HB 1167 to Provide Paid COVID-19 Leave for “Fully Vaccinated” School District and Community College Employees

HB 1167 was filed on February 14, 2022, in response to Governor Pritzker’s veto of HB 2778, an initiative to legislate paid administrative leave for COVID-19 related absences for school district and community college staff. While similar, HB 1167 differs from HB 2778 by providing paid COVID-19 administrative leave only to “fully vaccinated: employees. HB 1167 defines “fully vaccinated” as 2-weeks after receiving the second dose in a 2-dose series of a COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., Moderna or Pfizer) or a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., Johnson & Johnson). The definition of “fully vaccinated” will include recommended booster doses for which the individual is eligible only upon adoption by IDPH of any changes made by the CDC to the definition of “full vaccinated against COVID-19” to include booster doses.

HB 1167 additionally provides as follows:

Full Pay for School Closure or E-Learning Day (School Districts Only):

• Requires school districts to provide pay to all employees and contractors who provide education support services to the district if any school closure precludes them from performing their regularly scheduled duties and the employee would have reported to work but for the closure.
• Requires school districts to make full payment or reimbursement to any employee or contractor for any school closure or e-learning day in the 2021-2022 school year that occurred prior to the effective date of HB 1167, if the employee or contractor did not receive pay or was required to use earned paid time off for the closure.

COVID-19 Paid Administrative Leave (School Districts and Community Colleges):

• Applicable only when the Governor has declared a disaster due to a public health emergency.
• To be eligible to receive paid administrative leave, the employee must be “fully vaccinated” (see definition above) no later than 5 weeks after the effective date of HB 1167 and must participate in the COVID-19 testing program adopted by the school district/community college to the extent such a program requires participation by individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
• Requires a school district/community college to provide COVID-19 paid administrative leave to fully vaccinated employees during any period that the employee is restricted from being on school district/community college property for a COVID-19 reason.
• Requires a school district/community college to provide COVID-19 paid administrative leave to all fully vaccinated employees to care for a child who is unable to attend their elementary or secondary school because the child is a confirmed COVID-19 case, a probable COVID-19 case, a close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case or been required by school district/community college policy to be excluded due to COVID-19 symptoms.
• Employees on paid leave must provide all documentation requested by their employer.

Restoration of Sick Leave (School Districts and Community Colleges):

• Requires a school district/community college to return any sick leave taken by a fully vaccinated employee during the 2021-2022 school/academic year if the employee utilized sick leave for COVID-19 reasons, or to care for a child who was unable to attend elementary or secondary school because the child is a confirmed COVID-19 case, a probable COVID-19 case, was identified as a close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case or excluded due to COVID-19 symptoms.

Robbins Schwartz will continue to monitor HB 1167. Please contact your Robbins Schwartz attorney with any questions.