99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB1325

 

Introduced 2/18/2015, by Sen. Pamela J. Althoff

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
820 ILCS 130/6  from Ch. 48, par. 39s-6
820 ILCS 130/10.5 new

    Amends the Prevailing Wage Act. Provides a process for investigation into violations of the Prevailing Wage Act. Provides that the process starts with a complaint to be filed within 30 days of the alleged violation. Provides a $5,000 fine for knowingly filing a false complaint or a record or statement material to a false or fraudulent complaint. Provides a procedure for a response from a contractor or subcontractor. Provides a procedure for the Director of Labor in issuing a decision. Allows a party to request a hearing within 15 days of receiving notice of the Director's decision. Provides that a final order issued by the Director of Labor in relation to this investigation process is subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

SB1325LRB099 08576 JLS 28735 b

1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Prevailing Wage Act is amended by changing
5Section 6 and by adding Section 10.5 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 130/6)  (from Ch. 48, par. 39s-6)
7    Sec. 6. Any officer, agent or representative of any public
8body who wilfully violates, or willfully fails to comply with,
9any of the provisions of this Act, and any contractor or
10subcontractor, and any officer, employee, or agent thereof, who
11as such officer, employee, or agent, has a duty to create,
12keep, maintain, or produce any record or document required by
13this Act to be created, kept, maintained, or produced who
14willfully fails to create, keep, maintain, or produce such
15record or document as or when required by this Act, is guilty
16of a Class A misdemeanor.
17    The Department of Labor shall inquire diligently as to any
18violation, as provided in Section 10.5 of this Act of this Act,
19shall institute actions for penalties herein prescribed, and
20shall enforce generally the provisions of this Act. The
21Attorney General shall prosecute such cases upon complaint by
22the Department or any interested person.
23(Source: P.A. 97-571, eff. 1-1-12.)
 

 

 

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1    (820 ILCS 130/10.5 new)
2    Sec. 10.5. Investigation and hearings.
3    (a) Complaints.
4        (1) Within 30 days after the date that an alleged
5    violation of this Act has occurred, a complaint in writing
6    under oath or affirmation may be filed with the Department
7    of Labor by an aggrieved party for the purposes of
8    investigating the alleged violation.
9        (2) The complaint shall include, in sufficient detail,
10    all relevant information concerning the time, place, and
11    facts surrounding the alleged violation. The name of any
12    party filing the complaint shall be disclosed to the
13    contractor or subcontractor alleged to have violated the
14    Act.
15        (3) Any person who:
16            (A) knowingly presents, or causes to be presented,
17        a false complaint; or
18            (B) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or
19        used, a false record or statement material to a false
20        or fraudulent complaint,
21        is liable to the Department of Labor for $5,000 for
22    each false complaint filed. Any person found to knowingly
23    file a false complaint shall also be liable to the
24    contractor or subcontractor who was falsely accused for any
25    incurred legal fees, administrative fees, and penalties

 

 

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1    assessed by the Department of Labor pursuant to the
2    complaint.
3    (b) Notice and response to complaint. The Department of
4Labor shall, within 10 days after the date the complaint was
5filed, serve a copy of the complaint on the contractor or
6subcontractor. The contractor or subcontractor alleged to have
7violated this Act may file a position statement and other
8materials with the Department of Labor regarding the complaint
9within 30 days after receipt of the notice of the complaint.
10The position statement and other materials filed shall remain
11confidential unless otherwise agreed to by the contractor or
12subcontractor providing the information and shall not be served
13on or made available to the other party during the
14investigation of the complaint by the Department of Labor.
15    The Department of Labor may require the contractor or
16subcontractor to file a verified response to the allegations
17contained in the complaint within 30 days after receipt of the
18notice of the complaint. The Department of Labor may issue a
19notice of default directed to any contractor or subcontractor
20who fails to file a verified response to a complaint within 30
21days after receipt of the notice of the complaint, unless the
22contractor or subcontractor can demonstrate good cause as to
23why such notice should not be issued. All allegations contained
24in the charge not timely denied by the contractor or
25subcontractor in a verified response shall be deemed admitted,
26unless the contractor or subcontractor states that it is

 

 

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1without sufficient information to form a belief with respect to
2such allegation. A contractor or subcontractor shall have the
3right to supplement their position statement or verified
4response at any time that the investigation of the complaint is
5pending.
6    (c) Report.
7        (1) Each complaint shall be the subject of a report to
8    the Director of Labor. The report shall be a confidential
9    document subject to review by the Director of Labor,
10    authorized Department of Labor employees, and the parties.
11        (2) Upon review of the report, the Director of Labor
12    shall determine whether there is substantial evidence that
13    the alleged violation of the Act has been committed.
14        (3) If the Director of Labor determines that there is
15    no violation of this Act, he or she shall issue a decision
16    denying the alleged violation. The Director of Labor shall
17    provide notice of the decision to both parties and state
18    that the decision shall become the final order of the
19    Director of Labor on the matter unless, within 15 days
20    after its receipt, the Complainant files a request for a
21    hearing with the Director of Labor.
22        (4) If the Director of Labor determines that there is a
23    violation of this Act, he or she shall issue a decision
24    incorporating his or her findings and requiring the
25    contractor or subcontractor to take such affirmative
26    action to remedy the conduct as the Director of Labor deems

 

 

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1    appropriate. The Director of Labor shall provide notice of
2    the decision to both parties and state that the decision
3    shall become the final order of the Director of Labor on
4    the matter unless, within 15 days after its receipt, the
5    contractor or subcontractor files a request for a hearing
6    with the Director of Labor.
7        (5) The Director of Labor may, in his or her
8    discretion, find no violation of this Act if:
9            (A) the parties and the Director of Labor agree
10        that such finding is appropriate to the investigation;
11        and
12            (B) if the finding is made to promote the effective
13        resolution of the complaint.
14    (d) Hearings. Upon the receipt of a properly filed request
15for a hearing, the Director of Labor shall convene an
16administrative hearing pursuant to the provisions of the
17Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
18    (e) Judicial review. A final order issued by the Director
19under this Section is subject to judicial review under the
20Administrative Review Law.
21    (f) Applicability. This Section applies to complaints
22filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
23the 99th General Assembly.
 
24    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
25becoming law.