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| 1 | AN ACT concerning employment.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
| 5 | Employee Background Check Act. | ||||||
| 6 | Section 2. Findings. The General Assembly finds that it is | ||||||
| 7 | in the public interest to give Illinois employers access to the | ||||||
| 8 | broadest pool of qualified applicants possible, to create | ||||||
| 9 | pathways that facilitate observance of the civil rights of | ||||||
| 10 | those seeking employment, and to ensure that all qualified | ||||||
| 11 | applicants are properly considered for available employment | ||||||
| 12 | opportunities and are not pre-screened unnecessarily or | ||||||
| 13 | unjustly. | ||||||
| 14 | Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
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| 15 | "Candidate" means any person considered by an employer when | ||||||
| 16 | identifying potential employees including, but not limited to, | ||||||
| 17 | persons who ask to be considered for employment or who request | ||||||
| 18 | information from an employer regarding potential employment or | ||||||
| 19 | are pursuing employment with an employer in response to some | ||||||
| 20 | indication that an employer may have employment opportunities | ||||||
| 21 | available.
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| 22 | "Employer" means any entity or person that employs one or | ||||||
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| 1 | more persons.
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| 2 | "Employment" means any occupation or vocation.
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| 3 | Section 10. Employer pre-screening.
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| 4 | (a) An employer may not, on the face of an employment | ||||||
| 5 | application or through any other means, inquire about or into a | ||||||
| 6 | candidate's criminal history directly or indirectly until | ||||||
| 7 | after the employer determines the candidate to be qualified for | ||||||
| 8 | the employment opportunity and interviews the candidate.
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| 9 | Employers may orally ask a candidate about criminal convictions | ||||||
| 10 | during an interview. | ||||||
| 11 | (b) The limitations set forth in subsection (a) of this | ||||||
| 12 | Section do not apply to employers who are required to exclude | ||||||
| 13 | candidates from employment because of State or federal law or | ||||||
| 14 | Section 25 of the Health Care Worker Background Check Act.
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| 15 | Section 15. Rebuttable presumption. If an employer hires a | ||||||
| 16 | candidate pursuant to this Act that is determined to have a | ||||||
| 17 | criminal background, the employer shall have a rebuttable | ||||||
| 18 | presumption in any legal proceeding against the employer | ||||||
| 19 | regarding the employment of the candidate that the employer | ||||||
| 20 | performed its due diligence and acted in good faith in hiring | ||||||
| 21 | such candidate.
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| 22 | Section 20. Willful and knowing violations. A candidate may | ||||||
| 23 | bring a civil action in circuit court to recover actual damages | ||||||
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| 1 | that result from an employer's willful and knowing violation of | ||||||
| 2 | this Act of not less than $100 and not more than $500.
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| 3 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January | ||||||
| 4 | 1, 2014.
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