| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 | AN ACT concerning employment.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Task | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Force on Inventorying Employment Restrictions Act of 2016. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | Section 5. Purpose. The General Assembly finds and | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | declares that: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | (1) public safety dictates the adoption of employment
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | restrictions to protect vulnerable populations, to prevent the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | risk of loss and liability, and to minimize the likelihood of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | harm to the public, fellow employees and customers; | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | (2) gainful employment after release from prison is
one of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | the critical elements necessary to achieve successful reentry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | after prison and that employment has been shown to reduce | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | recidivism; | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | (3) to make our communities safer, public safety also
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | requires that employment opportunities not be so restricted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | that people with criminal records are unable to engage in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | gainful employment; | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | (4) many State laws and policies impose restrictions
on the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | employment of persons with criminal records including State | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | government jobs, jobs in State-licensed, regulated and funded | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | entities, and jobs requiring State certification; |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | (5) no comprehensive review of these restrictions has
been | ||||||
2 | undertaken to evaluate whether the restrictions are | ||||||
3 | substantially related to the safety, trust and responsibility | ||||||
4 | required of the job or to the goal of furthering public safety; | ||||||
5 | (6) a less restrictive approach is preferred if it
both | ||||||
6 | furthers public safety and preserves employment opportunities; | ||||||
7 | and | ||||||
8 | (7) the State's agencies, boards, and commissions can
| ||||||
9 | assume a leadership role in providing employment opportunities | ||||||
10 | to people with criminal records by reviewing their employment | ||||||
11 | policies and practices and identifying barriers to employment | ||||||
12 | that can safely be removed to enable people with criminal | ||||||
13 | records to demonstrate their rehabilitation.
| ||||||
14 | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"State | ||||||
15 | agencies" means the following State agencies, boards, and | ||||||
16 | commissions: Department on Aging, Department of Agriculture, | ||||||
17 | Office of Appellate Defender, Office of the State's Attorneys | ||||||
18 | Appellate Prosecutor, Illinois Arts Council, Office of the | ||||||
19 | Attorney General, Auditor General, Capital Development Board, | ||||||
20 | Department of Central Management Services, Department of | ||||||
21 | Children and Family Services, Civil Service Commission, | ||||||
22 | Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, | ||||||
23 | Illinois Commerce Commission, Illinois Community College | ||||||
24 | Board, State of Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan, | ||||||
25 | Office of the Comptroller, Department of Corrections, Criminal |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Justice Information Authority, Illinois Council on | ||||||
2 | Developmental Disabilities, Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing | ||||||
3 | Commission, Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes, | ||||||
4 | State Board of Education, Illinois Educational Labor Relations | ||||||
5 | Board, State Board of Elections, Illinois Emergency Management | ||||||
6 | Agency, Department of Employment Security, Environmental | ||||||
7 | Protection Agency, Illinois State Fair, Illinois Finance | ||||||
8 | Authority, Department of Financial and Professional | ||||||
9 | Regulation, Office of the First Lady, Illinois Gaming Board, | ||||||
10 | Office of the Governor, Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, | ||||||
11 | Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Board of Higher | ||||||
12 | Education, Historic Preservation Agency, Illinois Housing | ||||||
13 | Development Authority, Illinois Human Rights Commission, | ||||||
14 | Department of Human Rights, Department of Human Services, | ||||||
15 | Illinois State Board of Investment, Department of Juvenile | ||||||
16 | Justice, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Department of | ||||||
17 | Labor, Illinois Labor Relations Board, Illinois Law | ||||||
18 | Enforcement Training Standards Board, Illinois Liquor Control | ||||||
19 | Commission, Illinois Lottery, Governor's Office of Management | ||||||
20 | and Budget, Illinois Medical District Commission, Department | ||||||
21 | of Military Affairs, Department of Natural Resources, | ||||||
22 | Pollution Control Board, Prairie State 2000 Authority, | ||||||
23 | Property Tax Appeal Board, Department of Public Health, | ||||||
24 | Illinois Prisoner Review Board, Illinois Racing Board, | ||||||
25 | Department of Revenue, Office of the Secretary of State, State | ||||||
26 | Fire Marshal, Illinois State Police, State Police Merit Board, |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | State Retirement Systems, Office of the State Treasurer, State | ||||||
2 | Universities Civil Service System, State Universities | ||||||
3 | Retirement System, Illinois Student Assistance Commission, | ||||||
4 | Illinois Supreme Court, Illinois Teachers' Retirement System, | ||||||
5 | Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, Department of | ||||||
6 | Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs', Governor's | ||||||
7 | Office of Women's Affairs, and Illinois Workers' Compensation | ||||||
8 | Commission. | ||||||
9 | Section 15. Task Force. | ||||||
10 | (a) The Task Force on Inventorying Employment Restrictions | ||||||
11 | is hereby created in the Illinois Criminal Justice Information | ||||||
12 | Authority. The purpose of the Task Force is to review the | ||||||
13 | statutes, administrative rules, policies and practices that | ||||||
14 | restrict employment of persons with a criminal history, as set | ||||||
15 | out in subsection (c) of this Section, and to report to the | ||||||
16 | Governor and the General Assembly those employment | ||||||
17 | restrictions and their impact on employment opportunities for | ||||||
18 | people with criminal records. The report shall also identify | ||||||
19 | any employment restrictions that are not reasonably related to | ||||||
20 | public safety. | ||||||
21 | (b) Within 60 days after the effective date of this Act, | ||||||
22 | the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of | ||||||
23 | Representatives, the Minority Leader of the Senate, and the | ||||||
24 | Minority Leader of the House of Representatives shall each | ||||||
25 | appoint 2 members of the General Assembly to the Task Force. |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | The term of office of any member of the public appointed by the | ||||||
2 | President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives, the Minority Leader of the Senate, or the | ||||||
4 | Minority Leader of the House of Representatives serving on the | ||||||
5 | effective date of this Act shall end on that date. The Governor | ||||||
6 | shall appoint the Task Force chairperson. In addition, the | ||||||
7 | Director or Secretary of each of the following, or his or her | ||||||
8 | designee, are members: the Department of Human Services, the | ||||||
9 | Department of Corrections, the Department of Commerce and | ||||||
10 | Economic Opportunity, the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
11 | Services, the Department of Human Rights, the Department of | ||||||
12 | Central Management Services, the Department of Employment | ||||||
13 | Security, the Department of Public Health, the Department of | ||||||
14 | State Police, the Illinois State Board of Education, the | ||||||
15 | Illinois Board of Higher Education, the Illinois Community | ||||||
16 | College Board, and the Illinois Criminal Justice Information | ||||||
17 | Authority. Members shall not receive compensation. The | ||||||
18 | Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority shall provide | ||||||
19 | staff and other assistance to the Task Force. | ||||||
20 | (c) On or before September 1, 2017 and each subsequent | ||||||
21 | odd-numbered year, all State agencies shall produce a report | ||||||
22 | for the Task Force that describes the employment restrictions | ||||||
23 | that are based on criminal records for each occupation under | ||||||
24 | the agency's jurisdiction and that of its boards, if any, | ||||||
25 | including, but not limited to, employment within the agency; | ||||||
26 | employment in facilities licensed, regulated, supervised, or |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | funded by the agency; employment under contracts with the | ||||||
2 | agency; and employment in occupations that the agency licenses | ||||||
3 | or provides certifications to practice. For each occupation | ||||||
4 | subject to a criminal records-based restriction, the agency | ||||||
5 | shall set forth the following: | ||||||
6 | (1) the job title, occupation, job classification, or
| ||||||
7 | restricted place of employment, including the range of | ||||||
8 | occupations affected in such places; | ||||||
9 | (2) the statute, regulation, policy, and procedure
| ||||||
10 | that authorizes the restriction of applicants for | ||||||
11 | employment and licensure, current employees, and current | ||||||
12 | licenses; | ||||||
13 | (3) the substance and terms of the restriction, and: | ||||||
14 | (A) if the statute, regulation, policy or
practice | ||||||
15 | enumerates disqualifying offenses, a list of each | ||||||
16 | disqualifying offense, the time limits for each | ||||||
17 | offense, and the point in time when the time limit | ||||||
18 | begins; | ||||||
19 | (B) if the statute, regulation, policy or
practice | ||||||
20 | does not enumerate disqualifying offenses and instead | ||||||
21 | provides for agency discretion in determining | ||||||
22 | disqualifying offenses, the criteria the agency has | ||||||
23 | adopted to apply the disqualification to individual | ||||||
24 | cases. Restrictions based on agency discretion | ||||||
25 | include, but are not limited to, restrictions based on | ||||||
26 | an offense "related to" the practice of a given |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | profession; an offense or act of "moral turpitude"; and | ||||||
2 | an offense evincing a lack of "good moral character"; | ||||||
3 | (4) the procedures used by the agency to identify an
| ||||||
4 | individual's criminal history, including but not limited | ||||||
5 | to disclosures on applications and background checks | ||||||
6 | conducted by law enforcement or private entities; | ||||||
7 | (5) the procedures used by the agency to determine
and | ||||||
8 | review whether an individual's criminal history | ||||||
9 | disqualifies that individual; | ||||||
10 | (6) the year the restriction was adopted, and its
| ||||||
11 | rationale; | ||||||
12 | (7) any exemption, waiver, or review mechanisms
| ||||||
13 | available to seek relief from the disqualification based on | ||||||
14 | a showing of rehabilitation or otherwise, including the | ||||||
15 | terms of the mechanism, the nature of the relief it | ||||||
16 | affords, and whether an administrative and judicial appeal | ||||||
17 | is authorized; and | ||||||
18 | (8) any statute, rule, policy and practice that
| ||||||
19 | requires an individual convicted of a felony to have his | ||||||
20 | civil rights restored to become qualified for the job; and | ||||||
21 | 9 copies of the following documents: | ||||||
22 | (A) forms, applications, and instructions
provided | ||||||
23 | to applicants and those denied or terminated from jobs | ||||||
24 | or licenses based on their criminal record; | ||||||
25 | (B) forms, rules, and procedures that the agency
| ||||||
26 | employs to provide notice of disqualification, to |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | review applications subject to disqualification, and | ||||||
2 | to provide for exemptions and appeals of | ||||||
3 | disqualification; | ||||||
4 | (C) memos, guidance, instructions to staff,
| ||||||
5 | scoring criteria and other materials used by the agency | ||||||
6 | to evaluate the criminal histories of applicants, | ||||||
7 | licensees, and employees; and | ||||||
8 | (D) forms and notices used to explain waiver,
| ||||||
9 | exemption and appeals procedures for denial, | ||||||
10 | suspensions and terminations of employment or | ||||||
11 | licensure based on criminal history. | ||||||
12 | (d) Each State agency shall participate in a review to | ||||||
13 | determine the impact of the employment restrictions based on | ||||||
14 | criminal records and the effectiveness of existing | ||||||
15 | case-by-case review mechanisms. The information required under | ||||||
16 | this subsection (d) shall be limited to the data and | ||||||
17 | information in the possession of the State agency on the | ||||||
18 | effective date of this Act. With respect to compliance with the | ||||||
19 | requirements of this subsection (d), a State agency is under no | ||||||
20 | obligation to collect additional data or information. For each | ||||||
21 | occupation under the agency's jurisdiction for which there are | ||||||
22 | employment restrictions based on criminal records, each State | ||||||
23 | agency must provide the Task Force with a report, on or before | ||||||
24 | November 1, 2016 and each even-numbered year thereafter, for | ||||||
25 | the previous 2-year period, setting forth: | ||||||
26 | (1) the total number of people currently employed in
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | the occupation whose employment or licensure required | ||||||
2 | criminal history disclosure, background checks or | ||||||
3 | restrictions; | ||||||
4 | (2) the number and percentage of individuals who
| ||||||
5 | underwent a criminal history background check;
| ||||||
6 | (3) the number and percentage of individuals who were
| ||||||
7 | merely required to disclose their criminal history without | ||||||
8 | a criminal history background check; | ||||||
9 | (4) the number and percentage of individuals who were
| ||||||
10 | found disqualified based on criminal history disclosure by | ||||||
11 | the applicant; | ||||||
12 | (5) the number and percentage of individuals who were
| ||||||
13 | found disqualified based on a criminal history background | ||||||
14 | check; | ||||||
15 | (6) the number and percentage of individuals who
sought | ||||||
16 | an exemption or waiver from the disqualification; | ||||||
17 | (7) the number and percentage of individuals who
sought | ||||||
18 | an exemption or waiver who were subsequently granted the | ||||||
19 | exemption or waiver at the first level of agency review (if | ||||||
20 | multiple levels of review are available); | ||||||
21 | (8) the number and percentage of individuals who
sought | ||||||
22 | an exemption or waiver who were subsequently granted the | ||||||
23 | exemption or waiver at the next level of agency review (if | ||||||
24 | multiple levels of review are available); | ||||||
25 | (9) the number and percentage of individuals who were
| ||||||
26 | denied an exemption or waiver at the final level of agency |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | review, and then sought review through an administrative | ||||||
2 | appeal; | ||||||
3 | (10) the number and percentage of individuals who
were | ||||||
4 | denied an exemption or waiver at the final level of agency | ||||||
5 | review, and then sought review through an administrative | ||||||
6 | appeal and were then found qualified after such a review;
| ||||||
7 | (11) the number and percentage of individuals who
were | ||||||
8 | found disqualified where no waiver or exemption process is | ||||||
9 | available; | ||||||
10 | (12) the number and percentage of individuals who
were | ||||||
11 | found disqualified where no waiver or exemption process is | ||||||
12 | available and who sought administrative review and then | ||||||
13 | were found qualified; and | ||||||
14 | (13) if the agency maintains records of active
licenses | ||||||
15 | or certifications, the executive agency shall provide the | ||||||
16 | total number of employees in occupations subject to | ||||||
17 | criminal history restrictions. | ||||||
18 | (e) The Task Force shall report to the Governor and the | ||||||
19 | General Assembly its findings, including recommendations as to | ||||||
20 | any employment restrictions that are not reasonably related to | ||||||
21 | public safety, before January 1 of each even-numbered year | ||||||
22 | beginning in 2018. | ||||||
23 | (20 ILCS 5000/Act rep.) | ||||||
24 | Section 97. The Task Force on Inventorying Employment | ||||||
25 | Restrictions Act is repealed.
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
2 | becoming law.
|