IL Democrats hope to expand public worker rights anticipating federal rollbacks

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — In a set of two bills, state Senate Democrats want to keep current workers rights in Illinois in anticipation of the federal government rollbacks.

A plan led by state Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago) would keep the current state and federal occupational health and safety policies for some jobs. Coal miners, warehouse and factory workers will continue to have the same safety laws even if the federal government removes them.

"In a time of uncertainty in D.C. at the risk of workers losing protections, we in Illinois are stepping up with this bill to continue to expand workers protections," Peters said. "A vote for this is a vote for the working class in Illinois."

This bill would also ensure the state maintains the same wages for those workers, even if the federal government reduces their pay.

While receiving support from his fellow Democrats, Republicans raised their concerns on the proposal. Speaking on the concerns raised by businesses, state Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) said creating state specific laws for interstate businesses will cause major issues.

"If we make ourselves at a disadvantage in attracting businesses or allow the businesses in this state to not know how to operate and to avoid state law conflict when they're trying to follow federal law, we're going to have quite a state of confusion," Tracy said.

Another Democratic plan would change how wages work in public projects. When there is a conflict around payment in construction work, the state wage will be prioritized over the federal wage if the state wage is higher.

State Sen. Christopher Belt (D-East St. Louis) said this policy will fix a loophole that left employees at a disadvantage.

"This bills intent is to clarify when a construction project is administered by a public body and receives more than $2,000 in federal funding," Belt said. "This key protection ensures workers are treated fairly and paid what they deserve for their labor."

This proposal received support from Senate Democrats, but the Republicans said this plan could kill jobs.

"This bill drives up costs for the federal government to invest in Illinois," state Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Vandalia) said. "We're living in a state that personifies how the economy falls backwards and jobs disappear when it's more expensive to do business."

Peter's bill passed out of the Senate on a partisan 38-19-1 vote. It will now head to the House for further debate.

Belt's plan passed out of the Senate on a partisan 40-18 vote. That proposal has passed both chambers and will now head to the Governors office to be potentially signed into law.