HB5701 EngrossedLRB098 18610 JLS 55483 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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Job
5Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that it is
7in the public interest to do more to give Illinois employers
8access to the broadest pool of qualified applicants possible,
9protect the civil rights of those seeking employment, and
10ensure that all qualified applicants are properly considered
11for employment opportunities and are not pre-screened or denied
12an employment opportunity unnecessarily or unjustly.
 
13    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
14    "Applicant" means any person pursuing employment with an
15employer or with or through an employment agency.
16    "Employer" means any person or private entity that has 15
17or more employees in the current or preceding calendar year,
18and any agent of such an entity or person.
19    "Employment agency" means any person or entity regularly
20undertaking with or without compensation to procure employees
21for an employer or to procure for employees opportunities to
22work for an employer and includes an agent of such a person.

 

 

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1    "Employment" means any occupation or vocation.
 
2    Section 15. Employer pre-screening.
3    (a) An employer or employment agency may not inquire about
4or into, consider, or require disclosure of the criminal record
5or criminal history of an applicant until the applicant has
6been determined qualified for the position and notified that
7the applicant has been selected for an interview by the
8employer or employment agency or, if there is not an interview,
9until after a conditional offer of employment is made to the
10applicant by the employer or employment agency.
11    (b) The requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this
12Section do not apply for positions where:
13        (1) employers are required to exclude applicants with
14    certain criminal convictions from employment due to
15    federal or State law; or
16        (2) a standard fidelity bond or an equivalent bond is
17    required and an applicant's conviction of one or more
18    specified criminal offenses would disqualify the applicant
19    from obtaining such a bond, in which case an employer may
20    include a question or otherwise inquire whether the
21    applicant has ever been convicted of any of those offenses.
22    (c) This Section does not prohibit an employer from
23notifying applicants in writing of the specific offenses that
24will disqualify an applicant from employment in a particular
25position due to federal or State law or the employer's policy.
 

 

 

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1    Section 20. Administration of Act and rulemaking
2authority.
3    (a) The Illinois Department of Labor shall investigate any
4alleged violations of this Act by an employer or employment
5agency. If the Department finds that a violation has occurred,
6the Director of Labor may impose the following civil penalties:
7        (1) For the first violation, the Director shall issue a
8    written warning to the employer or employment agency that
9    includes notice regarding penalties for subsequent
10    violations and the employer shall have 30 days to remedy
11    the violation;
12        (2) For the second violation, or if the first violation
13    is not remedied within 30 days of notice by the Department,
14    the Director may impose a civil penalty of up to $500;
15        (3) For the third violation, or if the first violation
16    is not remedied within 60 days of notice by the Department,
17    the Director may impose an additional civil penalty of up
18    to $1,500;
19        (4) For subsequent violations, or if the first
20    violation is not remedied within 90 days of notice by the
21    Department, the Director may impose an additional civil
22    penalty of up to $1,500 for every 30 days that passes
23    thereafter without compliance.
24    (b) Penalties under this Section may be assessed by the
25Department and recovered in a civil action brought by the

 

 

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1Department in any circuit court or in any administrative
2adjudicative proceeding under this Act. In any such civil
3action or administrative adjudicative proceeding under this
4Act, the Department shall be represented by the Attorney
5General.
6    (c) All moneys recovered as civil penalties under this
7Section shall be deposited into the Job Opportunities for
8Qualified Applicants Enforcement Fund, a special fund which is
9created in the State treasury. Moneys in the Fund may be used
10only to enforce employer violations of this Act.
11    (d) The Department may adopt rules necessary to administer
12this Act and may establish an administrative procedure to
13adjudicate claims and issue final and binding decisions subject
14to the Administrative Review Law.
 
15    Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
16Section 5.855 as follows:
 
17    (30 ILCS 105/5.855 new)
18    Sec. 5.855. The Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants
19Enforcement Fund.
 
20    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
211, 2015.