Pritzker signs captive audience prohibition that employer groups call unconstitutional

(The Center Square) – A measure that makes it a violation for Illinois employers to hold what's called captive audience meetings to discuss religion or politics is now state law.

Business groups say it’s unconstitutional.

Without explaining the measure, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 3649 Wednesday at an AFL-CIO event in Chicago.

“We’re in a new era for the Illinois economy, one where workers are finally at the center of that economy,” Pritzker said.

Explaining the measure earlier this year to an Illinois Senate committee, AFL-CIO Illinois President Tim Drea explained the premise of prohibiting employees from attending so-called captive audience meetings.

“They go to work for a paycheck and to make a profit for the employer, period, not to be indoctrinated by anyone’s religious or political beliefs,” Drea said in March.

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 is 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.

The fine for violating the prohibition would be $1,000 per instance.

There are exemptions . The measure does not impact the Illinois General Assembly as an employer, political organizations and specified not-for-profits, except for 501(c)3 organizations.