PROTECTIVE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB4848

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HB4848 - 104th General Assembly

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4848

Introduced , by Rep. Nabeela Syed

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Protective Medical Equipment Freedom Act. Provides that
all individual in the State have the right to wear protective medical
equipment in any place of public accommodation where they have a lawful
right to be without obligation to disclose health status or any other
protected information, and no person, entity, or authority shall deny,
restrict, or infringe upon this right. Provides that operators and public
officials shall not discriminate against or penalize medical device
wearers for exercising their right to wear protective medical equipment.
Provides that discrimination under the Act includes, but is not limited
to: denial of service; eviction from premises; any form of harassment to
remove or refrain from wearing such equipment for any amount of time;
specified actions taken by employers; and provision of unequal goods,
services, facilities, advantages, or accommodations. Sets forth provisions
concerning the protection against retaliation, the exceptions for security
requirements, operational safety, age and identity restricted products,
and financial institution customer identification, and an undue hardship
exemption. Effective immediately.
LRB104 19554 BAB 33002 b

A BILL FOR

HB4848
LRB104 19554 BAB 33002 b
1

AN ACT concerning human rights.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 1.
Short title; references to Act.
5

(a) This Act may be cited as the
Protective Medical
6
Equipment Freedom Act.
7

(b) This Act may be referred to as Kiki's Law.

8

Section 5.
Purpose.
The General Assembly finds the
9
following:
10

(1) All individuals have the right to wear protective
11

medical equipment in any place of public accommodation,
12

thereby promoting public health and individual safety
13

without discrimination or undue restriction.
14

(2) Colette "Kiki" Walkington had extremely complex
15

medical needs and fragile health. After receiving a kidney
16

transplant from her father, Kiki was placed on
17

immunosuppressants and would most likely not survive any
18

severe respiratory infection. Kiki was full of joy and
19

brought light to all those who knew her. Mask wearing by
20

her family and others provided Kiki with a layer of
21

life-saving protection without isolation, allowing her to
22

live a fuller, happier life.

HB4848
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LRB104 19554 BAB 33002 b
1

Section 10.
Definitions.
As used in this Act:
2

"Medical device wearer" means any individual using
3
protective medical equipment.
4

"Operator" means any owner, lessee, proprietor, manager,
5
superintendent, agent, or occupant of a place of public
6
accommodation or an employee of any such person or persons.
7

"Place of public accommodation" includes, but is not
8
limited to:
9

(1) an inn, hotel, motel, or other place of lodging,
10

except for an establishment located within a building that
11

contains not more than 5 units for rent or hire and that is
12

actually occupied by the proprietor of such establishment
13

as the residence of such proprietor;
14

(2) a restaurant, bar, or other establishment serving
15

food or drink;
16

(3) a movie theater, theater, concert hall, stadium,
17

or other place of exhibition or entertainment;
18

(4) an auditorium, convention center, lecture hall, or
19

other place of public gathering;
20

(5) a bakery, grocery store, clothing store, hardware
21

store, shopping center, or other sales or rental
22

establishment;
23

(6) a laundromat, drycleaner, bank, barber shop,
24

beauty shop, travel service, shoe repair service, funeral
25

parlor, gas station, office of an accountant or lawyer,
26

pharmacy, insurance office, professional office of a

HB4848
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LRB104 19554 BAB 33002 b
1

health care provider, hospital, or other service
2

establishment;
3

(7) public conveyances on air, water, or land;
4

(8) a terminal, depot, or other station used for
5

specified public transportation;
6

(9) a museum, library, gallery, or other place of
7

public display or collection;
8

(10) a park, zoo, amusement park, or other place of
9

recreation;
10

(11) a nonsectarian nursery, day care center,
11

elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate
12

school, or other place of education;
13

(12) a senior citizen center, homeless shelter, food
14

bank, nonsectarian adoption agency, or other social
15

service center establishment; and
16

(13) a gymnasium, health spa, bowling alley, golf
17

course, or other place of exercise or recreation.
18

"Protective medical equipment" means equipment worn to
19
reduce or minimize exposure to health risks to oneself or
20
others, which includes, but is not limited to:
21

(1) face masks and respirators, with or without
22

particulate matter or vapor cartridges, including KN-95,
23

N-95, FFP-2, and FFP-3 quality protection;
24

(2) elastomeric protection, such as, but not limited
25

to, P-100 protection;
26

(3) powered air purifying respirators; and

HB4848
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LRB104 19554 BAB 33002 b
1

(4) gloves, face shields, protective eyewear, clear
2

window masks, and small air purifiers worn on a lanyard.
3

"Protective medical equipment" does not include ski masks
4
and balaclavas.
5

"Public official" means any officer or employee of the
6
State or any agency, including State political subdivisions,
7
municipal corporations, park districts, forest preserve
8
districts, educational institutions, and schools.
9

"Undue hardship" means an action that is prohibitively
10
expensive or disruptive when considered in light of the
11
following factors:
12

(1) the nature and cost of ensuring the right to wear
13

protective medical equipment;
14

(2) the overall financial resources of the facility or
15

facilities involved in ensuring the right to wear
16

protective medical equipment, the number of persons
17

employed at such facility, the effect on expenses and
18

resources, or the impact of ensuring the right to wear
19

protective medical equipment upon the operation of the
20

facility;
21

(3) the overall financial resources of the operator,
22

the overall size of the business of the place of public
23

accommodation with respect to the number of its operators,
24

and the number, type, and location of the facilities of
25

the place of public accommodation; and
26

(4) the type of operation or operations of the place

HB4848
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LRB104 19554 BAB 33002 b
1

of public accommodation, including the composition,
2

structure, and functions of its workforce and the
3

geographic separateness, administrative, or fiscal
4

relationship of the facility or facilities to the place of
5

public accommodation.

6

Section 15.
Right to wear protective medical equipment.
7

(a) General right.
8

(1) All individuals within this State have the right
9

to wear protective medical equipment in any place of
10

public accommodation where they have a lawful right to be
11

without obligation to disclose health status or any other
12

protected information.
13

(2) No person, entity, or authority shall deny,
14

restrict, or infringe upon this right.
15

(b) Nondiscrimination.
16

(1) Operators and public officials shall not
17

discriminate against or penalize medical device wearers
18

for exercising their right to wear protective medical
19

equipment.
20

(2) Discrimination under this Act includes, but is not
21

limited to:
22

(A) denial of goods, services, facilities,
23

privileges, advantages, or accommodations;
24

(B) eviction from premises;
25

(C) any form of harassment to remove or refrain

HB4848
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LRB104 19554 BAB 33002 b
1

from wearing such equipment for any amount of time;
2

(D) actions taken by employers, including, but not
3

limited to:
4

(i) creating a hostile work environment; and
5

(ii) termination of employment; and
6

(E) provision of unequal goods, services,
7

facilities, advantages, or accommodations.

8

Section 20.
Protection against retaliation.
9

(a) Operators and public officials shall not retaliate or
10
take adverse action against a medical device wearer for
11
exercising their right to wear protective medical equipment or
12
for reporting violations of this Act.
13

(b) Retaliation under this Act includes, but is not
14
limited to:
15

(1) intimidation or harassment;
16

(2) denying future service;
17

(3) reducing or changing pay or hours;
18

(4) disciplining; and
19

(5) reassignment to a less desirable position.

20

Section 25.
Exceptions.
21

(a) Security requirements. Protective medical equipment
22
may be removed temporarily by the medical device wearer upon
23
request by law enforcement in accordance with security
24
regulations, procedures, or protocols under State and federal

HB4848
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LRB104 19554 BAB 33002 b
1
law, provided that reasonable accommodation is offered.
2

(b) Operational safety. Specific types of protective
3
medical equipment may be restricted if proven to interfere
4
with the safe operation of machinery or hazardous
5
environments, provided that reasonable accommodation or
6
equivalent protection is offered to the individual.
7

(c) Age and identity restricted products. Protective
8
medical equipment shall be briefly removed by the medical
9
device wearer upon request by an operator to verify
10
identification to purchase any product for which verification
11
of the identity or age of an individual is required by State or
12
federal law, including, but not limited to:
13

(1) alcohol;
14

(2) tobacco products;
15

(3) marijuana products;
16

(4) prescriptions;
17

(5) firearms and ammunition;
18

(6) cleaning chemicals containing sodium hydroxide or
19

corrosive substances;
20

(7) fertilizer; and
21

(8) any additional products restricted by State or
22

federal law.
23

(d) Financial institution customer identification.
24
Protective medical equipment shall be briefly removed by the
25
medical device wearer upon request by an operator of a bank,
26
savings bank, credit union, or trust company, or any

HB4848
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LRB104 19554 BAB 33002 b
1
subsidiary or affiliate thereof, that is authorized to do
2
business under the laws of this State or of the United States,
3
to verify identification upon entering the premises of the
4
bank, savings bank, credit union, or trust company, or a
5
subsidiary or affiliate thereof.
6

(e) For applicable situations under subsection (c) and
7
subsection (d), clear window masks or other forms of
8
protective medical equipment that enable viewable facial
9
features may remain on the medical device wearer if an
10
operator can visually confirm the identity of the wearer
11
without removing the protective medical equipment. Whether
12
identification can be visually confirmed is at the discretion
13
of an operator, in accordance with State and federal law. If
14
identification cannot be confirmed by the operator, the
15
protective medical equipment shall be briefly removed by the
16
medical device wearer upon request by the operator. An
17
operator shall not be liable for refusing to sell, provide, or
18
deliver any product or service for which verification of
19
identity or age is required by State or federal law if the
20
medical device wearer refuses to comply with a reasonable
21
request to briefly remove protective medical equipment for the
22
purpose of a visual identification. Nothing in this Act shall
23
be construed to require an operator to complete a sale or
24
provide service to an individual who declines to comply with
25
such a request.
26

(f) Undue hardship exemption. The operator of a place of

HB4848
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LRB104 19554 BAB 33002 b
1
public accommodation has the burden of proving undue hardship.
2
The fact that an operator would allow similarly situated
3
individuals to wear protective medical equipment creates a
4
rebuttable presumption that the right to wear protective
5
medical equipment does not impose an undue hardship on the
6
operator.

7

Section 97.
Severability.
The provisions of this Act are
8
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

9

Section 99.
Effective date.
This Act takes effect upon
10
becoming law.

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