. This legislation permanently reinstates the sales tax exemption for materials, parts, equipment, components, and furnishings incorporated into or upon an aircraft. The Chamber supports this legislation.
Next week we are also expecting some technical changes to the “Leveling the Playing Field for Illinois Retail Act.” As it stands right now this new law is unworkable and presents serious problems to how retailers collect sales taxes. The Chamber’s Keith Staats illustrated the many pitfalls of the new law in a recent column for the Illinois CPA Society. You can view that here.
Chamber630 will continue to keep you informed on issues that affect your business.
