Public Act 100-0516
 
HB0622 EnrolledLRB100 06098 RJF 16130 b


  
    AN ACT concerning government.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  
 
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act is 
amended  by changing Section 11 as follows:
 



    (5 ILCS 315/11)  (from Ch. 48, par. 1611)



    Sec. 11. Unfair Labor Practice Procedures. Unfair labor 
practices may
be dealt with by the Board in the following 
manner:

    (a) Whenever it is charged that any person has engaged in 
or is engaging
in any unfair labor practice, the Board or any 
agent designated by the Board
for such purposes, shall conduct 
an investigation of the charge.  If after
such investigation the 
Board finds that the charge involves a dispositive
issue of law 
or fact the Board shall issue a complaint and cause to be

served upon the person a complaint stating the charges, 
accompanied by a
notice of hearing before the Board or a member 
thereof designated by the
Board, or before a qualified hearing 
officer designated by the Board at the
offices of the Board or 
such other location as the Board deems appropriate,
not  less 
than 5 days after serving of such complaint provided that no

complaint shall issue based upon any unfair labor practice 
occurring more
than six months prior to the filing of a charge 
with the Board and
the service of a copy thereof upon the 
person against whom the charge is
made, unless the person 
aggrieved thereby did not reasonably have knowledge
of the 
alleged unfair labor practice or was prevented from filing such 
a
charge by reason of service in the armed forces, in which 
event the six
month period shall be computed from the date of 
his discharge. Any such
complaint may be amended by the member 
or hearing officer conducting the
hearing for the Board in his 
discretion at any time prior to the issuance
of an order based 
thereon.  The person who is the subject of the complaint
has the 
right to file an answer to the original or amended complaint 
and
to appear in person or by a representative and give 
testimony at the place
and time fixed in the complaint.  In the 
discretion of the member or hearing
officer conducting the 
hearing or the Board, any other person may be allowed
to 
intervene in the proceeding and to present testimony.  In any 
hearing
conducted by the Board, neither the Board nor the 
member or agent conducting
the hearing shall be bound by the 
rules of evidence applicable to courts,
except as to the rules 
of privilege recognized by law.

    (b) The Board shall have the power to issue subpoenas and 
administer oaths.
If any party wilfully fails or neglects to 
appear or testify or to produce
books, papers and records 
pursuant to the issuance of a subpoena by the
Board, the Board 
may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to request
that 
such party be ordered to appear before the Board to testify or 
produce
the requested evidence.

    (c) Any testimony taken by the Board, or a member 
designated by the Board
or a hearing officer thereof, must be 
reduced to writing and filed with the
Board.   A full and 
complete record shall be kept of all proceedings before
the 
Board, and all proceedings shall be transcribed by a reporter 
appointed
by the Board.  The party on whom the burden of proof 
rests shall be required
to sustain such burden by a 
preponderance of the evidence.  If, upon a
preponderance of the 
evidence taken, the Board is of the opinion that any
person 
named in the charge has engaged in or is engaging in an unfair 
labor
practice, then it shall state its findings of fact and 
shall issue and
cause to be served upon the person an order 
requiring him to cease and
desist from the unfair labor 
practice, and to take such affirmative action,
including 
reinstatement of public employees with or without back pay, as

will effectuate the policies of this Act. If the Board awards 
back pay, it
shall also award interest at the rate of 7% per 
annum. The Board's order
may further require the person to make 
reports from time to time,
and demonstrate the extent to which 
he has complied with the order.  If
there is no preponderance of 
evidence to indicate to the Board that the
person named in the 
charge has engaged in or is engaging in the unfair labor

practice, then the Board shall state its findings of fact and 
shall issue
an order dismissing the complaint.
The Board's 
order may in its discretion also include an appropriate

sanction, based on the Board's rules and regulations, and the 
sanction may
include an order to pay the other party or 
parties' reasonable expenses
including costs and reasonable 
attorney's fee, if the other party has made
allegations or 
denials without reasonable cause and found to be untrue or
has 
engaged in frivolous litigation for the purpose of delay or 
needless
increase in the cost of litigation; the State of 
Illinois or any agency
thereof shall be subject to the 
provisions of this sentence in the same
manner as any other 
party.

    (d) Until the record in a case has been filed in court, the 
Board at any
time, upon reasonable notice and in such manner as 
it deems proper, may
modify or set aside, in whole or in part, 
any finding or order made or
issued by it.

    (e) A charging party or any person aggrieved by a final 
order of the Board
granting or denying in whole or in part the 
relief sought may apply for
and obtain judicial review of an 
order of the Board entered under this Act,
in accordance with 
the provisions of the Administrative Review Law, as now
or 
hereafter amended, except that such judicial review shall be 
afforded
directly in the appellate court for the district in 
which the aggrieved
party resides or transacts business, and 
provided, that such judicial
review shall not be available for 
the purpose of challenging a final order
issued by the Board 
pursuant to Section 9 of this Act for which judicial
review has 
been petitioned pursuant to subsection (i) of Section 9.  Any

direct appeal to the Appellate Court shall be filed within 35 
days from the
date that a copy of the decision sought to be 
reviewed was served upon the
party affected by the decision.  
The filing of such an appeal to the Appellate Court shall not 
automatically stay the enforcement of the Board's order.  An 
aggrieved party may apply to the Appellate Court for a stay of 
the enforcement of the Board's order after the aggrieved party 
has followed the procedure prescribed by Supreme Court Rule 
335. The
Board in proceedings under this
Section may obtain an 
order of the court for the enforcement of its order.

    (f) Whenever it appears that any person has violated a 
final order of
the Board issued pursuant to this Section, the 
Board must commence an action
in the name of the People of the 
State of Illinois by petition, alleging
the violation, 
attaching a copy of the order of the Board, and praying for
the 
issuance of an order directing the person, his officers, 
agents, servants,
successors, and assigns to comply with the 
order of the Board.
The Board shall be represented in this 
action by the Attorney General in
accordance with the Attorney 
General Act. The court may grant or refuse, in
whole or in 
part, the relief sought, provided that the court may stay an

order of the Board in accordance with the Administrative Review 
Law,
pending disposition of the proceedings. The court may 
punish a violation of
its order as in civil contempt.

    (g) The proceedings provided in paragraph (f) of this 
Section shall be
commenced in the Appellate Court for the 
district where the unfair labor
practice which is the subject 
of the Board's order was committed, or where
a person required 
to cease and desist by such order resides or transacts 
business.

    (h) The Board through the Attorney General, shall have 
power, upon issuance
of an unfair labor practice complaint 
alleging that a person has engaged
in or is engaging in an 
unfair labor practice, to petition the circuit court
where the 
alleged unfair labor practice which is the subject of the 
Board's
complaint was allegedly committed, or where a person 
required to cease and
desist from such alleged unfair labor 
practice resides or transacts business,
for appropriate 
temporary relief or restraining order.  Upon the filing of
any 
such petition, the court shall cause notice thereof to be 
served upon
such persons, and thereupon shall have jurisdiction 
to grant to the Board
such temporary relief or restraining 
order as it deems just and proper.

    (i) If an unfair labor practice charge involves the 
interpretation or
application of a collective bargaining 
agreement and said agreement contains
a grievance procedure 
with binding arbitration as its terminal step, the
Board may 
defer the resolution of such dispute to the grievance and 
arbitration
procedure contained in said agreement.

(Source: P.A. 87-736; 88-1.)

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