Full Text of HB2846 98th General Assembly
HB2846eng 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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Best | 5 | | Candidate for the Job Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Purpose. This Act is intended to ensure that | 7 | | public agencies and private employers properly consider | 8 | | persons previously convicted of one or more criminal offenses | 9 | | for employment and licenses. | 10 | | Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, the | 11 | | following terms shall have the following meanings:
| 12 | | "Direct relationship" means that the nature of criminal | 13 | | conduct for which the person was convicted has a direct bearing | 14 | | on his or her fitness or ability to perform one or more of the | 15 | | duties or responsibilities necessarily related to the license, | 16 | | opportunity, or job in question.
| 17 | | "Employment" means any occupation, vocation, or | 18 | | employment, or any form of vocational or educational training. | 19 | | "Employment" does not, for the purposes of this Act, however, | 20 | | include membership in any law enforcement agency.
| 21 | | "License" means any certificate, license, permit, or grant | 22 | | of permission required by the laws of this State, its political |
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| 1 | | subdivisions or instrumentalities as a condition for the lawful | 2 | | practice of any occupation, employment, trade, vocation, | 3 | | business, or profession.
| 4 | | "Private employer" means any person, company, corporation, | 5 | | labor organization, or
association that employs one or more | 6 | | persons.
| 7 | | "Public agency" means the State or any local subdivision | 8 | | thereof, or any State or local
department, agency, board or | 9 | | commission.
| 10 | | Section 15. Applicability. This Act applies to any person | 11 | | who applies for a license or employment at any public or | 12 | | private employer or who is currently employed or in possession | 13 | | of a license who has previously been convicted of one or more | 14 | | criminal offenses in any jurisdiction or whose conviction of | 15 | | one or more criminal offenses in any jurisdiction preceded such | 16 | | employment or granting of a license, except when a mandatory | 17 | | forfeiture, disability, or bar to employment is imposed by law | 18 | | and has not been removed by an executive pardon, certificate of | 19 | | relief from disabilities, or certificate of good conduct. | 20 | | Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect any right an | 21 | | employer may have with respect to an intentional | 22 | | misrepresentation in connection with an application for | 23 | | employment made by a prospective employee or previously made by | 24 | | a current employee. |
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| 1 | | Section 20. Discrimination against persons previously | 2 | | convicted of one or more criminal offenses prohibited. No | 3 | | application for any license or employment and no employment or | 4 | | license held by an individual, to which the provisions of this | 5 | | Act are applicable, shall be denied or acted upon adversely by | 6 | | reason of the individual's having been previously convicted of | 7 | | one or more criminal offenses or by reason of a finding of lack | 8 | | of "good moral character" when such finding is based upon the | 9 | | fact that the individual has previously been convicted of one | 10 | | or more criminal offenses, unless, after carefully considering | 11 | | the factors specified in Section 25, the employer or licensing | 12 | | agency determines that:
| 13 | | (1) there is a direct relationship between one or more | 14 | | of the previous criminal offenses and the specific license | 15 | | or employment sought or held by the individual; and | 16 | | (2) the issuance or continuation of the license or the | 17 | | granting or continuation of the employment would involve a | 18 | | substantial risk to property or to the safety or welfare of | 19 | | specific individuals or the general public.
| 20 | | Section 25. Factors to be considered concerning a previous | 21 | | criminal conviction.
| 22 | | (a) In making a determination pursuant to Section 20, the | 23 | | public agency or private employer shall consider the following | 24 | | factors:
| 25 | | (1) The public policy of this State to encourage the |
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| 1 | | licensure and employment of persons previously convicted | 2 | | of one or more criminal offenses.
| 3 | | (2) The specific duties and responsibilities | 4 | | necessarily related to the license or employment sought or | 5 | | held by the person.
| 6 | | (3) The bearing, if any, the criminal offense or | 7 | | offenses for which the person was previously convicted will | 8 | | have on his or her fitness or ability to perform one or | 9 | | more of the duties or responsibilities necessarily related | 10 | | to the license, job, or opportunity in question.
| 11 | | (4) Any evidence demonstrating the ability of the | 12 | | applicant or employee to perform the responsibilities of | 13 | | the license, job, or opportunity in question. | 14 | | (5) The time that has elapsed since the occurrence of | 15 | | the criminal offense or offenses.
| 16 | | (6) The age of the person at the time of occurrence of | 17 | | the criminal offense or offenses.
| 18 | | (7) The seriousness of the offense or offenses.
| 19 | | (8) The circumstances surrounding the offense or | 20 | | offenses.
| 21 | | (9) Any information produced by the person, or produced | 22 | | on the person's behalf, in regard to the person's | 23 | | rehabilitation and good conduct.
| 24 | | (10) The legitimate interest of the public agency or | 25 | | private employer in protecting property, and the safety and | 26 | | welfare of specific individuals or the general public. |
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| 1 | | (b) In making a determination pursuant to Section 20, the | 2 | | public agency or private employer shall also give consideration | 3 | | to a certificate of relief from disabilities or a certificate | 4 | | of good conduct issued to the applicant, which certificate | 5 | | shall create a presumption of rehabilitation in regard to the | 6 | | offense or offenses specified therein.
| 7 | | Section 35. Retaliatory or discriminatory acts. A person | 8 | | shall not retaliate or discriminate against a person because | 9 | | the person has done or was about to do any of the following: | 10 | | (1) File a complaint under this Act.
| 11 | | (2) Testify, assist, or participate in an | 12 | | investigation, proceeding, or action concerning a | 13 | | violation of this Act.
| 14 | | (3) Oppose a violation of this Act.
| 15 | | Section 40. Waiver. An employer shall not require an | 16 | | applicant or employee to waive any right under this Act. An | 17 | | agreement by an applicant or employee to waive any right under | 18 | | this Act is invalid and unenforceable. | 19 | | Section 45. Remedies. | 20 | | (a) A person who is injured by a violation of this Act may | 21 | | bring a civil action in circuit court to obtain injunctive | 22 | | relief or damages, or both. | 23 | | (b) The court shall award costs, reasonable litigation |
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| 1 | | expenses, and reasonable attorney's fees to a person who | 2 | | prevails as a plaintiff in an action authorized under | 3 | | subsection (a) of this Section.
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