Full Text of HB2562 98th General Assembly
HB2562eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 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 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 5 | | Section 5.826 as follows: | 6 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.826 new) | 7 | | Sec. 5.826. The Personnel Records Enforcement Fund. | 8 | | Section 10. The Personnel Record Review Act is amended by | 9 | | changing Section 12 and adding Sections 14 and 15 as follows:
| 10 | | (820 ILCS 40/12) (from Ch. 48, par. 2012)
| 11 | | Sec. 12.
(a) The Director of Labor or his authorized | 12 | | representative shall
administer and enforce the provisions of | 13 | | this Act. The Director of Labor
may issue rules and regulations | 14 | | necessary to administer and enforce the
provisions of this Act.
| 15 | | (b) If an employee alleges that he or she has been denied | 16 | | his or her rights
under this Act, he or she may file a | 17 | | complaint with the Department of Labor.
The Department shall | 18 | | investigate the complaint and shall have authority
to request | 19 | | the issuance of a search warrant or subpoena to inspect the | 20 | | files
of the employer, if necessary. The Department shall | 21 | | attempt to resolve the
complaint by conference, conciliation, |
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| 1 | | or persuasion. If the complaint is
not so resolved and the
| 2 | | Department finds the employer has violated the Act, the | 3 | | Department may assess any civil penalty allowed by this Act. | 4 | | The civil penalties assessed by the Department shall be | 5 | | recoverable in an action brought in the name of the people of | 6 | | the State of Illinois by the Attorney General. | 7 | | (b-5) If an employer violates this Act, the Department may | 8 | | commence
an action in the circuit court to enforce the | 9 | | provisions of this Act including
an action to compel | 10 | | compliance. The circuit court for
the county in which the | 11 | | complainant resides, in which the complainant is
employed, or | 12 | | in which the personnel record is maintained shall have
| 13 | | jurisdiction in such actions.
| 14 | | (c) If an employer violates this Act, an employee may | 15 | | commence
an action in the circuit court to enforce the | 16 | | provisions of this Act,
including actions to compel compliance, | 17 | | where efforts to resolve the
employee's complaint concerning | 18 | | such violation by conference, conciliation
or persuasion | 19 | | pursuant to subsection (b) have failed and the Department has
| 20 | | not commenced an action in circuit court to redress such | 21 | | violation. The circuit court
for the county in which the | 22 | | complainant resides, in which the complainant
is employed, or | 23 | | in which the personnel record is maintained shall have
| 24 | | jurisdiction in such actions.
| 25 | | (d) Failure to comply with an order of the
court may be | 26 | | punished as contempt. In addition, the court shall award an
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| 1 | | employee prevailing in an action pursuant to this Act the | 2 | | following damages:
| 3 | | (1) Actual damages plus costs.
| 4 | | (2) For a willful and knowing violation of this Act, $200 | 5 | | plus costs,
reasonable attorney's fees, and actual damages.
| 6 | | (e) Any employer or his agent who violates the provisions | 7 | | of this Act is
guilty of a petty offense.
| 8 | | (f) Any employer or his agent, or the officer or agent of | 9 | | any private
employer, who discharges or in any other manner | 10 | | discriminates against any
employee because that employee has | 11 | | made a complaint to his employer, or to
the Director or his | 12 | | authorized representative, or because that employee has
caused | 13 | | to be instituted or is about to cause to be instituted any
| 14 | | proceeding under or related
to this Act, or because that | 15 | | employee has testified or is about to testify
in an | 16 | | investigation or proceeding under this Act, is guilty of a | 17 | | petty offense.
| 18 | | (Source: P.A. 84-525.)
| 19 | | (820 ILCS 40/14 new) | 20 | | Sec. 14. Penalties. An employer or entity, other than the | 21 | | General Assembly, that violates any of the provisions of this | 22 | | Act or any rule adopted under this Act shall be subject to a | 23 | | civil penalty of $250, plus $25 per day for each day the | 24 | | violation continues. The amount of the penalty may be recovered | 25 | | in a civil action filed in any circuit court by the Director of |
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| 1 | | Labor or a person aggrieved by a violation of this Act or any | 2 | | rule adopted under this Act. Any uncollected amount shall be | 3 | | subject to the provisions of the Illinois State Collection Act | 4 | | of 1986. | 5 | | (820 ILCS 40/15 new) | 6 | | Sec. 15. Personnel Records Enforcement Fund. All moneys | 7 | | received by the Department as civil penalties under this Act | 8 | | shall be deposited into the Personnel Records Enforcement Fund, | 9 | | a special fund created in the State treasury. Moneys in the | 10 | | Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation by the General | 11 | | Assembly, by the Department for administration, investigation, | 12 | | and other expenses incurred in carrying out its powers and | 13 | | duties under this Act. The Department shall hire as many | 14 | | investigators and other personnel as may be necessary to carry | 15 | | out the purposes of this Act. Any moneys in the Fund at the end | 16 | | of a fiscal year in excess of those moneys necessary for the | 17 | | Department to carry out its powers and duties under this Act | 18 | | shall be available to the Department for the next fiscal year | 19 | | for any of the Department's duties and may be transferred from | 20 | | the Personnel Records Enforcement Fund to the various accounts | 21 | | available to the Department, as needed.
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