SB2215 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 15838 KTG 40148 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB2215

Introduced 1/13/2016, 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 of 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.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning employment.

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

Section 5. The Prevailing Wage Act is amended by changing Section 6 and by adding Section 10.5 as follows:

(820 ILCS 130/6) (from Ch. 48, par. 39s-6)

Sec. 6. Any officer, agent or representative of any public body who wilfully violates, or willfully fails to comply with, any of the provisions of this Act, and any contractor or subcontractor, and any officer, employee, or agent thereof, who as such officer, employee, or agent, has a duty to create, keep, maintain, or produce any record or document required by this Act to be created, kept, maintained, or produced who willfully fails to create, keep, maintain, or produce such record or document as or when required by this Act, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

The Department of Labor shall inquire diligently as to any violation, as provided in Section 10.5 of this Act of this Act, shall institute actions for penalties herein prescribed, and shall enforce generally the provisions of this Act. The Attorney General shall prosecute such cases upon complaint by the Department or any interested person.

(Source: P.A. 97-571, eff. 1-1-12.)

(820 ILCS 130/10.5 new)

Sec. 10.5. Investigation and hearings.

(a) Complaints.

(1) Within 30 days after the date that an alleged violation of this Act has occurred, a complaint in writing under oath or affirmation may be filed with the Department of Labor by an aggrieved party for the purposes of investigating the alleged violation.

(2) The complaint shall include, in sufficient detail, all relevant information concerning the time, place, and facts surrounding the alleged violation. The name of any party filing the complaint shall be disclosed to the contractor or subcontractor alleged to have violated the Act.

(3) Any person who:

(A) knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false complaint; or

(B) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent complaint,

is liable to the Department of Labor for $5,000 for each false complaint filed. Any person found to knowingly file a false complaint shall also be liable to the contractor or subcontractor who was falsely accused for any incurred legal fees, administrative fees, and penalties assessed by the Department of Labor pursuant to the complaint.

(b) Notice and response to complaint. The Department of Labor shall, within 10 days after the date the complaint was filed, serve a copy of the complaint on the contractor or subcontractor. The contractor or subcontractor alleged to have violated this Act may file a position statement and other materials with the Department of Labor regarding the complaint within 30 days after receipt of the notice of the complaint. The position statement and other materials filed shall remain confidential unless otherwise agreed to by the contractor or subcontractor providing the information and shall not be served on or made available to the other party during the investigation of the complaint by the Department of Labor.

The Department of Labor may require the contractor or subcontractor to file a verified response to the allegations contained in the complaint within 30 days after receipt of the notice of the complaint. The Department of Labor may issue a notice of default directed to any contractor or subcontractor who fails to file a verified response to a complaint within 30 days after receipt of the notice of the complaint, unless the contractor or subcontractor can demonstrate good cause as to why such notice should not be issued. All allegations contained in the charge not timely denied by the contractor or subcontractor in a verified response shall be deemed admitted, unless the contractor or subcontractor states that it is without sufficient information to form a belief with respect to such allegation. A contractor or subcontractor shall have the right to supplement their position statement or verified response at any time that the investigation of the complaint is pending.

(c) Report.

(1) Each complaint shall be the subject of a report to the Director of Labor. The report shall be a confidential document subject to review by the Director of Labor, authorized Department of Labor employees, and the parties.

(2) Upon review of the report, the Director of Labor shall determine whether there is substantial evidence that the alleged violation of the Act has been committed.

(3) If the Director of Labor determines that there is no violation of this Act, he or she shall issue a decision denying the alleged violation. The Director of Labor shall provide notice of the decision to both parties and state that the decision shall become the final order of the Director of Labor on the matter unless, within 15 days after its receipt, the Complainant files a request for a hearing with the Director of Labor.

(4) If the Director of Labor determines that there is a violation of this Act, he or she shall issue a decision incorporating his or her findings and requiring the contractor or subcontractor to take such affirmative action to remedy the conduct as the Director of Labor deems appropriate. The Director of Labor shall provide notice of the decision to both parties and state that the decision shall become the final order of the Director of Labor on the matter unless, within 15 days after its receipt, the contractor or subcontractor files a request for a hearing with the Director of Labor.

(5) The Director of Labor may, in his or her discretion, find no violation of this Act if:

(A) the parties and the Director of Labor agree that such finding is appropriate to the investigation; and

(B) if the finding is made to promote the effective resolution of the complaint.

(d) Hearings. Upon the receipt of a properly filed request for a hearing, the Director of Labor shall convene an administrative hearing pursuant to the provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.

(e) Judicial review. A final order issued by the Director under this Section is subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law.

(f) Applicability. This Section applies to complaints filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly.

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