Full Text of HB0823 94th General Assembly
HB0823eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning human rights.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by | 5 |
| changing Sections 7A-102 and 7B-102 as follows:
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| (775 ILCS 5/7A-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 7A-102)
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| Sec. 7A-102. Procedures.
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| (A) Charge.
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| (1) Within 180 days after the
date that a civil rights | 10 |
| violation allegedly has been committed, a
charge in writing | 11 |
| under oath or affirmation may be filed with the
Department | 12 |
| by an aggrieved party or issued by the Department itself
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| under the signature of the Director.
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| (2) The charge shall be in such detail as to | 15 |
| substantially apprise
any party properly concerned as to | 16 |
| the time, place, and facts
surrounding the alleged civil | 17 |
| rights violation.
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| (B) Notice, and Response, and Review of Charge.
The | 19 |
| Department shall, within 10
days of the date on which the | 20 |
| charge
was filed, serve a copy of the charge on the respondent. | 21 |
| This period shall
not be construed to be jurisdictional. The | 22 |
| charging party and the respondent
may each file a position | 23 |
| statement and other materials with the Department
regarding the | 24 |
| charge of alleged discrimination within 60 days of receipt of | 25 |
| the
notice of the charge. The position statements and other | 26 |
| materials filed shall
remain confidential unless otherwise | 27 |
| agreed to by the party providing the
information and shall not | 28 |
| be served on or made available to the other
party during | 29 |
| pendency
of a charge with the Department. The Department
shall
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| require the respondent to file a verified response to
the | 31 |
| allegations contained in the charge within 60 days of receipt | 32 |
| of the
notice of the
charge. The respondent shall serve a copy
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| of its response on the
complainant or his representative. All | 2 |
| allegations contained in the charge
not timely denied by the | 3 |
| respondent shall be deemed admitted, unless the
respondent | 4 |
| states that it is without sufficient information to
form a | 5 |
| belief with respect to such allegation. The Department may
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| shall issue
a notice of default directed to any respondent who | 7 |
| fails to file a
verified response to a charge within 60 days of | 8 |
| receipt of the
notice of the charge,
unless the respondent can
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| demonstrate good cause as
to why such notice should not issue. | 10 |
| The term "good cause" shall be defined by rule promulgated by | 11 |
| the Department. Within 30 days of receipt
of the respondent's | 12 |
| response, the complainant may file a
reply to
said response and
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| shall serve
a copy of said reply on the respondent or his | 14 |
| representative. A party
shall have the right to supplement his | 15 |
| response or reply at any time that
the investigation of the | 16 |
| charge is pending. The Department shall,
within 10 days of the | 17 |
| date on which the charge was filed,
and again no later than 335 | 18 |
| days thereafter,
send by certified or registered mail written | 19 |
| notice to the complainant
and to the respondent
informing the | 20 |
| complainant
of the right to file a complaint with the Human
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| Rights Commission
under subparagraph (2) of paragraph (G), | 22 |
| including in such notice the dates
within which the complainant | 23 |
| may exercise this right.
In the notice the Department shall | 24 |
| notify the complainant that the
charge of civil rights | 25 |
| violation will be dismissed with prejudice and with no
right to | 26 |
| further proceed if a written complaint is not timely filed with
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| the Commission by the complainant pursuant to subparagraph (2) | 28 |
| of paragraph (G)
or by the Department pursuant to subparagraph | 29 |
| (1) of paragraph (G).
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| (B-1) Mediation. The complainant and respondent may agree | 31 |
| to voluntarily
submit the charge
to mediation without waiving | 32 |
| any rights that are otherwise available to
either party | 33 |
| pursuant to this Act and without incurring any obligation to
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| accept the result of the mediation process. Nothing occurring | 35 |
| in mediation
shall
be disclosed by the Department or admissible | 36 |
| in evidence in any subsequent
proceeding unless the complainant |
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| and the respondent agree in writing that such
disclosure be | 2 |
| made.
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| (C) Investigation.
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| (1) After the respondent has been notified, the
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| Department shall conduct a full investigation of the | 6 |
| allegations set
forth in the charge.
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| (2) The Director or his or her designated | 8 |
| representatives shall have
authority to request any member | 9 |
| of the Commission to issue subpoenas to
compel the | 10 |
| attendance of a witness or the production for
examination | 11 |
| of any books, records or documents whatsoever.
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| (3) If any witness whose testimony is required for any | 13 |
| investigation
resides outside the State, or through | 14 |
| illness or any other good cause as
determined by the | 15 |
| Director is unable to be interviewed by the investigator
or | 16 |
| appear at a fact finding conference, his or her testimony | 17 |
| or deposition
may be taken, within or without the State, in | 18 |
| the same manner as is
provided for in the taking of | 19 |
| depositions in civil cases in circuit courts.
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| (4) Upon reasonable notice to the complainant and the | 21 |
| respondent,
the Department shall conduct a fact finding | 22 |
| conference prior to
365 days after the date on which the | 23 |
| charge was filed,
unless the Director has determined | 24 |
| whether there is substantial evidence
that the alleged | 25 |
| civil rights violation has been committed or the charge has
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| been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. If the parties | 27 |
| agree in writing,
the fact finding conference may be held | 28 |
| at a time after the 365 day limit.
Any party's failure to | 29 |
| attend the conference without good cause
shall result in | 30 |
| dismissal or default. The term "good cause"
shall
be | 31 |
| defined by rule promulgated by the Department. A notice of | 32 |
| dismissal or
default shall be issued by the Director and | 33 |
| shall notify the relevant
party that a request for review | 34 |
| may be filed in writing with the Chief Legal
Counsel of the | 35 |
| Department
within 30 days of receipt of notice of dismissal | 36 |
| or default.
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| (D) Report.
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| (1) Each charge shall be the
subject of a
report to the | 3 |
| Director. The report shall be a confidential document
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| subject to review by the Director, authorized Department | 5 |
| employees, the
parties, and, where indicated by this Act, | 6 |
| members of the Commission or
their designated hearing | 7 |
| officers.
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| (2) Upon review of the report, the Director shall | 9 |
| determine whether
there is substantial evidence that the | 10 |
| alleged civil rights violation
has been committed.
The | 11 |
| determination of substantial evidence is limited to | 12 |
| determining the need
for further consideration of the | 13 |
| charge pursuant to this Act
and includes, but is not | 14 |
| limited to, findings of fact and conclusions, as well
as | 15 |
| the reasons for the determinations on all material issues | 16 |
| and questions of
credibility. Substantial evidence is | 17 |
| evidence which a reasonable mind accepts
as sufficient to | 18 |
| support a particular conclusion and which consists of more
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| than a mere scintilla but may be somewhat less than a | 20 |
| preponderance.
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| (a) If the Director determines that there is no | 22 |
| substantial
evidence, the charge shall be dismissed by | 23 |
| order of the
Director and the
complainant notified
that | 24 |
| he or she may seek review of the dismissal order before | 25 |
| the
Chief Legal Counsel of the Department. The | 26 |
| complainant
shall have 30 days from receipt of
notice
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| to file a request for review by the Chief Legal Counsel | 28 |
| of the Department.
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| (b) If the Director determines that there is | 30 |
| substantial evidence,
he or she shall designate a | 31 |
| Department employee who is an attorney
licensed to | 32 |
| practice in Illinois to endeavor to eliminate the | 33 |
| effect of
the alleged civil rights violation and to | 34 |
| prevent its repetition by
means of conference and | 35 |
| conciliation.
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| (E) Conciliation.
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| (1) When the Department determines that a formal
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| conciliation conference is necessary, the complainant and | 3 |
| respondent
shall be notified of the time and place of the | 4 |
| conference by registered
or certified mail at least 10 days | 5 |
| prior thereto and either or both
parties shall appear at | 6 |
| the conference in person or by attorney.
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| (2) The place fixed for the conference shall be within | 8 |
| 35 miles of
the place where the civil rights violation is | 9 |
| alleged to have been
committed.
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| (3) Nothing occurring at the conference shall be | 11 |
| disclosed by the
Department unless
the complainant and | 12 |
| respondent agree in writing that
such disclosure be made.
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| (F) Complaint.
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| (1) When there is a failure to settle or adjust any
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| charge through conciliation, the Department shall prepare | 16 |
| a
written complaint, under oath or affirmation, stating the | 17 |
| nature of the
civil rights violation substantially as | 18 |
| alleged in the charge previously
filed and the relief | 19 |
| sought on behalf of the aggrieved party.
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| (2) The complaint shall be filed with the Commission.
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| (G) Time Limit.
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| (1) When a charge of a civil rights violation has been
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| properly filed, the Department, within 365
days thereof or | 24 |
| within any
extension of that period agreed to in writing by | 25 |
| all parties, shall
either issue and file a complaint in the | 26 |
| manner and form set forth in
this Section or shall order | 27 |
| that no complaint be issued and dismiss the
charge with | 28 |
| prejudice without any further right to proceed except in | 29 |
| cases in
which the order was procured by fraud or duress. | 30 |
| Any such order
shall be duly served upon both the | 31 |
| complainant and the respondent.
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| (2) Between 365 and 395 days after the charge is filed, | 33 |
| or such longer
period agreed to in writing by all parties, | 34 |
| the
aggrieved party may file a complaint with the | 35 |
| Commission, if the Director
has not sooner issued a report | 36 |
| and determination pursuant to paragraphs
(D)(1)
and (D)(2) |
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| of this Section.
The form of the complaint shall be in | 2 |
| accordance with the provisions of
paragraph (F). The | 3 |
| aggrieved party shall notify the Department that a
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| complaint
has been filed and shall serve a copy of the | 5 |
| complaint on the Department
on the same date that the | 6 |
| complaint is filed with the Commission.
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| (3) If an aggrieved party files a complaint
with the
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| Human Rights Commission pursuant to paragraph (2) of this | 9 |
| subsection, or if
the time period for filing a complaint | 10 |
| has expired, the
Department shall immediately cease its | 11 |
| investigation and
dismiss the charge of civil rights | 12 |
| violation.
Any final order entered by the Chief Legal | 13 |
| Counsel under this Section is
appealable in accordance with | 14 |
| paragraph (A)(1) of Section 8-111.
Failure to immediately | 15 |
| cease an investigation and dismiss the charge of civil
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| rights violation as provided in this paragraph
(3) | 17 |
| constitutes grounds for entry of an order by the circuit | 18 |
| court permanently
enjoining the
investigation. The | 19 |
| Department may also be liable for any
costs and other | 20 |
| damages incurred by the respondent as a result of the | 21 |
| action of
the Department.
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| (4) The Department shall stay any administrative | 23 |
| proceedings
under this Section after the filing of a civil | 24 |
| action by or on behalf of the
aggrieved party under any | 25 |
| federal or State law seeking relief with respect to
the
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| alleged civil rights violation.
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| (H) This amendatory Act of 1995 applies to causes of action | 28 |
| filed on or
after January 1, 1996.
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| (I) This amendatory Act of 1996 applies to causes of action | 30 |
| filed on or
after January 1, 1996.
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| (Source: P.A. 89-370, eff. 8-18-95; 89-520, eff. 7-18-96.)
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| (775 ILCS 5/7B-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 7B-102)
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| Sec. 7B-102. Procedures.
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| (A) Charge.
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| (1) Within one year after the
date that a civil rights |
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| violation allegedly has been committed or terminated,
a | 2 |
| charge in writing under oath or affirmation may be filed | 3 |
| with the
Department by an aggrieved party or issued by the | 4 |
| Department itself
under the signature of the Director.
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| (2) The charge shall be in such detail as to | 6 |
| substantially apprise
any party properly concerned as to | 7 |
| the time, place, and facts
surrounding the alleged civil | 8 |
| rights violation.
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| (B) Notice and Response to Charge.
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| (1) The Department shall serve
notice upon the | 11 |
| aggrieved party acknowledging such charge and advising the
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| aggrieved party of the time limits and choice of forums | 13 |
| provided under this
Act. The Department shall, within 10 | 14 |
| days of the date on which the charge
was filed or the | 15 |
| identification of an additional respondent under paragraph
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| (2) of this subsection, serve on the respondent a copy of | 17 |
| the charge along with a notice
identifying the alleged | 18 |
| civil rights violation and advising the
respondent of the | 19 |
| procedural rights and obligations of respondents under
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| this Act and shall require the respondent to file a | 21 |
| verified response to
the allegations contained in the | 22 |
| charge within 30 days. The respondent
shall serve a copy of | 23 |
| its response on the complainant or his
representative. All | 24 |
| allegations contained in the charge
not timely denied by | 25 |
| the respondent shall be deemed admitted, unless the
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| respondent states that it is without sufficient | 27 |
| information to
form a belief with respect to such | 28 |
| allegation. The Department may
shall issue
a notice of | 29 |
| default directed to any respondent who fails to file a | 30 |
| verified
response to a charge within 30 days of the date on | 31 |
| which the charge was
filed, unless the respondent can | 32 |
| demonstrate good cause as
to why such notice should not | 33 |
| issue. The term "good cause" shall be defined by rule | 34 |
| promulgated by the Department. Within 10 days of the date | 35 |
| he
receives the respondent's response, the complainant may | 36 |
| file his reply to
said response. If he chooses to file a |
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| reply, the complainant shall serve
a copy of said reply on | 2 |
| the respondent or his representative. A party
shall have | 3 |
| the right to supplement his response or reply at any time | 4 |
| that
the investigation of the charge is pending.
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| (2) A person who is not named as a respondent in a | 6 |
| charge, but who is
identified as a respondent in the course | 7 |
| of investigation, may be joined as
an additional or | 8 |
| substitute respondent upon written notice, under | 9 |
| subsection
(B), to such person, from the Department.
Such | 10 |
| notice, in addition to meeting the requirements of | 11 |
| subsections (A)
and (B), shall explain the basis for the | 12 |
| Department's belief that a person
to whom the notice is | 13 |
| addressed is properly joined as a respondent.
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| (C) Investigation.
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| (1) The Department shall conduct a full investigation
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| of the allegations set forth in the charge and complete | 17 |
| such investigation
within 100 days after the filing of the | 18 |
| charge, unless it is impracticable to
do so.
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| (2) If the Department is unable to complete the | 20 |
| investigation within 100
days after the charge is filed, | 21 |
| the Department shall notify the complainant
and respondent | 22 |
| in writing of the reasons for not doing so.
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| (3) The Director or his or her designated | 24 |
| representative shall have
authority to request any member | 25 |
| of the Commission to issue subpoenas to
compel the | 26 |
| attendance of a witness or the production for
examination | 27 |
| of any books, records or documents whatsoever.
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| (4) If any witness whose testimony is required for any | 29 |
| investigation
resides outside the State, or through | 30 |
| illness or any other good cause as
determined by the | 31 |
| Director is unable to be interviewed by the investigator
or | 32 |
| appear at a fact finding conference, his or her testimony | 33 |
| or deposition
may be taken, within or without the State, in | 34 |
| the same manner as
provided for in the taking of | 35 |
| depositions in civil cases in circuit courts.
| 36 |
| (5) Upon reasonable notice to the complainant and the |
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| respondent,
the Department shall conduct a fact finding | 2 |
| conference, unless prior to
100 days from the date on which | 3 |
| the charge was filed, the Director has
determined whether | 4 |
| there is substantial evidence that the alleged civil
rights | 5 |
| violation has been committed. A party's failure to attend | 6 |
| the
conference
without good cause may result in dismissal | 7 |
| or default. A notice of dismissal
or default shall be | 8 |
| issued by the Director and shall notify the relevant
party | 9 |
| that a request for review may be filed in writing with the | 10 |
| Chief Legal
Counsel of the Department
within 30 days of | 11 |
| receipt of notice of dismissal or default.
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| (D) Report.
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| (1) Each investigated charge shall be the subject of a
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| report to the Director. The report shall be a confidential | 15 |
| document
subject to review by the Director, authorized | 16 |
| Department employees, the
parties, and, where indicated by | 17 |
| this Act, members of the Commission or
their designated | 18 |
| hearing officers.
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| The report shall contain:
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| (a) the names and dates of contacts with witnesses;
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| (b) a summary and the date of correspondence and | 22 |
| other contacts with the
aggrieved party and the | 23 |
| respondent;
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| (c) a summary description of other pertinent | 25 |
| records;
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| (d) a summary of witness statements; and
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| (e) answers to questionnaires.
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| A final report under this paragraph may be amended if | 29 |
| additional evidence
is later discovered.
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| (2) Upon review of the report and within 100 days of | 31 |
| the filing of the
charge, unless it is impracticable
to do | 32 |
| so, the Director shall determine whether there is | 33 |
| substantial
evidence that the alleged civil rights | 34 |
| violation has been committed or is
about to be committed.
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| If the Director is unable to make the determination within | 36 |
| 100 days after
the filing of the charge, the Director shall |
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| notify the complainant and
respondent in writing of the | 2 |
| reasons for not doing so.
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| (a) If the Director determines that there is no | 4 |
| substantial
evidence, the charge shall be dismissed | 5 |
| and the aggrieved party notified
that he or she may | 6 |
| seek review of the dismissal order before the
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| Commission. The aggrieved party shall have 30 days from | 8 |
| receipt of notice
to file a request for review by the | 9 |
| Chief Legal Counsel of the Department. The
Director | 10 |
| shall make
public disclosure of each such dismissal.
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| (b) If the Director determines that there is | 12 |
| substantial evidence, he or
she shall immediately | 13 |
| issue a complaint on behalf of the aggrieved party
| 14 |
| pursuant to subsection (F).
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| (E) Conciliation.
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| (1) During the period beginning with the filing of
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| charge and ending with the filing of a complaint or a | 18 |
| dismissal by the
Department, the Department shall, to the | 19 |
| extent feasible, engage in
conciliation with respect to | 20 |
| such charge.
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| When the Department determines that a formal
| 22 |
| conciliation conference is feasible, the aggrieved party | 23 |
| and respondent
shall be notified of the time and place of | 24 |
| the conference by registered
or certified mail at least 7 | 25 |
| days prior thereto and either or both
parties shall appear | 26 |
| at the conference in person or by attorney.
| 27 |
| (2) The place fixed for the conference shall be within | 28 |
| 35 miles of
the place where the civil rights violation is | 29 |
| alleged to have been
committed.
| 30 |
| (3) Nothing occurring at the conference shall be made | 31 |
| public or used as
evidence in a subsequent proceeding for | 32 |
| the purpose of proving a violation
under this Act unless | 33 |
| the complainant and respondent agree in writing that
such | 34 |
| disclosure be made.
| 35 |
| (4) A conciliation agreement arising out of such | 36 |
| conciliation shall be
an agreement between the respondent |
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| and the complainant, and shall be
subject to approval by | 2 |
| the Department and Commission.
| 3 |
| (5) A conciliation agreement may provide for binding | 4 |
| arbitration of the
dispute arising from the charge. Any | 5 |
| such arbitration that results from a
conciliation | 6 |
| agreement may award appropriate relief, including monetary | 7 |
| relief.
| 8 |
| (6) Each conciliation agreement shall be made public | 9 |
| unless the
complainant and respondent otherwise agree and | 10 |
| the Department determines
that disclosure is not required | 11 |
| to further the purpose of this Act.
| 12 |
| (F) Complaint.
| 13 |
| (1) When there is a failure to settle or adjust any
| 14 |
| charge through a conciliation conference and the charge is | 15 |
| not dismissed,
the Department shall prepare a
written | 16 |
| complaint, under oath or affirmation, stating the nature of | 17 |
| the
civil rights violation and the relief sought on behalf | 18 |
| of the aggrieved
party. Such complaint shall be based on | 19 |
| the final investigation report and
need not be limited to | 20 |
| the facts or grounds alleged in the charge filed
under | 21 |
| subsection (A).
| 22 |
| (2) The complaint shall be filed with the Commission.
| 23 |
| (3) The Department may not issue a complaint under this | 24 |
| Section
regarding an alleged civil rights violation after | 25 |
| the beginning of
the trial of a civil action commenced by | 26 |
| the aggrieved party under any
State or federal law, seeking | 27 |
| relief with respect to that alleged civil rights
violation.
| 28 |
| (G) Time Limit.
| 29 |
| (1) When a charge of a civil rights violation has been
| 30 |
| properly filed, the Department, within 100 days thereof, | 31 |
| unless it is
impracticable to do so,
shall either issue and | 32 |
| file a complaint in the manner and form set forth in
this | 33 |
| Section or shall order that no complaint be issued. Any | 34 |
| such order
shall be duly served upon both the aggrieved | 35 |
| party and the respondent.
| 36 |
| (2) The Director shall make available to the aggrieved |
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| party
and the respondent, at any time, upon request | 2 |
| following completion of the
Department's investigation, | 3 |
| information derived from an investigation and
any final | 4 |
| investigative report relating to that investigation.
| 5 |
| (H) This amendatory Act of 1995 applies to causes of action | 6 |
| filed on or
after
January 1, 1996.
| 7 |
| (Source: P.A. 89-370, eff. 8-18-95.)
| 8 |
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 9 |
| becoming law.
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