SPRINGFIELD –State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago) argued for stronger penalties against employers in violation of the One Day Rest in Seven Act by introducing Senate Bill 3146 in the Senate Labor Committee Wednesday.

“The One Day Rest in Seven Act is one of many invaluable protections for workers in the state,” Villanueva said. “We have to make sure the expectations of employers everywhere are standard at all levels of operation.”

The One Day Rest in Seven Act is an existing law that protects workers’ right to one 24-hour period of rest in each week and one 20-minute meal break per 7.5 hour shift. Villanueva is the chief sponsor of SB 3146, which would update existing penalties to be more consistent with other labor and employment laws. Certain sections of the One Day Rest in Seven Act have not been updated since 1972, which spurred the changes in the measure.

The initiative came from the Illinois Department of Labor and Arise Chicago, a community-based organization that fights workplace injustice through organizing and advocating for public policy changes. The collaboration of these two agencies will be vital as the measure moves forward in the legislative process.

“Increasing the penalties makes labor violations consistent with Illinois law,” Villanueva said. “Enforcing these provisions becomes easier when there isn’t conflicting law, which in turn makes it easier to protect the hard workers of our state.”

SB 3146 passed the Senate Labor Committee and awaits consideration before the full Senate.