* Sen. Peters…

State Senator Robert Peters’ law banning employers from requiring workers to attend meetings regarding political or religious matters was signed into law on Wednesday.

“Forcing employees to attend meetings about the employer’s political or religious views goes too far,” said Peters (D-Chicago). “There needs to be a balanced and impartial relationship between employers and employees.”

Peters’ law prohibits Illinois employers from requiring employees to attend employer-sponsored meetings where the primary purpose is to communicate the employer’s opinions on religious or political matters. Further, the legislation safeguards employees from adverse actions for refusing such employer-sponsored meetings.

The law does not explicitly exclude 501(c) organizations so as to not interfere with the work of advocacy groups or organizations seeking to communicate policy initiatives. The law also outlines exemptions for required diversity, equity and inclusion training and higher education employers speaking to employees about coursework and research.

“I want to thank the Illinois AFL-CIO labor organization for bringing these issues to my attention,” said Peters. “By banning such meetings, we safeguard employees from being forced to adhere to anti-union messaging and shield them from employers directly attempting to influence their beliefs.”

Senate Bill 3649 goes into effect Jan. 1.

* Illinois AFL-CIO…

Joined by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Illinois Worker Freedom of Speech Act into law Wednesday at the state federation’s convention. The new law makes Illinois the eighth state to bar employers from requiring workers to attend mandatory political and religious meetings at work, known as “captive audience” meetings that often take the form of anti-union rhetoric.

“People go to work to work, not to be indoctrinated. Now, workers will not have to choose between their livelihood and personal values when employers use mandatory meetings to advance their political and religious interests,” stated Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea. “Today’s bill signing represents a new chapter for Illinois where all workers can feel safe at work and choose to walk away from unwanted political, religious or anti-union rhetoric without fear of retaliation. We are grateful to Governor Pritzker for standing with workers and demonstrating his commitment to workplace fairness.”

The legislation was the top priority for the Illinois AFL-CIO in the 2024 legislative session. New York, Connecticut, Minnesota, Maine, Oregon, Vermont and Washington have passed similar laws protecting workers’ freedom of speech. The laws protect workers from having to hear or read offensive or unwanted political and religious speech unrelated to job tasks or performance.

“I congratulate the Illinois AFL-CIO and its allies on this tremendous victory for working people,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “This new law will ensure that workers are protected from being compelled to listen to their employers’ opinions on political or religious matters on the job. These coercive captive audience meetings have no place in workplaces. We commend the Illinois legislature for passing this bill and Governor Pritzker for signing this important protection into law.”

Although Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) strictly prohibits employers from interfering with the formation of a union, captive audience meetings have been called a “license to coerce” and “an anomaly in labor law, inconsistent with the [National Labor Relations] Act’s protection of employees’ free choice,” by National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo.

…Adding… Center Square…

Employer groups opposed the measure. Noah Finley with the National Federation of Independent Business told that same committee the measure is a violation of employers’ rights.

“It doesn’t ban employers from holding mandatory meetings, it bans them from holding them on specific topics and exercises content restriction on the employers’ speech,” Finley said. “In doing so it discriminates against speech that specifically protected by the U.S. Constitution.”

Unions say the meetings prohibit anti-union rhetoric during mandatory meetings. Employers groups say employees need to know how unionization could negatively impact the workplace relationship.

Alec Laird, senior vice president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, told the same committee in March similar measures have been blocked for superseding the National Labor Relations Act.

“Finally, Washington just passed its law this year,” Laird said. “It appears the NLRB’s own rulings in recent case law that the legislation is preempted by federal law and an unconstitutional restriction of free speech.”

Other groups listed as opponents were the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, Illinois Policy, the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.