HB5242 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB094 19219 RSP 54773 b

94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB5242

Introduced 1/24/2006, by Rep. Julie Hamos

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 3501/801-50 new
20 ILCS 3501/801-51 new
20 ILCS 3501/801-52 new
20 ILCS 3501/801-53 new

Amends the Illinois Finance Authority Act. Provides that all projects undertaken with the participation of the Illinois Finance Authority must have as a condition of the contract or financing agreement certain provisions relating to charity care, labor relations, and labor requirements. With respect to labor relations, provides that any contract or financing arrangement entered into with the Authority must include contract terms under which the employer agrees to: (1) enter into a labor peace agreement with a labor organization that requests such an agreement for the conduct of a campaign in which it seeks to represent the employer's employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, or (2) if the parties are unable to agree to the terms of a labor peace agreement within 14 days of the commencement of negotiations, enter into final and binding arbitration in which the terms of a labor peace agreement will be imposed by an arbitrator. Sets forth provisions that must be included in a labor peace agreement. Provides that an employer may be exempt from these requirements under certain circumstances. Sets forth certain consequences for violating these required contract terms including termination of the contract under certain circumstances. Sets forth certain labor requirements for projects undertaken with the participation of the Illinois Finance Authority, including: (1) for all new construction, the employers, their contractors, and subcontractors shall pay their workforces fair and decent wages (2) employers, their contractors, and subcontractors shall comply with all applicable labor laws, and (3) employers, their contractors, and subcontractors shall maintain, at all times, safe and healthful working conditions and abide by all applicable wage and hour regulations and prohibitions against child labor and conform to the standards set by the federal OSHA or a similar State agency. Adds other provisions.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Finance Authority Act is amended by adding Sections 801-50, 801-51, 801-52, and 801-53 as follows:

(20 ILCS 3501/801-50 new)

Sec. 801-50. Required terms. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, on and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, all projects undertaken with the participation of the Illinois Finance Authority shall have as a condition of the contract or financing agreement, whether for a grant, loan, loan guarantee, bond, venture capital, or lease financing, the following:

(1) A health facility of any size shall comply with Section 801-51.

(2) A person, unit of government, health facility, educational facility, cultural facility, or private institution of higher education with an aggregate value that exceeds $250,000 shall comply with Section 801-52.

(3) A person, unit of government, health facility, educational facility, cultural facility, or private institution of higher education with a project of any size shall comply with Section 801-53.

(20 ILCS 3501/801-51 new)

Sec. 801-51. Health facility charity care.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act to the contrary, a health facility shall have as a condition of a contract or financing agreement with the Authority the following terms:

(1) The facility shall have a written policy to provide charity care to the consuming public and shall demonstrate that it provides such charity care. "Charity care" is defined as care for which the provider does not expect to receive payment from the patient or a third party payer and shall be reported separately from other benefits by applying a cost-to-charge ratio to charity charges.

(2) Except for Critical Access Hospitals or Necessary Providers, as designated by the Illinois Department of Public Health, the facility shall have specific plans to increase spending on charity care to 8% of operating expenses, measured at cost.

(b) The Illinois Attorney General shall monitor and enforce compliance with this Section.

(20 ILCS 3501/801-52 new)

Sec. 801-52. Labor relations.

(a) In order to promote the free and informed decision of employees to determine whether to be represented by a labor organization, and to prevent the potentially adverse economic and societal effects of labor disputes, any contract or financing arrangement entered into with the Authority shall include the following terms under which the employer agrees to:

(1) Enter into a labor peace agreement with a labor organization for the conduct of a campaign to represent the employer's employees in an appropriate bargaining unit. "Labor peace agreement" means a written statement between an employer and a labor organization that is seeking to organize that employer's employees, which provides, at a minimum, the following:

(i) The employer agrees that during the labor organization's conduct of an organizing campaign, neither it nor its agents shall express to employees false or misleading information that is intended to influence the determination of employee preference regarding union representation.

(ii) The labor organization agrees that neither it nor its agents shall misrepresent to employees the facts and circumstances surrounding their employment.

(iii) The employer agrees to provide the labor organization with a complete and accurate list of the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the employees of the employer working within the appropriate bargaining unit. In determining what constitutes an appropriate bargaining unit, the traditional composition of similar units shall be considered.

(iv) The employer agrees to provide the organization's members and representatives timely and reasonable access to the workplace for the purpose of providing employees with information about the organization, provided that there is no interference with the conduct of the employer's business.

(v) The labor organization agrees to forbearance from economic action against the employer at the work site of an organizing drive covered by this Section, and in relation to an organizing campaign only (not to terms of a collective bargaining agreement), so long as the employer complies with the terms of the labor peace agreement.

(vi) The employer and the labor organization agree to language and procedures prohibiting the employer or the labor organization from coercing or intimidating employees, explicitly or implicitly, in selecting or not selecting a bargaining representative. No employee, individually or in a group, shall be required to attend a meeting or event that is intended to influence his or her decision in selecting or not selecting a bargaining representative.

(2) Submit to final and binding arbitration under the auspices of the Illinois Department of Labor under the following circumstances:

(i) to determine the terms of the labor peace agreement if the parties are unable to agree within 14 days of the commencement of negotiations;

(ii) to determine the scope or composition of the bargaining unit; or

(iii) to resolve any disputes over interpretation or application of the labor peace agreement.

(b) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (a) of this Section, any employer who has in good faith fully complied with those requirements shall be excused from further compliance as to a labor organization that:

(1) Has failed to comply with the terms of the labor peace agreement that prohibits the labor organization and its members from engaging in any economic action against that employer at that site in furtherance of a campaign to organize that employer's employees at that site for collective bargaining. This paragraph shall not be interpreted, however, to apply to economic action against an employer at other locations where that employer does business, or at any location for purposes other than organizing the employer's employees.

(2) Has been determined through final and binding arbitration to have violated the provisions of the labor peace agreement as required by this Section.

(c) Any dispute concerning compliance with the labor peace agreement shall be referred to final and binding arbitration under the auspices of the Illinois Department of Labor. When a violation of this Section by a party to a labor peace agreement has been determined through final and binding arbitration, the Illinois Department of Labor shall immediately notify the violating party and the Authority of the violation and direct the party to take all action necessary to halt the violation. If, after notice of a violation to the violating party, the violation is not corrected, or if further violations of this Section are committed during the term of the contract, the Authority shall take one of the following actions:

(1) Terminate or cancel the contract, in whole or in part, without liability for the uncompleted portion or any services purchased or paid for by the contracting party for use in completing the contract. A violation by a prime contractor shall not be imputed to a subcontractor, nor shall a violation by a subcontractor be imputed to a contractor.

(2) Allow the contract to remain in effect until its expiration but notify the violating party of the Authority's intent to refuse to accept subsequent proposals or award a future contract to the violating party.

(d) As used in this subsection:

(1) "Labor organization" means any employee organization in which employees participate and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of engaging in collective bargaining with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, and conditions of employment.

(2) "Labor dispute" means any concerted action concerning wages, hours, and conditions of employment, or concerning the representation of persons in negotiating, maintaining, changing or seeking to arrange wages, hours, and conditions of employment.

(3) "Economic action" means concerted action initiated or conducted by a labor organization or employees acting in concert therewith, to bring economic pressure to bear against an employer, as part of a campaign to organize employees or prospective employees of that employer, including such activities as striking, picketing, or boycotting.

(20 ILCS 3501/801-53 new)

Sec. 801-53. Labor requirements.

(a) For any project involving construction, the employers, their contractors, and subcontractors shall pay their workforces fair and decent wages negotiated in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, or, in an area where their is no collective bargaining agreement, those determined to be prevailing in that particular area for similar workers by the Department of Labor for the purpose of the Service Contract Act or Davis-Bacon Act.

(b) Employers, their contractors, and subcontractors shall comply with all applicable labor laws.

(c) Employers, their contractors, and subcontractors shall maintain, at all times, safe and healthful working conditions and abide by all applicable wage and hour regulations and prohibitions against child labor and conform to the standards set by the federal OSHA or a similar State agency.

(d) The Illinois Department of Labor shall monitor and enforce compliance with this Section.