Labor Committee
Filed: 3/11/2009
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| 1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3634
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| 2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3634, AS AMENDED, in | ||||||
| 3 | Section 5, by replacing the introductory clause and Secs. 20 | ||||||
| 4 | and 30 with the following:
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| 5 | "Section 5. The Equal Pay Act of 2003 is amended by | ||||||
| 6 | changing Sections 15, 20, 30, and 35 as follows:
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| 7 | (820 ILCS 112/15)
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| 8 | Sec. 15. Enforcement. | ||||||
| 9 | (a) The Director or his or her authorized
representative | ||||||
| 10 | shall
administer and enforce the provisions of this Act. The | ||||||
| 11 | Director of Labor shall
adopt rules
necessary to administer and | ||||||
| 12 | enforce this Act.
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| 13 | (b) An employee or former employee may file a complaint | ||||||
| 14 | with the
Department alleging a violation of this Act by | ||||||
| 15 | submitting a signed, completed complaint form. All complaints | ||||||
| 16 | shall be filed with the Department within one year from the | ||||||
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| 1 | date of the underpayment. | ||||||
| 2 | (c) The Department has the power to conduct investigations | ||||||
| 3 | in
connection with
the administration and enforcement of this | ||||||
| 4 | Act and the authorized officers and
employees of the
Department | ||||||
| 5 | are authorized to investigate and gather data regarding the | ||||||
| 6 | wages,
hours, and other
conditions and practices of employment | ||||||
| 7 | in any industry subject to this Act, and
may enter and
inspect | ||||||
| 8 | such places and such records at reasonable times during regular
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| 9 | business hours, question
the employees and investigate the | ||||||
| 10 | facts, conditions, practices, or matters as
he or she may deem
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| 11 | necessary or appropriate to determine whether any person has | ||||||
| 12 | violated any
provision of this Act, or which may aid in the | ||||||
| 13 | enforcement of this Act.
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| 14 | (Source: P.A. 93-6, eff. 1-1-04.)
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| 15 | (820 ILCS 112/20)
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| 16 | Sec. 20. Recordkeeping requirements. An employer subject | ||||||
| 17 | to any
provision of this
Act shall make and preserve records | ||||||
| 18 | that document the name, address, and
occupation of each
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| 19 | employee, the wages paid to each employee, and any other
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| 20 | information
the Director
may by rule deem necessary and | ||||||
| 21 | appropriate for enforcement of this Act.
An employer
subject to | ||||||
| 22 | any provision of this Act shall preserve those records for a | ||||||
| 23 | period
of not less than 5
3 years and shall
make reports from | ||||||
| 24 | the records as prescribed by rule or order of the
Director, | ||||||
| 25 | unless the records relate to an ongoing investigation or | ||||||
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| 1 | enforcement action under this Act, in which case the records | ||||||
| 2 | must be maintained until their destruction is authorized by the | ||||||
| 3 | Department or by court order.
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| 4 | (Source: P.A. 93-6, eff. 1-1-04.)
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| 5 | (820 ILCS 112/30)
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| 6 | Sec. 30. Violations; fines and penalties.
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| 7 | (a) If an employee is paid by his or her employer less than | ||||||
| 8 | the wage to
which he or
she is entitled in
violation of Section | ||||||
| 9 | 10 of this Act, the employee may recover in a civil action
the | ||||||
| 10 | entire amount of any
underpayment together with interest and | ||||||
| 11 | the costs and reasonable attorney's
fees as may be
allowed by | ||||||
| 12 | the
court and as necessary to make the employee whole. At the | ||||||
| 13 | request of the
employee or on a motion of the Director,
the | ||||||
| 14 | Department may
make an assignment of the wage claim in trust | ||||||
| 15 | for the assigning employee and
may bring any
legal action | ||||||
| 16 | necessary to collect the claim, and the employer shall be | ||||||
| 17 | required
to pay the costs
incurred in collecting the claim. | ||||||
| 18 | Every such action shall be brought within 5 3
years from the | ||||||
| 19 | date
the employee learned of the underpayment. For purposes of | ||||||
| 20 | this Act, "date of the underpayment" means each time wages are | ||||||
| 21 | underpaid.
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| 22 | (b) The Director is authorized to supervise the payment of | ||||||
| 23 | the unpaid wages
owing to any
employee or employees under this | ||||||
| 24 | Act and may bring any legal action necessary
to recover the
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| 25 | amount of unpaid wages and penalties and the employer shall be | ||||||
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| 1 | required to pay
the costs. Any
sums recovered by the Director | ||||||
| 2 | on behalf of an employee under this
Section shall be
paid to | ||||||
| 3 | the employee or employees affected.
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| 4 | (c) Any employer who violates any provision of this Act or | ||||||
| 5 | any rule
adopted under the Act is subject to a civil penalty | ||||||
| 6 | not to exceed $2,500
for each violation for
each employee | ||||||
| 7 | affected. In determining the amount of the penalty, the
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| 8 | appropriateness of the
penalty to the size of the business of | ||||||
| 9 | the employer charged and the gravity of
the violation shall
be | ||||||
| 10 | considered. The penalty may be recovered in a civil action | ||||||
| 11 | brought by the
Director in
any circuit court.
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| 12 | (Source: P.A. 93-6, eff. 1-1-04.)".
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