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Hastings supports organ donation leave for working people

State Senator Michael E. Hastings supported a measure through the Illinois Senate to ensure taking time off work to donate an organ doesn’t put workers’ livelihoods at risk.

“Donating an organ is a beautiful and selfless act,” said Hastings (D-Frankfort). “Workers need to be treated with respect, not punished, for becoming an organ donor.”

The bill allows eligible part-time workers to take up to 10 days of leave in a 12-month period to serve as organ donors.

For part-time employees receiving compensation for their donation, employers must pay them based on their average daily pay over the previous two months of employment.

Currently, part-time workers often do not receive the same workplace protections as full-time employees. Belt’s legislation ensures that all eligible workers, no matter how many hours a week they work, can take time to donate an organ without risking their job or financial stability.

“Whether you are a full-time or part-time worker, this is a right you deserve,” said Hastings. “In Illinois, someone should never have to choose between losing their job and saving a life.”

House Bill 1616 passed the Illinois Senate on Thursday.

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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