Public Act 101-0533
 
SB0726 EnrolledLRB101 04487 RJF 49495 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Personnel Code is amended by adding Section
17b as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 415/17b new)
    Sec. 17b. Trainee program for persons with a disability.
    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and
after July 1, 2020, each State agency with 1,500 employees or
more shall, and each executive branch constitutional officer
may, offer at least one position per year to be filled by a
person with a disability, as defined by the federal Americans
with Disabilities Act, through an established trainee program.
Agencies with fewer than 1,500 employees may also elect to
participate in the program. The trainee position shall last for
a period of at least 6 months and shall require the trainee to
participate in the trainee program for at least 20 hours per
week. The program shall be administered by the Department of
Central Management Services. The Department of Central
Management Services shall conduct an initial assessment of
potential candidates, and the hiring agency or officer shall
conduct a final interview. Upon successful completion of the
trainee program, the respective agency or officer shall issue a
certificate of completion of the trainee program, which shall
be sent to the Department of Central Management Services for
final approval. Individuals who successfully complete a
trainee appointment under this Section are eligible for
promotion to the target title without further examination. The
Department of Central Management Services, in cooperation with
the Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons with
Disabilities Task Force, shall adopt rules to implement and
administer the trainee program for persons with disabilities,
including, but not limited to, establishing non-political
selection criteria, implementing an assessment and interview
process that accommodates persons with a disability, and
linking trainee programs to targeted full-time position
titles.
    (b) The Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons
with Disabilities Task Force shall prepare an annual report to
be submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly that
includes: (1) best practices for helping persons with a
disability gain employment; (2) proposed rules for adoption by
the Department of Central Management Services for the
administration and implementation of the trainee program under
this Section; (3) the number of agencies that participated in
the trainee program under this Section in the previous calendar
year; and (4) the number of individuals who participated in the
trainee program who became full-time employees of the State at
the conclusion of the trainee program.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.