Illinois § 35

§ 35.

Violation; liability. (a) An employer who fails to give notice as required by paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Section 10 before ordering a mass layoff, relocation, or employment loss is liable to each employee entitled to notice who lost his or her employment for: (1) Back pay at the average regular rate of compensation received by the employee during the last three years of his or her employment, or the employee's final rate of compensation, whichever is higher. (2) The value of the cost of any benefits to which the employee would have been entitled had his or her employment not been lost, including the cost of any medical expenses incurred by the employee that would have been covered under an employee benefit plan. (b) Liability under this Section is calculated for the period of the employer's violation, up to a maximum of 60 days, or one-half the number of days that the employee was employed by the employer, whichever period is smaller. (c) The amount of an employer's liability under subsection (a) is reduced by the following: (1) Any wages, except vacation moneys accrued before the period of the employer's violation, paid by the employer to the employee during the period of the employer's violation. (2) Any voluntary and unconditional payments made by the employer to the employee that were not required to satisfy any legal obligation. (3) Any payments by the employer to a third party or trustee, such as premiums for health benefits or payments to a defined contribution pension plan, on behalf of and attributable to the employee for the period of the violation. (4) Any liability paid by the employer under federal law. (d) Any liability incurred by an employer under subsection (a) of this Section with respect to a defined benefit pension plan may be reduced by crediting the employee with service for all purposes under such a plan for the period of the violation. (e) If an employer proves to the satisfaction of the Director that the act or omission that violated this Act was in good faith and that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a violation of this Act, the Director may in his or her discretion reduce the amount of liability provided for in this Section. (Source: P.A. 93-915, eff. 1-1-05.)