Springfield, IL — A new Illinois law bars state agencies from changing worker safety rules to make them less stringent than federal law as it existed on Jan. 19.
The Illinois Workers’ Rights and Worker Safety Act (S.B. 1976) also directs the Illinois Department of Labor to replace any repealed federal occupational safety standard with a similar state standard.
Signed into law Aug. 14 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), it applies to rules under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.
If no state standard on worker safety or worker rights exists related to a federal rule or if a federal protection is more stringent that a current state rule, the state will observe those federal standards.
The law – an initiative of the Illinois DOL and the state AFL-CIO – is set to be repealed on Jan. 29, 2029.
“Our state stands up for the hard-won advances made for our workers,” Pritzker said. “It has been the working men and women of this state that have led the charge of progress not just for Illinois, but for the entire nation.”
