Harper College Adjunct Faculty Association

In 2012, the Illinois legislature passed the Return to Work law. This law made employers liable for SURS penalties if they rehired a SURS annuitant and paid that annuitant 40 percent, or more, of their highest paid salary prior to retirement. As a result of this new law, higher ed (HE) institutions started limiting how much work would be assigned to a rehired annuitant and some institutions refused to hire any annuitants to avoid a possible SURS penalty.

 Due to the negative impact on IEA HE members, the HE council, with the help of Gaye Harper-Larison (IEA Government Relations) worked with Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, to draft SB2887 which waives any penalty to institutions that hire annuitants with an annuity of less than $10,000. The Senate passed SB2887 in spring 2013, but the bill was not sent to committee until Nov. 18. SB2887 was sponsored by Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Buffalo Grove, in the house and was presented to the House Executive Committee by Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago. IEA testified before the executive committee in favor of SB2887 on Nov. 18. SB2887 was passed by the House on Nov. 19, and will now go to the governor’s desk to be signed into law

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