Gov. JB Pritzker cites legal, technical issues in veto of warehouse worker protection bill

Jeremy Gorner and Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune on Mar 24, 2025

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Gov. JB Pritzker vetoed a bill aimed at providing protections for workers at large warehouses, saying it was passed “hastily” and “without engagement with relevant state agencies or my office and presents both legal and operational issues that undermine its effect.”

The bill was passed in early January by the Democratic-controlled Illinois General Assembly in response to reports that warehouse workers are too often pushed beyond their physical limits. In December, Amazon reached a $145,000 settlement with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration over accusations that conditions at an Illinois warehouse left workers exposed to elevated risks of injury.

Among other things, the legislation would have required employers to be more open about productivity expectations and ensure employees don’t miss breaks because of their workloads.

It’s rare for Pritzker to veto a bill sent to him after being approved by the legislature. But in a letter Friday, the Democratic governor cited a number of potential legal and technical issues he had with the bill.

Pritzker said the bill provides no procedure to ensure due process in the enforcement and that there’s no “clear, comprehensive scheme” for civil penalties and damages that could result from violations of the measure. Also unclear, Pritzker said, is the definition of who would be covered under the measure.

“In this tight budget year and in the face of unpredictable enforcement and funding from the federal government, it is critical that advocates, legislators and my administration work together to ensure any new labor laws are straightforward to implement and do not create a risk of legal challenges,” Pritzker said in the letter.

The governor said he’s directing his office and the Illinois Department of Labor to convene worker advocates, unions and pro-business interests “to work together on a proposal to address the underlying critical policy concerns regarding warehouse quotas and overall warehouse worker safety.”

Pritzker said he’s also asking the Department of Labor to build a “field enforcement team” with the ability to quickly respond to reports of dangerous conditions, lack of meal and rest breaks and other concerns in warehouses.

“At a time when the federal government is failing to protect workers, we must work harder, smarter, and more effectively to fill the gap,” Pritzker said in the letter.

The bill was meant to cover warehouses that employ 250 or more workers at a single distribution center or 1,000 or more employees at such facilities statewide. The legislation has been supported by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which has put significant resources toward organizing both Amazon warehouse workers and the company’s third-party delivery drivers.

Opponents of the legislation include the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, which have expressed concerns that the bill would negatively affect businesses’ operations.

The manufacturers’ association welcomed the governor’s veto, saying it “would have imposed extremely onerous restrictions on warehouse operators in Illinois.”

“Manufacturing represents the single largest share of Illinois’ economy which is also fueled by Illinois’ leadership in transportation and logistics. Enactment of this legislation would have created costly and confusing regulations on Illinois employers,” the organization said in a statement.

Pasquale Gianni, director of government affairs for Teamsters Joint Council 25, one of the main supporters of the bill, said he was “blindsided” by the veto.

Gianni said he met with the Department of Labor several times after the legislation was passed on potential follow-up bills to address concerns. He also said the DOL was involved when the bill was filed in 2023 and that the legislation was hashed out over two years, contrary to the governor’s statement in Friday’s letter that the bill was passed “hastily” and “without engagement with relevant state agencies.”

“That’s why it’s just perplexing,” Gianni said. “That the administration’s concerns come out now, and there was all kinds of time to register them prior. We were willing to bend over backward, but it seems like this was all an exercise in futility.”

The union is considering efforts to lobby the legislature to override Pritzker’s veto and is also open to filing a new version of the bill.

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