40 ILCS 5/15-107
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 40 - PENSIONS|40 ILCS 5/ - Illinois Pension Code.|Article 15 - State Universities Retirement System

 (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-107)Sec. 15-107. Employee.(a) "Employee" means any member of the educational, administrative,  secretarial, clerical, mechanical, labor or other staff of an employer  whose employment is permanent and continuous or who is employed in a  position in which services are expected to be rendered on a continuous  basis for at least 4 months or one academic term, whichever is less, who  (A) receives payment for personal services on a warrant issued pursuant to  a payroll voucher certified by an employer and drawn by the State  Comptroller upon the State Treasurer or by an employer upon trust, federal  or other funds, or (B) is on a leave of absence without pay.  Employment  which is irregular, intermittent or temporary shall not be considered  continuous for purposes of this paragraph.However, a person is not an "employee" if he or she:(1) is a student enrolled in and regularly attending     classes in a college or university which is an employer, and is employed on a temporary basis at less than full time;(2) is currently receiving a retirement annuity or a     disability retirement annuity under Section 15-153.2 from this System;(3) is on a military leave of absence;(4) is eligible to participate in the Federal Civil     Service Retirement System and is currently making contributions to that system based upon earnings paid by an employer;(5) is on leave of absence without pay for more than     60 days immediately following termination of disability benefits under this Article;(6) is hired after June 30, 1979 as a public service     employment program participant under the Federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act and receives earnings in whole or in part from funds provided under that Act; or(7) is employed on or after July 1, 1991 to perform     services that are excluded by subdivision (a)(7)(f) or (a)(19) of Section 210 of the federal Social Security Act from the definition of employment given in that Section (42 U.S.C. 410).(b) Any employer may, by filing a written notice with the board, exclude  from the definition of "employee" all persons employed pursuant to a federally  funded contract entered into after July 1, 1982 with a federal military  department in a program providing training in military courses to federal  military personnel on a military site owned by the United States Government,  if this exclusion is not prohibited by the federally funded contract or  federal laws or rules governing the administration of the contract.(c) Any person appointed by the Governor under the Civil Administrative  Code of Illinois is an employee, if he or she is a participant in this  system on the effective date of the appointment.(d) A participant on lay-off status under civil service rules is  considered an employee for not more than 120 days from the date of the lay-off.(e) A participant is considered an employee during (1) the first 60 days  of disability leave, (2) the period, not to exceed one year, in which his  or her eligibility for disability benefits is being considered by the board  or reviewed by the courts, and (3) the period he or she receives disability  benefits under the provisions of Section 15-152, workers' compensation or  occupational disease benefits, or disability income under an insurance  contract financed wholly or partially by the employer.(f) Absences without pay, other than formal leaves of absence, of less  than 30 calendar days, are not considered as an interruption of a person's  status as an employee.  If such absences during any period of 12 months  exceed 30 work days, the employee status of the person is considered as  interrupted as of the 31st work day.(g) A staff member whose employment contract requires services during  an academic term is to be considered an employee during the summer and  other vacation periods, unless he or she declines an employment contract  for the succeeding academic term or his or her employment status is  otherwise terminated, and he or she receives no earnings during these periods.(h) An individual who was a participating employee employed in the fire  department of the University of Illinois's Champaign-Urbana campus immediately  prior to the elimination of that fire department and who immediately after the  elimination of that fire department became employed by the fire department of  the City of Urbana or the City of Champaign shall continue to be considered as  an employee for purposes of this Article for so long as the individual remains  employed as a firefighter by the City of Urbana or the City of Champaign.  The  individual shall cease to be considered an employee under this subsection (h)  upon the first termination of the individual's employment as a firefighter by  the City of Urbana or the City of Champaign.(i) An individual who is employed on a full-time basis as an officer  or employee of a statewide teacher organization that serves System  participants or an officer of a national teacher organization that serves  System participants may participate in the System and shall be deemed an  employee, provided that (1) the individual has previously earned  creditable service under this Article, (2) the individual files with the  System an irrevocable election to become a participant before January 5, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act 97-651), (3) the  individual does not receive credit for that employment under any other Article  of this Code, and (4) the individual first became a full-time employee  of the teacher organization and becomes a participant before January 5, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act 97-651).  An employee under this subsection (i) is responsible for paying  to the System both (A) employee contributions based on the actual compensation  received for service with the teacher organization and (B) employer  contributions equal to the normal costs (as defined in Section 15-155)  resulting from that service; all or any part of these contributions may be  paid on the employee's behalf or picked up for tax purposes (if authorized  under federal law) by the teacher organization.A person who is an employee as defined in this subsection (i) may establish  service credit for similar employment prior to becoming an employee under this  subsection by paying to the System for that employment the contributions  specified in this subsection, plus interest at the effective rate from the  date of service to the date of payment.  However, credit shall not be granted  under this subsection for any such prior employment for which the applicant  received credit under any other provision of this Code, or during which  the applicant was on a leave of absence under Section 15-113.2.(j) A person employed by the State Board of Higher Education in a position with the Illinois Century Network as of June 30, 2004 shall be considered to be an employee for so long as he or she remains continuously employed after that date by the Department of Central Management Services in a position with the Illinois Century Network, the Bureau of Communication and Computer Services, or, if applicable, any successor bureau  or the Department of Innovation and Technology and meets the requirements of subsection (a).(k)  The Board shall promulgate rules with respect to determining whether any person is an employee within the meaning of this Section. In the case of doubt as to whether any person is an employee within the meaning of this  Section or any rule adopted by the Board, the decision of the Board shall be  final.(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-321, eff. 8-9-19.)