Section 750.210  Eligibility for Public Contracts

a)         The requirements of this Section shall apply to all persons employing fifteen or more individuals at any time during the 365 day period immediately preceding the date of filing.  No such person shall be eligible to be awarded a contract by a State agency, as defined in the Illinois Procurement Code [30 ILCS 500/1-15.100], unless such person has filed with the Department a properly completed and sworn Employer Report Form (Form PC-1, also known as IL 442-0010) or holds a valid Number.  Such filing with the Department must take place prior to bid opening, if a bidding or competitive selection procedure is required under the Illinois Procurement Code [30 ILCS 500/1-1], or in all other cases, contract award.  An Employer Report Form shall be deemed filed when it is received, in the Department's Chicago office, properly completed and signed.

b)         Each person who files such a form in compliance with this Section shall be issued a Number as evidence of its eligibility to bid on, or be awarded, public contracts.  Such shall expire five years from the date of issue, without further notice to the person.  At any time prior to the expiration date, the Department may suspend or revoke the Number in accordance with the Act or this Part.  Such Number shall also expire upon dissolution, sale, or merger of the public contractor or eligible bidder.

c)         If the Department finds that a public contractor or eligible bidder is underutilizing minorities and/or women in any job classification, as defined in Section 750.120 of this Part, it shall require the submission of an acceptable affirmative action plan.

1)         After submitting an acceptable plan, the contractor or eligible bidder shall file such reports as the Department may require to document the contractor's or s; progress under the plan.  The Department may require that such reports contain information that includes, but is not limited to, the contractor's or eligible bidder's:

A)        identification of underutilization (as required in Section 750.120 of this Part);

B)        hiring and promotional goals and timetables;

C)        personnel policies and procedures;

D)        personnel outreach and recruitment efforts;

E)         personnel transactions (including hires, promotions, discharges, layoffs, and disciplinary actions);

F)         employee compensation and benefits;

G)        sexual harassment prevention policies and procedures;

H)        allegations of unlawful discrimination (as defined in Section 750.110(a) of this Part); and

I)          compliance with any specific commitments made by the contractor or eligible bidder in its plan.

2)         The Department may require a contractor or eligible bidder to file such reports until such time as the underutilization has been eliminated, but no more than quarterly.

d)         A public contractor or eligible bidder may voluntarily relinquish its Number by so notifying the Department in writing addressed to the Department's Chicago office.  Each public contractor or eligible bidder must notify the Department in writing of any change of address or other information which may be necessary for the Department to readily contact it.

e)         A public contractor or eligible bidder which cannot be located by the Department or which does not respond to a written inquiry sent to its last known address, or which does not respond to a notice published in the Illinois Procurement Bulletin (see 30 ILCS 500/15-1), and/or in other publications of general circulation, may be deemed to have relinquished its Number.

f)          Upon the written request of a contracting agency, which request shall state the reasons therefor, the Department may exempt any person from the requirements of subsection (a) of this Section when it deems that exceptional circumstances and the public interest so require.  Such exemption shall be granted for a specified purpose and duration but may be withdrawn by the Department at any time; provided however, that such withdrawal shall not apply to contracts awarded prior to the withdrawal.

g)         The requirements of subsection (a) of this Section shall not apply to:

1)         State agencies, boards, and commissions required to file affirmative action plans with the Department pursuant to 56 Ill. Adm. Code 2520.710;

2)         persons located wholly outside the territorial boundaries of the United State and who have no employees in the United States and will not hire employees in the United States to perform any part of any public contract;

3)         Procurements designated as small purchases pursuant to 30 ILCS 500/20-20;

4)         Procurements designated as sole-source pursuant to 30 ILCS 500/20-25; and

5)         Procurements designated as emergency pursuant to 30 ILCS 500/20-30.

h)         Beginning July 1, 1998, persons covered under this Section may obtain forms required to apply for Numbers by writing to the Public Contracts Unit, Department of Human Rights, 100 W. Randolph Street, Suite 10-100 Chicago IL, 60601 or by accessing the Department's website at www.state.il.us/dhr.  Persons who are hearing-impared may also contact the Department by TDD at 312-263-1579.

i)          All Numbers issued by the Department or the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission between February 1, 1973, and June 30, 1998, shall expire on August 31, 1999.

(Source:  Amended at 22 Ill. Reg. 11774, effective July 1, 1998)