SB0726eng 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0726 Engrossed LRB101 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 21 as follows:

(20 ILCS 415/21 new)

Sec. 21. Internships for persons with a disability.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and after January 1, 2020, each State agency with 1,500 employees or more and each executive branch constitutional officer is required to offer at least one internship position per year to be filled by a person with a disability, as defined by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Agencies with fewer than 1,500 employees may also elect to participate in the program. The internship shall be unpaid, shall last for a period of at least 6 months, and shall require the intern to participate in the internship for at least 20 hours per week. The program shall be administered by the Department of Central Management Services as part of its Disabled Workers Program. Each internship shall be affiliated with a specific job code within the hiring agency. The Department of Central Management Services shall conduct an initial interview of potential interns, and the hiring agency or officer shall conduct a final interview. Upon completion of the internship, the Department of Central Management Services shall issue a certificate of completion to the intern. Individuals who successfully complete an internship under this Section shall be eligible to participate in the Disabled Workers Program authorized under Section 405-122 of the Department of Central Management Services Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois without 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 internship program, including, but not limited to, establishing non-political selection criteria, implementing an interview process that accommodates persons with a disability, and linking internships to permanent, targeted job codes.

(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 internship program under this Section; (3) the number of agencies that participated in the internship program under this Section in the previous calendar year; and (4) the number of individuals who participated in the internship program who became full-time employees of the State at the conclusion of the internship.

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