§ 1-10 — Definitions

As used in this Act: "Accrue" means to accumulate in regular or increasing amounts over time subject to customary allocation of cost. "Active duty" means any full-time military service regardless of length or voluntariness including, but not limited to, annual training, full-time National Guard duty, and State active duty. "Active duty" does not include any form of inactive duty service such as drill duty or muster duty. "Active duty", unless provided otherwise, includes active duty without pay. "Active service" means all forms of active and inactive duty regardless of voluntariness including, but not limited to, annual training, active duty for training, initial active duty training, overseas training duty, full-time National Guard duty, active duty other than training, State active duty, mobilizations, and muster duty. "Active service" does not include absences to work as a military technician, sometimes known as a federal dual-status technician. "Active service", unless provided otherwise, includes active service without pay. "Active service" includes: (1) Reserve component voluntary active service means service under one of the following authorities: (A) any duty under 32 U.S.C. 502(f)(1)(B); (B) active guard reserve duty, operational support, or additional duty under 10 U.S.C. 12301(d) or 32 U.S.C. 502(f)(1)(B); (C) funeral honors under 10 U.S.C. 12503 or 32 U.S.C. 115; (D) duty at the National Guard Bureau under 10 U.S.C. 12402; (E) unsatisfactory participation under 10 U.S.C. 10148 or 10 U.S.C. 12303; (F) discipline under 10 U.S.C. 802(d); (G) extended active duty under 10 U.S.C. 12311; and (H) reserve program administrator under 10 U.S.C. 10211. (2) Reserve component involuntary active service includes, but is not limited to, service under one of the following authorities: (A) annual training or drill requirements under 10 U.S.C. 10147, 10 U.S.C. 12301(b), or 32 U.S.C. 502(a); (B) additional training duty or other duty under 32 U.S.C. 502(f)(1)(A); (C) pre-planned or pre-programmed combatant commander support under 10 U.S.C. 12304b; (D) mobilization under 10 U.S.C. 12301(a) or 10 U.S.C. 12302; (E) presidential reserve call-up under 10 U.S.C. 12304; (F) emergencies and natural disasters under 10 U.S.C. 12304a or 14 U.S.C. 712; (G) muster duty under 10 U.S.C. 12319; (H) retiree recall under 10 U.S.C. 688; (I) captive status under 10 U.S.C. 12301(g); (J) insurrection under 10 U.S.C. 331, 10 U.S.C. 332, or 10 U.S.C. 12406; (K) pending line of duty determination for response to sexual assault under 10 U.S.C. 12323; and (L) initial active duty for training under 10 U.S.C. 671. Reserve component active service not listed in paragraph (1) or (2) shall be considered involuntary active service under paragraph (2). "Active service without pay" means active service performed under any authority in which base pay is not received regardless of other allowances. "Annual training" means any active duty performed under Section 10147 or 12301(b) of Title 10 of the United States Code or under Section 502(a) of Title 32 of the United States Code. "Base pay" means the main component of military pay, whether active or inactive, based on rank and time in service. It does not include the addition of conditional funds for specific purposes such as allowances, incentive and special pay. Base pay, also known as basic pay, can be determined by referencing the appropriate military pay chart covering the time period in question located on the federal Defense Finance and Accounting Services website or as reflected on a federal Military Leave and Earnings Statement. "Benefits" includes, but is not limited to, the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, including any advantage, profit, privilege, gain, status, account, or interest, including wages or salary for work performed, that accrues by reason of an employment contract or agreement or an employer policy, plan, or practice and includes rights and benefits under a pension plan, a health plan, an employee stock ownership plan, insurance coverage and awards, bonuses, severance pay, supplemental unemployment benefits, vacations, and the opportunity to select work hours or location of employment. "Differential compensation" means pay due when the employee's daily rate of compensation for military service is less than his or her daily rate of compensation as a public employee. "Employee" means anyone employed by an employer. "Employee" includes any person who is a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States employed in a workplace that the State has legal authority to regulate business and employment. "Employee" does not include an independent contractor. "Employer" means any person, institution, organization, or other entity that pays salary or wages for work performed or that has control over employment opportunities, including: (1) a person, institution, organization, or other entity to whom the employer has delegated the performance of employment-related responsibilities; (2) an employer of a public employee; (3) any successor in interest to a person, institution, organization, or other entity referred to under this definition; and (4) a person, institution, organization, or other entity that has been denied initial employment in violation of Section 5-15. "Inactive duty" means inactive duty training, including drills, consisting of regularly scheduled unit training assemblies, additional training assemblies, periods of appropriate duty or equivalent training, and any special additional duties authorized for reserve component personnel by appropriate military authority. "Inactive duty" does not include active duty. "Military leave" means a furlough or leave of absence while performing active service. It cannot be substituted for accrued vacation, annual, or similar leave with pay except at the sole discretion of the service member employee. It is not a benefit of employment that is requested but a legal requirement upon receiving notice of pending military service. "Military service" means: (1) Service in the Armed Forces of the United States, the National Guard of any state or territory regardless of status, and the State Guard as defined in the State Guard Act. "Military service", whether active or reserve, includes service under the authority of U.S.C. Titles 10, 14, or 32, or State active duty. (2) Service in a federally recognized auxiliary of the United States Armed Forces when performing official duties in support of military or civilian authorities as a result of an emergency. (3) A period for which an employee is absent from a position of employment for the purpose of medical or dental treatment for a condition, illness, or injury sustained or aggravated during a period of active service in which treatment is paid by the United States Department of Defense Military Health System. "Orders in lieu of annual training" means any paid active duty performed by a service member which has been designated by that service member's military authority as a replacement or substitution of that service member's annual training obligation. Employers may request documentation from a service member's military unit to confirm that periods of military service qualify as orders in lieu of annual training. "Public employee" means any person classified as a full-time employee of the State of Illinois, a unit of local government, a public institution of higher education as defined in Section 1 of the Board of Higher Education Act, or a school district, other than an independent contractor. "Reserve component" means the reserve components of Illinois and the United States Armed Forces regardless of status. "Service member" means any person who is a member of a military service. "State active duty" means full-time State-funded military duty under the command and control of the Governor and subject to the Military Code of Illinois. "Unit of local government" means any city, village, town, county, or special district.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 104-176, eff. 8-15-25.)