Full Text of HB4604 102nd General Assembly
HB4604eng 102ND 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 3. The Equal Pay Act of 2003 is amended by changing | 5 | | Section 11 as follows: | 6 | | (820 ILCS 112/11) | 7 | | Sec. 11. Equal pay registration certificate requirements; | 8 | | application. For the purposes of this Section 11 only, | 9 | | "business" means any private employer who has 100 or more more | 10 | | than 100 employees in the State of Illinois and is required to | 11 | | file an Annual Employer Information Report EEO-1 with the | 12 | | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but does not include | 13 | | the State of Illinois or any political subdivision, municipal | 14 | | corporation, or other governmental unit or agency. | 15 | | (a) A business must obtain an equal pay registration | 16 | | certificate from the Department. | 17 | | (b) Any business subject to the requirements of this | 18 | | Section that is authorized to transact business in this State | 19 | | on March 23, 2021 shall submit an application to obtain an | 20 | | equal pay registration certificate, between March 24, 2022 and | 21 | | March 23, 2024, and must recertify every 2 years thereafter. | 22 | | Any business subject to the requirements of this Section that | 23 | | is authorized to transact business in this State after March |
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| 1 | | 23, 2021 must submit an application to obtain an equal pay | 2 | | registration certificate within 3 years of commencing business | 3 | | operations, but not before January 1, 2024, and must recertify | 4 | | every 2 years thereafter. The Department shall collect contact | 5 | | information from each business subject to this Section. The | 6 | | Department shall assign each business a date by which it must | 7 | | submit an application to obtain an equal pay registration | 8 | | certificate. The business shall recertify every 2 years at a | 9 | | date to be determined by the Department. When a business | 10 | | receives a notice from the Department to recertify for its | 11 | | equal pay registration certificate, if the business has fewer | 12 | | than 100 employees, the business must certify in writing to | 13 | | the Department that it is exempt from this Section. Any new | 14 | | business that is subject to this Section and authorized to | 15 | | conduct business in this State, after the effective date of | 16 | | this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, shall | 17 | | submit its contact information to the Department by January 1 | 18 | | of the following year and shall be assigned a date by which it | 19 | | must submit an application to obtain an equal pay registration | 20 | | certificate. The Department's failure to assign a business a | 21 | | registration date does not exempt the business from compliance | 22 | | with this Section. The failure of the Department to notify a | 23 | | business of its recertification deadline may be a mitigating | 24 | | factor when making a determination of a violation of this | 25 | | Section. | 26 | | (c) Application. |
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| 1 | | (1) A business shall apply for an equal pay | 2 | | registration certificate by paying a $150 filing fee and | 3 | | submitting wage records and an equal pay compliance | 4 | | statement to the Director as follows: | 5 | | (A) Wage Records. Any business that is required to | 6 | | file an annual Employer Information Report EEO-1 with | 7 | | the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission must also | 8 | | submit to the Director a copy of the business's most | 9 | | recently filed Employer Information Report EEO-1. The | 10 | | business shall also compile a list of all employees | 11 | | during the past calendar year, separated by gender and | 12 | | the race and ethnicity categories as reported in the | 13 | | business's most recently filed Employer Information | 14 | | Report EEO-1, and the county in which the employee | 15 | | works, the date the employee started working for the | 16 | | business, any other information the Department deems | 17 | | necessary to determine if pay equity exists among | 18 | | employees, and report the total wages as defined by | 19 | | Section 2 of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection | 20 | | Act paid to each employee during the past calendar | 21 | | year, rounded to the nearest $100, to the Director. | 22 | | (B) Equal Pay Compliance Statement. The business | 23 | | must submit a statement signed by a corporate officer, | 24 | | legal counsel, or authorized agent of the business | 25 | | certifying: | 26 | | (i) that the business is in compliance with |
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| 1 | | this Act and other relevant laws, including but | 2 | | not limited to: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act | 3 | | of 1964, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Illinois | 4 | | Human Rights Act, and the Equal Wage Act; | 5 | | (ii) that the average compensation for its | 6 | | female and minority employees is not consistently | 7 | | below the average compensation, as determined by | 8 | | rule by the United States Department of Labor, for | 9 | | its male and non-minority employees within each of | 10 | | the major job categories in the Employer | 11 | | Information Report EEO-1 for which an employee is | 12 | | expected to perform work, taking into account | 13 | | factors such as length of service, requirements of | 14 | | specific jobs, experience, skill, effort, | 15 | | responsibility, working conditions of the job, | 16 | | education or training, job location, use of a | 17 | | collective bargaining agreement, or other | 18 | | mitigating factors; as used in this subparagraph, | 19 | | "minority" has the meaning ascribed to that term | 20 | | in paragraph (1) of subsection (A) of Section 2 of | 21 | | the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and | 22 | | Persons with Disabilities Act; | 23 | | (iii) that the business does not restrict | 24 | | employees of one sex to certain job | 25 | | classifications, and makes retention and promotion | 26 | | decisions without regard to sex; |
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| 1 | | (iv) that wage and benefit disparities are | 2 | | corrected when identified to ensure compliance | 3 | | with the Acts cited in item (i); | 4 | | (v) how often wages and benefits are | 5 | | evaluated; and | 6 | | (vi) the approach the business takes in | 7 | | determining what level of wages and benefits to | 8 | | pay its employees; acceptable approaches include, | 9 | | but are not limited to, a wage and salary survey. | 10 | | (C) Filing fee. The business shall pay to the | 11 | | Department a filing fee of $150. Proceeds from the | 12 | | fees collected under this Section shall be deposited | 13 | | into the Equal Pay Registration Fund, a special fund | 14 | | created in the State treasury. Moneys in the Fund | 15 | | shall be appropriated to the Department for the | 16 | | purposes of this Section. | 17 | | (2) Receipt of the equal pay compliance application | 18 | | and statement by the Director does not establish | 19 | | compliance with the Acts set forth in item (i) of | 20 | | subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of this subsection (c). | 21 | | (3) A business that has employees in multiple | 22 | | locations or facilities in
Illinois shall submit a single | 23 | | application to the Department regarding all of its
| 24 | | operations in Illinois. | 25 | | (d) Issuance or rejection of registration certificate. | 26 | | After January 1, 2022, the Director must issue an equal pay |
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| 1 | | registration certificate, or a statement of why the | 2 | | application was rejected, within 45 calendar days of receipt | 3 | | of the application. Applicants shall have the opportunity to | 4 | | cure any deficiencies in its application that led to the | 5 | | rejection, and re-submit the revised application to the | 6 | | Department within 30 calendar days of receiving a rejection. | 7 | | Applicants shall have the ability to appeal rejected | 8 | | applications. An application may be rejected only if it does | 9 | | not comply with the requirements of subsection (c), or the | 10 | | business is otherwise found to be in violation of this Act. The | 11 | | receipt of an application by the Department, or the issuance | 12 | | of a registration certificate by the Department, shall not | 13 | | establish compliance with the Equal Pay Act of 2003 as to all | 14 | | Sections except Section 11. The issuance of a registration | 15 | | certificate shall not be a defense against any Equal Pay Act | 16 | | violation found by the Department, nor a basis for mitigation | 17 | | of damages. | 18 | | (e) Revocation of registration certificate. An equal pay | 19 | | registration certificate for a business may be suspended or | 20 | | revoked by the Director when the business fails to make a good | 21 | | faith effort to comply with the Acts identified in item (i) of | 22 | | subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c), fails to | 23 | | make a good faith effort to comply with this Section, or has | 24 | | multiple violations of this Section or the Acts identified in | 25 | | item (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subsection | 26 | | (c). Prior to suspending or revoking a registration |
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| 1 | | certificate, the Director must first have sought to conciliate | 2 | | with the business regarding wages and benefits due to | 3 | | employees. | 4 | | Consistent with Section 25, prior to or in connection with | 5 | | the suspension or revocation of an equal pay registration | 6 | | certificate, the Director, or his or her authorized | 7 | | representative, may interview workers, administer oaths, take | 8 | | or cause to be taken the depositions of witnesses, and require | 9 | | by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses, and the | 10 | | production of personnel and compensation information relative | 11 | | to the matter under investigation, hearing or a | 12 | | department-initiated audit. | 13 | | Neither the Department nor the Director shall be held | 14 | | liable for good faith errors in issuing, denying, suspending | 15 | | or revoking certificates. | 16 | | (f) Administrative review. A business may obtain an | 17 | | administrative hearing in accordance with the Illinois | 18 | | Administrative Procedure Act before the suspension or | 19 | | revocation of its certificate or imposition of civil penalties | 20 | | as provided by subsection (i) is effective by filing a written | 21 | | request for hearing within 20 calendar days after service of | 22 | | notice by the Director. | 23 | | (g) Technical assistance. The Director must provide | 24 | | technical assistance to any business that requests assistance | 25 | | regarding this Section. | 26 | | (h) Access to data. |
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| 1 | | (1) Any individually identifiable information | 2 | | submitted to the Director within or related to an equal | 3 | | pay registration application or otherwise provided by an | 4 | | employer in its equal pay compliance statement under | 5 | | subsection (c) shall be considered confidential | 6 | | information and not subject to disclosure pursuant to the | 7 | | Illinois Freedom of Information Act. As used in this | 8 | | Section, "individually identifiable information" means | 9 | | data submitted pursuant to this Section that is associated | 10 | | with a specific person or business. Aggregate data or | 11 | | reports that are reasonably calculated to prevent the | 12 | | association of any data with any individual business or | 13 | | person are not confidential information. Aggregate data | 14 | | shall include the job category and the average hourly wage | 15 | | by county for each gender, race, and ethnicity category on | 16 | | the registration certificate applications. The Department | 17 | | of Labor may compile aggregate data from registration | 18 | | certificate applications. | 19 | | (2) The Director's decision to issue, not issue, | 20 | | revoke, or suspend an equal pay registration certificate | 21 | | is public information. | 22 | | (3) Notwithstanding this subsection (h), a current | 23 | | employee of a covered business may request anonymized data | 24 | | regarding their job classification or title and the pay | 25 | | for that classification. No individually identifiable | 26 | | information may be provided to an employee making a |
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| 1 | | request under this paragraph. | 2 | | (4) Notwithstanding this subsection (h), the | 3 | | Department may share data and identifiable information | 4 | | with the Department of Human Rights, pursuant to its | 5 | | enforcement of Article 2 of the Illinois Human Rights Act, | 6 | | or the Office of the Attorney General, pursuant to its | 7 | | enforcement of Section 10-104 of the Illinois Human Rights | 8 | | Act. | 9 | | (5) Any Department employee who willfully and | 10 | | knowingly divulges, except in accordance with a proper | 11 | | judicial order or otherwise provided by law, confidential | 12 | | information received by the Department from any business | 13 | | pursuant to this Act shall be deemed to have violated the | 14 | | State Officials and Employees Ethics Act and be subject to | 15 | | the penalties established under subsections (e) and (f) of | 16 | | Section 50-5 of that Act after investigation and | 17 | | opportunity for hearing before the Executive Ethics | 18 | | Commission in accordance with Section 20-50 of that Act. | 19 | | (i) Penalty. Falsification or misrepresentation of | 20 | | information on an application submitted to the Department | 21 | | shall constitute a violation of this Act and the Department | 22 | | may seek to suspend or revoke an equal pay registration | 23 | | certificate or impose civil penalties as provided under | 24 | | subsection (c) of Section 30.
| 25 | | (Source: P.A. 101-656, eff. 3-23-21; 102-36, eff. 6-25-21.) |
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| 1 | | Section 5. The Occupational Safety and Health Act is | 2 | | amended by changing Sections 25, 60, 65, 80, 85, 90, 100, and | 3 | | 110 as follows: | 4 | | (820 ILCS 219/25)
| 5 | | Sec. 25. Occupational safety and health standards. | 6 | | (a) All federal occupational safety and health standards | 7 | | which the United States Secretary of Labor has promulgated or | 8 | | modified in accordance with the federal Occupational Safety | 9 | | and Health Act of 1970 and which are in effect on the effective | 10 | | date of this Act shall be and are hereby made rules of the | 11 | | Department unless the Director promulgates an alternate | 12 | | standard that is at least as effective in providing safe and | 13 | | healthful employment and places of employment as a federal | 14 | | standard. Before developing and adopting an alternate standard | 15 | | or modifying or revoking an existing standard, the Director | 16 | | must consider factual information that includes: | 17 | | (1) Expert technical knowledge. | 18 | | (2) Input from interested persons, including | 19 | | employers, employees, recognized standards-producing | 20 | | organizations, and the public. | 21 | | (b) All federal occupational safety and health standards | 22 | | which the United States Secretary of Labor promulgates or | 23 | | modifies in accordance with the federal Occupational Safety | 24 | | and Health Act of 1970 on or after the effective date of this | 25 | | Act, unless revoked by the Secretary of Labor, shall become |
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| 1 | | rules of the Department within 6 months after their federal | 2 | | promulgation date, unless there has been in effect in this | 3 | | State at the time of the promulgation or modification of the | 4 | | federal standard an alternate State standard that is at least | 5 | | as effective in providing safe and healthful employment and | 6 | | places of employment as a federal standard. The alternate | 7 | | State standard , if not currently contained in the Department's | 8 | | rules, shall not become effective, however, unless the | 9 | | Department, within 45 days after the federal promulgation | 10 | | date, files with the office of the Secretary of State in | 11 | | Springfield, Illinois, a certified copy of the rule as | 12 | | provided in the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
| 13 | | (Source: P.A. 98-874, eff. 1-1-15 .) | 14 | | (820 ILCS 219/60)
| 15 | | Sec. 60. Employers' records. | 16 | | (a) The Director shall adopt rules requiring public | 17 | | employers to maintain accurate records of, and to make reports | 18 | | on, work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses, other than | 19 | | minor injuries requiring only first aid treatment and which do | 20 | | not involve medical treatment, loss of consciousness, | 21 | | restriction of work or motion, or transfer to another job. The | 22 | | rules shall specifically include all of the reporting | 23 | | provisions of Section 6 of the Workers' Compensation Act and | 24 | | Section 6 of the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act. The | 25 | | records shall be available to any State agency requiring such |
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| 1 | | information. | 2 | | (b) The Director shall adopt rules requiring public | 3 | | employers to maintain accurate records of employee exposures | 4 | | to potentially toxic materials or harmful physical agents | 5 | | which are required to be monitored or measured under this Act. | 6 | | The rules shall provide employees or their authorized | 7 | | representative with an opportunity to observe the monitoring | 8 | | or measuring, and to have access to the records of the | 9 | | monitoring or measuring. The rules shall provide appropriate | 10 | | means by which each employee or former employee may have | 11 | | access to such records as will indicate his or her exposure to | 12 | | toxic materials or harmful physical agents. | 13 | | (c) A public employer shall promptly notify any employee | 14 | | who has been or is being exposed to toxic materials or harmful | 15 | | physical agents in concentrations or at levels which exceed | 16 | | those prescribed by an occupational safety and health standard | 17 | | and shall inform the employee who is being thus exposed of the | 18 | | action being taken by the employer to correct such exposure.
| 19 | | (Source: P.A. 98-874, eff. 1-1-15 .) | 20 | | (820 ILCS 219/65)
| 21 | | Sec. 65. Periodic inspection of workplaces. | 22 | | (a) The Director shall enforce the occupational safety and | 23 | | health standards and rules promulgated under this Act and any | 24 | | occupational health and safety regulations relating to | 25 | | inspection of places of employment, and shall visit and |
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| 1 | | inspect, as often as practicable, the places of employment | 2 | | covered by this Act.
| 3 | | (b) The Director or his or her authorized representative, | 4 | | upon presenting appropriate credentials to a public employer's | 5 | | agent in charge, has the right to enter and inspect all places | 6 | | of employment covered by this Act as follows:
| 7 | | (1) An inspector may enter without delay and at | 8 | | reasonable times any establishment, construction site, or | 9 | | other area, workplace, or environment where work is | 10 | | performed by an employee of a public employer in order to | 11 | | enforce the occupational safety and health standards | 12 | | adopted under this Act.
| 13 | | (2) If a public employer refuses entry to an inspector | 14 | | upon being presented with proper credentials or allows | 15 | | entry but then refuses to permit or hinders the inspection | 16 | | in any way, the inspector shall leave the premises and | 17 | | immediately report the refusal to authorized management | 18 | | within the Division. Authorized management shall notify | 19 | | the Director to initiate the compulsory legal process to | 20 | | obtain entry or obtain a warrant for entry, or both.
| 21 | | (3) An inspector may inspect and investigate during | 22 | | regular working hours and at other reasonable times, and | 23 | | within reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner, any | 24 | | workplace described in paragraph (1) and all pertinent | 25 | | conditions, structures, machines, apparatus, devices, | 26 | | equipment, and materials therein, and to question |
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| 1 | | privately the employer or any agent or employee of the | 2 | | employer.
| 3 | | (4) The owner, operator, manager, or lessee of any | 4 | | workplace covered by this Act, and his or her agent or | 5 | | employee, and any employer affected by this Act shall, | 6 | | when requested by the Division of Occupational Safety and | 7 | | Health or any duly authorized agent of that Division: (i) | 8 | | furnish any information in his or her possession or under | 9 | | his or her control which the Department is authorized to | 10 | | require, (ii) answer truthfully all questions required to | 11 | | be put to him or her, and (iii) cooperate in the making of | 12 | | a proper inspection.
| 13 | | (c) In making his or her inspection and investigations | 14 | | under this Act, the Director of Labor has the power to require | 15 | | the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production | 16 | | of evidence under oath. | 17 | | (Source: P.A. 98-874, eff. 1-1-15; 99-336, eff. 8-10-15.) | 18 | | (820 ILCS 219/80)
| 19 | | Sec. 80. Violation of Act or standard; citation. | 20 | | (a) Upon inspection or investigation of a workplace, if | 21 | | the Director or his or her authorized representative believes | 22 | | that a public employer has violated a requirement of this Act | 23 | | or a standard, rule, or regulation promulgated under this Act, | 24 | | he or she shall with reasonable promptness issue a citation to | 25 | | the employer. A citation shall: (i) be in writing, (ii) |
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| 1 | | describe with particularity the nature of the violation and | 2 | | include a reference to the provision of the Act, standard, | 3 | | rule, or regulation alleged to have been violated, and (iii) | 4 | | fix a reasonable time for the abatement of the violation. | 5 | | (b) Each citation issued under this Section, or a copy or | 6 | | copies thereof, shall be prominently posted at or near the | 7 | | place at which the violation occurred as prescribed in rules | 8 | | adopted by the Director.
| 9 | | (c) A citation shall be served on the employer or the | 10 | | employer's agent by delivering a copy to the person upon whom | 11 | | the service is to be had, or by leaving a copy at his or her | 12 | | usual place of business or abode, or by sending a copy by | 13 | | certified mail to his or her place of business , or by sending a | 14 | | copy by email to an email address previously designated by the | 15 | | employer for purposes of receiving notice under this Act .
| 16 | | (d) A citation may not be issued under this Section after | 17 | | the expiration of 6 months following the occurrence of any | 18 | | violation.
| 19 | | (Source: P.A. 98-874, eff. 1-1-15 .) | 20 | | (820 ILCS 219/85)
| 21 | | Sec. 85. Civil penalties. | 22 | | (a) After an inspection of a workplace under this Act, if | 23 | | the Director issues a citation, he or she shall, within 5 days | 24 | | after issuing the citation, notify the employer by certified | 25 | | mail , or by email to an email address previously designated by |
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| 1 | | the employer for purposes of receiving notice under this Act, | 2 | | of any civil penalty proposed to be assessed for the violation | 3 | | set forth in the citation.
| 4 | | (b) If the Director has reason to believe that an employer | 5 | | has failed to correct a violation for which a citation has been | 6 | | issued within the period permitted for its correction, the | 7 | | Director shall notify the employer by certified mail , or by | 8 | | email to an email address previously designated by the | 9 | | employer for purposes of receiving notice under this Act, of | 10 | | that failure and of the civil penalty proposed to be assessed | 11 | | for that failure.
| 12 | | (c) Civil penalties authorized under this Section are as | 13 | | follows:
| 14 | | (1) A public employer that repeatedly violates this | 15 | | Act, the Safety Inspection and Education Act, or the | 16 | | Health and Safety Act, or any combination of those Acts, | 17 | | or any standard, rule, regulation, or order under any of | 18 | | those Acts, may be assessed a civil penalty of not more | 19 | | than $10,000 per violation.
| 20 | | (2) A public employer that intentionally violates this | 21 | | Act, the Safety Inspection and Education Act, or the | 22 | | Health and Safety Act, or any standard, rule, regulation, | 23 | | or order under any of those Acts, or who demonstrates | 24 | | plain indifference to any provision of any of those Acts | 25 | | or any such standard, rule, regulation, or order, may be | 26 | | assessed a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 per |
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| 1 | | violation .
| 2 | | (3) A public employer that has received a citation for | 3 | | a serious violation of this Act, the Safety Inspection and | 4 | | Education Act, or the Health and Safety Act, or any | 5 | | standard, rule, regulation, or order under any of those | 6 | | Acts, may be assessed a civil penalty up to $1,000 for each | 7 | | such violation.
| 8 | | (4) A public employer that has received a citation for | 9 | | a violation of this Act, the Safety Inspection and | 10 | | Education Act, or the Health and Safety Act, or any | 11 | | standard, rule, regulation, or order under any of those | 12 | | Acts, which is not a serious violation, may be assessed a | 13 | | civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each such violation.
| 14 | | (5) A public employer that violates a posting | 15 | | requirement is subject to the following citations and | 16 | | proposed penalty structure:
| 17 | | (A) Job Safety and Health Poster: an other than | 18 | | serious citation and a proposed penalty of $1,000.
| 19 | | (B) Annual Summary of Work-Related Injuries and | 20 | | Illnesses (OSHA Form 300A): an other than serious | 21 | | citation and a proposed penalty of $1,000, even if | 22 | | there are no recordable injuries or illnesses.
| 23 | | (C) Citation: an other than serious citation and a | 24 | | proposed penalty of $1,000.
| 25 | | (6) A public employer that fails to correct a | 26 | | violation for which a citation has been issued within the |
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| 1 | | time period permitted may be assessed a civil penalty of | 2 | | up to $1,000 for each day the violation continues.
| 3 | | (d) For purposes of this Section, a "serious violation" | 4 | | shall be deemed to exist in a workplace if there is a | 5 | | substantial probability that death or serious physical harm | 6 | | could result from (i) a condition which exists or (ii) one or | 7 | | more practices, means, methods, operations, or processes which | 8 | | have been adopted or are in use in the workplace, unless the | 9 | | employer did not know and could not, with the exercise of | 10 | | reasonable diligence, have known of the presence of the | 11 | | violation.
| 12 | | (e) The Director may assess civil penalties as provided in | 13 | | this Section, giving due consideration to the appropriateness | 14 | | of the penalty. A penalty may be reduced by the Director or the | 15 | | Director's authorized representative based on the public | 16 | | employer's good faith, size of business, and history of | 17 | | previous violations.
| 18 | | (f) The Attorney General may bring an action in the | 19 | | circuit court to enforce the collection of any civil penalty | 20 | | assessed under this Act. | 21 | | (g) All civil penalties collected under this Act shall be | 22 | | deposited into the General Revenue Fund of the State of | 23 | | Illinois.
| 24 | | (Source: P.A. 98-874, eff. 1-1-15 .) | 25 | | (820 ILCS 219/90)
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| 1 | | Sec. 90. Informal review. | 2 | | (a) A public employer may submit in writing data relating | 3 | | to the abatement of a hazard to be considered by an authorized | 4 | | representative of the Director. The authorized representative | 5 | | shall notify the interested parties if such data will be used | 6 | | to modify an abatement order. | 7 | | (b) Within 15 business working days after receiving a | 8 | | citation, proposed assessment of a civil penalty, or notice of | 9 | | failure to correct a violation, a public employer or the | 10 | | employer's agent may request that an authorized representative | 11 | | of the Director review abatement dates, reclassify violations | 12 | | (such as willful to serious, serious to other than serious), | 13 | | or modify or withdraw a penalty, a citation, or a citation | 14 | | item, or any combination of those, if the employer presents | 15 | | evidence during the informal conference which convinces the | 16 | | authorized representative that the changes are justified.
| 17 | | (Source: P.A. 98-874, eff. 1-1-15 .) | 18 | | (820 ILCS 219/100)
| 19 | | Sec. 100. Hearing. | 20 | | (a) If a public employer or the employer's representative | 21 | | notifies the Director that the employer intends to contest a | 22 | | citation and notice of penalty or if, within 15 business | 23 | | working days after the issuance of the citation, an employee | 24 | | or representative of employees files a notice with the | 25 | | Director alleging that the period of time fixed in the |
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| 1 | | citation for the abatement of the violation is unreasonable, | 2 | | the Director shall afford an opportunity for a hearing before | 3 | | an Administrative Law Judge designated by the Director. | 4 | | (b) At the hearing, the employer or employee shall state | 5 | | his or her objections to the citation and provide evidence why | 6 | | the citation should not stand as issued. The Director or his or | 7 | | her representative shall be given the opportunity to state his | 8 | | or her reasons for issuing the citation. Affected employees | 9 | | shall be provided an opportunity to participate as parties to | 10 | | hearings under the rules of procedure prescribed by the | 11 | | Director (56 Ill. Admin. Code, Part 120).
| 12 | | (c) The Director, or the Administrative Law Judge on | 13 | | behalf of the Director, has the power to do the following:
| 14 | | (1) Issue subpoenas for and compel the attendance of | 15 | | witnesses.
| 16 | | (2) Hear testimony and receive evidence.
| 17 | | (3) Order testimony of a witness residing within or | 18 | | without this State to be taken by deposition in the manner | 19 | | prescribed by law for depositions in civil cases in the | 20 | | circuit court in any proceeding pending before him or her | 21 | | at any stage of such proceeding.
| 22 | | (d) Subpoenas and commissions to take testimony shall be | 23 | | issued by under seal of the Director. Service of subpoenas may | 24 | | be made by a sheriff or any other person.
| 25 | | (e) The circuit court for the county where any hearing is | 26 | | pending may compel the attendance of witnesses, the production |
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| 1 | | of pertinent books, papers, records, or documents, and the | 2 | | giving of testimony before the Director or an Administrative | 3 | | Law Judge by an attachment proceeding, as for contempt, in the | 4 | | same manner as the production of evidence may be compelled | 5 | | before the court.
| 6 | | (f) The Administrative Law Judge on behalf of the | 7 | | Director, after considering the evidence presented at the | 8 | | formal hearing, in accordance with the Director's rules, shall | 9 | | enter a final decision and order within a reasonable time | 10 | | affirming, modifying, or vacating the citation or proposed | 11 | | assessment of a civil penalty, or directing other appropriate | 12 | | relief.
| 13 | | (Source: P.A. 98-874, eff. 1-1-15 .) | 14 | | (820 ILCS 219/110)
| 15 | | Sec. 110. Discrimination against employee prohibited. | 16 | | (a) A person may not discharge or in any way discriminate | 17 | | against an employee because the employee has: (i) filed a | 18 | | complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any | 19 | | proceeding under this Act, (ii) testified or is about to | 20 | | testify in any such proceeding, or (iii) exercised, on his or | 21 | | her own behalf or on behalf of another person, any right | 22 | | afforded by this Act , including reporting potential violations | 23 | | of this Act to a member of management with authority to address | 24 | | the concerns .
| 25 | | (b) An employee who believes that he or she has been |
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| 1 | | discharged or otherwise discriminated against by an employer | 2 | | in violation of this Section may, within 30 calendar days | 3 | | after the violation occurs, file a complaint with the Director | 4 | | alleging the discrimination.
| 5 | | (c) Upon receipt of the complaint, the Director shall | 6 | | cause an investigation to be made as the Director deems | 7 | | appropriate. After the investigation, if the Director | 8 | | determines that the employer has violated this Section, the | 9 | | Director shall bring an action in the circuit court for | 10 | | appropriate relief, including rehiring or reinstatement of the | 11 | | employee to his or her former position with back pay, after | 12 | | taking into account any interim earnings of the employee. In | 13 | | such matters the Director shall be represented by the Attorney | 14 | | General.
| 15 | | (Source: P.A. 98-874, eff. 1-1-15 .)
| 16 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Section and Section 3 | 17 | | takes effect immediately. |
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