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91_HB1959enr
HB1959 Enrolled LRB9104081WHpr
1 AN ACT regarding certain contracts for the delivery of
2 human services.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6 Human Services Delivery Neutrality Agreement Act.
7 Section 5. Legislative findings and declaration of
8 policy.
9 (a) The purpose of this Act is to set forth a program
10 to better provide human services to needy citizens of the
11 State of Illinois. The State of Illinois enters into
12 reimbursement agreements with, contracts with, and provides
13 grants to private entities (contractors and grantees) for the
14 purpose of providing residential and day treatment services
15 to the mentally ill and developmentally disabled. The State
16 of Illinois enters into these contracts and provides these
17 grants to best provide the human services necessary for the
18 care and development of its neediest citizens.
19 (b) The General Assembly finds that the needs of its
20 mentally ill and developmentally disabled citizens cannot be
21 met if the services provided to them through reimbursement
22 agreements, contracts, or grant agreements between the State
23 of Illinois and contractors and grantees are subject to
24 disruption. The General Assembly further finds that the
25 likelihood of service disruption is enhanced when contention
26 arises between contractors and grantees and labor
27 organizations seeking to represent the employees of those
28 entities. The General Assembly finds that contractors and
29 grantees that seek to influence their employees with respect
30 to the decision of those employees to be or not to be
31 represented by a labor organization, that is contractors and
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1 grantees who fail to remain neutral during periods when labor
2 organizations are seeking to become the representative of
3 their employees, are most likely to be subject to strikes,
4 work stoppages, or work disruptions by their employees.
5 These strikes, work stoppages, or work disruptions have a
6 detrimental effect on the services being provided to Illinois
7 citizens who are mentally ill or developmentally disabled.
8 (c) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State
9 of Illinois that, to prevent the disruption of residential
10 and day treatment services to its mentally ill and
11 developmentally disabled citizens, the State of Illinois
12 shall require as a condition of any contract or grant that
13 the contractor or grantee remain neutral, as set forth in
14 this Act, when a labor organization seeks to become the
15 representative of their employees with respect to the
16 decision of those employees to be represented or not to be
17 represented by the labor organization.
18 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
19 "Contractor or grantee" means an individual or entity
20 other than the State of Illinois, a State agency, or a
21 political subdivision of the State of Illinois, which has a
22 reimbursement agreement or contractual or other relationship
23 with or has received moneys from the State of Illinois or a
24 State agency to provide residential or day treatment services
25 to mentally ill or developmentally disabled persons, which
26 reimbursement agreement, contract, or grant is funded in
27 whole or in part by the State of Illinois, or through the
28 Medicaid program of the State of Illinois. "Contractor"
29 includes a subcontractor and a contractor of a grantee and
30 any other entity controlled in whole or in part by the
31 contractor, or an entity in which the contractor has a
32 substantial beneficial interest. "Grantee" includes a
33 sub-grantee and a grantee of a contractor and any other
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1 entity controlled in whole or in part by the grantee, or an
2 entity in which the grantee has a substantial beneficial
3 interest.
4 "Employee" means a person employed by a contractor or
5 grantee other than a person employed in a bona fide
6 supervisory or managerial position as defined by applicable
7 law.
8 "Labor organization" means an organization of any kind in
9 which employees participate and which exists for the purpose,
10 in whole or in part, of representing employees concerning
11 grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, benefits,
12 hours of employment, or working conditions.
13 "Neutrality agreement" means an agreement by a contractor
14 or a grantee which includes all of the following provisions:
15 (i) not to use State funds to promote, assist, or
16 deter union organizing or to otherwise seek to influence
17 the decision of any of its employees to be represented or
18 not represented by a labor organization; and
19 (ii) not to require or prohibit the attendance of
20 employees at any meeting related to union representation;
21 and
22 (iii) not to schedule or hold meetings related to
23 union representation during an employee's work time or in
24 work areas; and
25 (iv) to allow a labor organization the same
26 opportunity to communicate with employees as is used by
27 the contractor or the grantee, including the right to
28 have access to the premises of the contractor or grantee,
29 post notices, distribute literature, and use the premises
30 of the employer to hold meetings with employees.
31 "State funds" means any money or other thing of value
32 provided by the State of Illinois, a State agency, or a
33 political subdivision of the State of Illinois.
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1 Section 15. Policy requirements.
2 (a) All contractors and grantees shall be subject to and
3 shall abide by a neutrality agreement.
4 (b) No contractor or grantee shall receive a contract or
5 grant to provide residential or day treatment services for
6 the mentally ill or developmentally disabled citizens of the
7 State of Illinois unless the contractor or grantee has agreed
8 to a neutrality agreement.
9 (c) Any reimbursement agreement, contract, or grant
10 entered into by and between a contractor or a grantee and the
11 State of Illinois or a State agency to provide residential or
12 day treatment services to the mentally ill or developmentally
13 disabled shall include a neutrality agreement and an
14 agreement by the contractor or grantee to comply with the
15 terms of the neutrality agreement.
16 (d) Any grant agreement entered into by and between a
17 grantee and the State of Illinois or a State agency to
18 provide residential or day treatment services to the mentally
19 ill or developmentally disabled shall include a neutrality
20 agreement and an agreement by the grantee to comply with the
21 terms of the neutrality agreement.
22 (e) Any contractor or grantee entering into a contract
23 with any person or entity to provide any of the services
24 subject to the contract or grant agreement between the
25 contractor or grantee and the State of Illinois or a State
26 agency shall include in the contract or grant agreement a
27 neutrality agreement identical to the neutrality agreement in
28 the contract or grant agreement between the contractor or
29 grantee and the State of Illinois or State agency.
30 Section 20. Reporting. Any labor organization may file
31 a complaint with the Department of Human Services if it
32 believes that a contractor or grantee is expending funds in
33 violation of this Act. Upon the filing of such a complaint,
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1 the Department of Human Services shall, within one week,
2 notify the contractor or grantee that it must provide the
3 following accounting:
4 (a) the date, the amount of, and the nature of any use
5 of money or other things of value for the production or
6 distribution of literature or other similar communications,
7 the holding of meetings, including meetings with supervisors
8 and managerial employees, and the use of consultants or
9 lawyers;
10 (b) the source of the money or other things of value so
11 used.
12 The accounting shall be made to the Department of Human
13 Services within 14 calendar days of the receipt of the
14 request for it. The accounting shall be made available to
15 the complainant upon receipt by the Department of Human
16 Services.
17 Section 25. Enforcement.
18 (a) If a contractor or grantee breaches a neutrality
19 agreement or fails to comply with the reporting requirements
20 of Section 20, the State of Illinois may take any action
21 necessary to enforce compliance, including but not limited to
22 a civil action for injunctive relief, declaratory relief,
23 specific performance, or damages or a combination of those
24 remedies.
25 (b) If the State of Illinois brings an enforcement
26 action for violation of this Act, any person or labor
27 organization with a direct interest in compliance with this
28 Act may join in that enforcement action as a real party in
29 interest.
30 (c) If the State of Illinois declines to institute an
31 action for enforcement for violation of this Act, any person
32 or labor organization with a direct interest in compliance
33 with this Act may institute and enforce a civil action on his
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1 or her or its own behalf against the contractor or grantee
2 and seek injunctive relief, declaratory relief, specific
3 performance, or damages or a combination of those remedies.
4 (d) Remedies for violation of this Act include but are
5 not limited to injunctive and declaratory relief, specific
6 performance, and monetary damages. In view of the difficulty
7 of determining actual damages incurred because of a violation
8 of this Act, liquidated damages shall be awarded at the rate
9 of $1,000 for each violation plus an additional $500 for each
10 day the violation continues without remedy. Damages shall be
11 distributed equally between the State of Illinois and the
12 private plaintiffs, if any.
13 Section 90. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
14 severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
15 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16 becoming law.
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