Public Act 93-0204
HB2221 Enrolled LRB093 06402 RCE 06524 b
AN ACT concerning disabled persons.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act is
amended by changing Sections 3 and 7 as follows:
(5 ILCS 315/3) (from Ch. 48, par. 1603)
Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires:
(a) "Board" means the Illinois Labor Relations Board or,
with respect to a matter over which the jurisdiction of the
Board is assigned to the State Panel or the Local Panel under
Section 5, the panel having jurisdiction over the matter.
(b) "Collective bargaining" means bargaining over terms
and conditions of employment, including hours, wages, and
other conditions of employment, as detailed in Section 7 and
which are not excluded by Section 4.
(c) "Confidential employee" means an employee who, in
the regular course of his or her duties, assists and acts in
a confidential capacity to persons who formulate, determine,
and effectuate management policies with regard to labor
relations or who, in the regular course of his or her duties,
has authorized access to information relating to the
effectuation or review of the employer's collective
bargaining policies.
(d) "Craft employees" means skilled journeymen, crafts
persons, and their apprentices and helpers.
(e) "Essential services employees" means those public
employees performing functions so essential that the
interruption or termination of the function will constitute a
clear and present danger to the health and safety of the
persons in the affected community.
(f) "Exclusive representative", except with respect to
non-State fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire
departments and fire protection districts, non-State peace
officers, and peace officers in the Department of State
Police, means the labor organization that has been (i)
designated by the Board as the representative of a majority
of public employees in an appropriate bargaining unit in
accordance with the procedures contained in this Act, (ii)
historically recognized by the State of Illinois or any
political subdivision of the State before July 1, 1984 (the
effective date of this Act) as the exclusive representative
of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, or (iii)
after July 1, 1984 (the effective date of this Act)
recognized by an employer upon evidence, acceptable to the
Board, that the labor organization has been designated as the
exclusive representative by a majority of the employees in an
appropriate bargaining unit; or (iv) recognized as the
exclusive representative of personal care attendants or
personal assistants under Executive Order 2003-8 prior to the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
Assembly, and the organization shall be considered to be the
exclusive representative of the personal care attendants or
personal assistants as defined in this Section.
With respect to non-State fire fighters and paramedics
employed by fire departments and fire protection districts,
non-State peace officers, and peace officers in the
Department of State Police, "exclusive representative" means
the labor organization that has been (i) designated by the
Board as the representative of a majority of peace officers
or fire fighters in an appropriate bargaining unit in
accordance with the procedures contained in this Act, (ii)
historically recognized by the State of Illinois or any
political subdivision of the State before January 1, 1986
(the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1985) as the
exclusive representative by a majority of the peace officers
or fire fighters in an appropriate bargaining unit, or (iii)
after January 1, 1986 (the effective date of this amendatory
Act of 1985) recognized by an employer upon evidence,
acceptable to the Board, that the labor organization has been
designated as the exclusive representative by a majority of
the peace officers or fire fighters in an appropriate
bargaining unit.
(g) "Fair share agreement" means an agreement between
the employer and an employee organization under which all or
any of the employees in a collective bargaining unit are
required to pay their proportionate share of the costs of the
collective bargaining process, contract administration, and
pursuing matters affecting wages, hours, and other conditions
of employment, but not to exceed the amount of dues uniformly
required of members. The amount certified by the exclusive
representative shall not include any fees for contributions
related to the election or support of any candidate for
political office. Nothing in this subsection (g) shall
preclude an employee from making voluntary political
contributions in conjunction with his or her fair share
payment.
(g-1) "Fire fighter" means, for the purposes of this Act
only, any person who has been or is hereafter appointed to a
fire department or fire protection district or employed by a
state university and sworn or commissioned to perform fire
fighter duties or paramedic duties, except that the following
persons are not included: part-time fire fighters, auxiliary,
reserve or voluntary fire fighters, including paid on-call
fire fighters, clerks and dispatchers or other civilian
employees of a fire department or fire protection district
who are not routinely expected to perform fire fighter
duties, or elected officials.
(g-2) "General Assembly of the State of Illinois" means
the legislative branch of the government of the State of
Illinois, as provided for under Article IV of the
Constitution of the State of Illinois, and includes but is
not limited to the House of Representatives, the Senate, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader
of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate,
the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Joint Committee on
Legislative Support Services and any legislative support
services agency listed in the Legislative Commission
Reorganization Act of 1984.
(h) "Governing body" means, in the case of the State,
the State Panel of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, the
Director of the Department of Central Management Services,
and the Director of the Department of Labor; the county board
in the case of a county; the corporate authorities in the
case of a municipality; and the appropriate body authorized
to provide for expenditures of its funds in the case of any
other unit of government.
(i) "Labor organization" means any organization in which
public employees participate and that exists for the purpose,
in whole or in part, of dealing with a public employer
concerning wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of
employment, including the settlement of grievances.
(j) "Managerial employee" means an individual who is
engaged predominantly in executive and management functions
and is charged with the responsibility of directing the
effectuation of management policies and practices.
(k) "Peace officer" means, for the purposes of this Act
only, any persons who have been or are hereafter appointed to
a police force, department, or agency and sworn or
commissioned to perform police duties, except that the
following persons are not included: part-time police
officers, special police officers, auxiliary police as
defined by Section 3.1-30-20 of the Illinois Municipal Code,
night watchmen, "merchant police", court security officers as
defined by Section 3-6012.1 of the Counties Code, temporary
employees, traffic guards or wardens, civilian parking meter
and parking facilities personnel or other individuals
specially appointed to aid or direct traffic at or near
schools or public functions or to aid in civil defense or
disaster, parking enforcement employees who are not
commissioned as peace officers and who are not armed and who
are not routinely expected to effect arrests, parking lot
attendants, clerks and dispatchers or other civilian
employees of a police department who are not routinely
expected to effect arrests, or elected officials.
(l) "Person" includes one or more individuals, labor
organizations, public employees, associations, corporations,
legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy,
receivers, or the State of Illinois or any political
subdivision of the State or governing body, but does not
include the General Assembly of the State of Illinois or any
individual employed by the General Assembly of the State of
Illinois.
(m) "Professional employee" means any employee engaged
in work predominantly intellectual and varied in character
rather than routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical
work; involving the consistent exercise of discretion and
adjustment in its performance; of such a character that the
output produced or the result accomplished cannot be
standardized in relation to a given period of time; and
requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or
learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of
specialized intellectual instruction and study in an
institution of higher learning or a hospital, as
distinguished from a general academic education or from
apprenticeship or from training in the performance of routine
mental, manual, or physical processes; or any employee who
has completed the courses of specialized intellectual
instruction and study prescribed in this subsection (m) and
is performing related work under the supervision of a
professional person to qualify to become a professional
employee as defined in this subsection (m).
(n) "Public employee" or "employee", for the purposes of
this Act, means any individual employed by a public employer,
including interns and residents at public hospitals and, as
of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
General Assembly, but not before, personal care attendants
and personal assistants working under the Home Services
Program under Section 3 of the Disabled Persons
Rehabilitation Act, subject to the limitations set forth in
this Act and in the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act, but
excluding all of the following: employees of the General
Assembly of the State of Illinois; elected officials;
executive heads of a department; members of boards or
commissions; employees of any agency, board or commission
created by this Act; employees appointed to State positions
of a temporary or emergency nature; all employees of school
districts and higher education institutions except
firefighters and peace officers employed by a state
university; managerial employees; short-term employees;
confidential employees; independent contractors; and
supervisors except as provided in this Act.
Personal care attendants and personal assistants shall
not be considered public employees for any purposes not
specifically provided for in this amendatory Act of the 93rd
General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of
vicarious liability in tort and purposes of statutory
retirement or health insurance benefits. Personal care
attendants and personal assistants shall not be covered by
the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971 (5 ILCS
375/).
Notwithstanding Section 9, subsection (c), or any other
provisions of this Act, all peace officers above the rank of
captain in municipalities with more than 1,000,000
inhabitants shall be excluded from this Act.
(o) "Public employer" or "employer" means the State of
Illinois; any political subdivision of the State, unit of
local government or school district; authorities including
departments, divisions, bureaus, boards, commissions, or
other agencies of the foregoing entities; and any person
acting within the scope of his or her authority, express or
implied, on behalf of those entities in dealing with its
employees. As of the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 93rd General Assembly, but not before, the State of
Illinois shall be considered the employer of the personal
care attendants and personal assistants working under the
Home Services Program under Section 3 of the Disabled Persons
Rehabilitation Act, subject to the limitations set forth in
this Act and in the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act. The
State shall not be considered to be the employer of personal
care attendants and personal assistants for any purposes not
specifically provided for in this amendatory Act of the 93rd
General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of
vicarious liability in tort and purposes of statutory
retirement or health insurance benefits. Personal care
attendants and personal assistants shall not be covered by
the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971 (5 ILCS
375/). "Public employer" or "employer" as used in this Act,
however, does not mean and shall not include the General
Assembly of the State of Illinois and educational employers
or employers as defined in the Illinois Educational Labor
Relations Act, except with respect to a state university in
its employment of firefighters and peace officers. County
boards and county sheriffs shall be designated as joint or
co-employers of county peace officers appointed under the
authority of a county sheriff. Nothing in this subsection
(o) shall be construed to prevent the State Panel or the
Local Panel from determining that employers are joint or
co-employers.
(p) "Security employee" means an employee who is
responsible for the supervision and control of inmates at
correctional facilities. The term also includes other
non-security employees in bargaining units having the
majority of employees being responsible for the supervision
and control of inmates at correctional facilities.
(q) "Short-term employee" means an employee who is
employed for less than 2 consecutive calendar quarters during
a calendar year and who does not have a reasonable assurance
that he or she will be rehired by the same employer for the
same service in a subsequent calendar year.
(r) "Supervisor" is an employee whose principal work is
substantially different from that of his or her subordinates
and who has authority, in the interest of the employer, to
hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge,
direct, reward, or discipline employees, to adjust their
grievances, or to effectively recommend any of those actions,
if the exercise of that authority is not of a merely routine
or clerical nature, but requires the consistent use of
independent judgment. Except with respect to police
employment, the term "supervisor" includes only those
individuals who devote a preponderance of their employment
time to exercising that authority, State supervisors
notwithstanding. In addition, in determining supervisory
status in police employment, rank shall not be determinative.
The Board shall consider, as evidence of bargaining unit
inclusion or exclusion, the common law enforcement policies
and relationships between police officer ranks and
certification under applicable civil service law, ordinances,
personnel codes, or Division 2.1 of Article 10 of the
Illinois Municipal Code, but these factors shall not be the
sole or predominant factors considered by the Board in
determining police supervisory status.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding
paragraph, in determining supervisory status in fire fighter
employment, no fire fighter shall be excluded as a supervisor
who has established representation rights under Section 9 of
this Act. Further, in new fire fighter units, employees
shall consist of fire fighters of the rank of company officer
and below. If a company officer otherwise qualifies as a
supervisor under the preceding paragraph, however, he or she
shall not be included in the fire fighter unit. If there is
no rank between that of chief and the highest company
officer, the employer may designate a position on each shift
as a Shift Commander, and the persons occupying those
positions shall be supervisors. All other ranks above that
of company officer shall be supervisors.
(s) (1) "Unit" means a class of jobs or positions that
are held by employees whose collective interests may
suitably be represented by a labor organization for
collective bargaining. Except with respect to non-State
fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire departments
and fire protection districts, non-State peace officers,
and peace officers in the Department of State Police, a
bargaining unit determined by the Board shall not include
both employees and supervisors, or supervisors only,
except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection
(s) and except for bargaining units in existence on July
1, 1984 (the effective date of this Act). With respect
to non-State fire fighters and paramedics employed by
fire departments and fire protection districts, non-State
peace officers, and peace officers in the Department of
State Police, a bargaining unit determined by the Board
shall not include both supervisors and nonsupervisors, or
supervisors only, except as provided in paragraph (2) of
this subsection (s) and except for bargaining units in
existence on January 1, 1986 (the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1985). A bargaining unit determined by
the Board to contain peace officers shall contain no
employees other than peace officers unless otherwise
agreed to by the employer and the labor organization or
labor organizations involved. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Act, a bargaining unit, including a
historical bargaining unit, containing sworn peace
officers of the Department of Natural Resources (formerly
designated the Department of Conservation) shall contain
no employees other than such sworn peace officers upon
the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1990 or upon
the expiration date of any collective bargaining
agreement in effect upon the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1990 covering both such sworn peace
officers and other employees.
(2) Notwithstanding the exclusion of supervisors
from bargaining units as provided in paragraph (1) of
this subsection (s), a public employer may agree to
permit its supervisory employees to form bargaining units
and may bargain with those units. This Act shall apply
if the public employer chooses to bargain under this
subsection.
(Source: P.A. 90-14, eff. 7-1-97; 90-655, eff. 7-30-98;
91-798, eff. 7-9-00.)
(5 ILCS 315/7) (from Ch. 48, par. 1607)
Sec. 7. Duty to bargain. A public employer and the
exclusive representative have the authority and the duty to
bargain collectively set forth in this Section.
For the purposes of this Act, "to bargain collectively"
means the performance of the mutual obligation of the public
employer or his designated representative and the
representative of the public employees to meet at reasonable
times, including meetings in advance of the budget-making
process, and to negotiate in good faith with respect to
wages, hours, and other conditions of employment, not
excluded by Section 4 of this Act, or the negotiation of an
agreement, or any question arising thereunder and the
execution of a written contract incorporating any agreement
reached if requested by either party, but such obligation
does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or
require the making of a concession.
The duty "to bargain collectively" shall also include an
obligation to negotiate over any matter with respect to
wages, hours and other conditions of employment, not
specifically provided for in any other law or not
specifically in violation of the provisions of any law. If
any other law pertains, in part, to a matter affecting the
wages, hours and other conditions of employment, such other
law shall not be construed as limiting the duty "to bargain
collectively" and to enter into collective bargaining
agreements containing clauses which either supplement,
implement, or relate to the effect of such provisions in
other laws.
The duty "to bargain collectively" shall also include
negotiations as to the terms of a collective bargaining
agreement. The parties may, by mutual agreement, provide for
arbitration of impasses resulting from their inability to
agree upon wages, hours and terms and conditions of
employment to be included in a collective bargaining
agreement. Such arbitration provisions shall be subject to
the Illinois "Uniform Arbitration Act" unless agreed by the
parties.
The duty "to bargain collectively" shall also mean that
no party to a collective bargaining contract shall terminate
or modify such contract, unless the party desiring such
termination or modification:
(1) serves a written notice upon the other party to the
contract of the proposed termination or modification 60 days
prior to the expiration date thereof, or in the event such
contract contains no expiration date, 60 days prior to the
time it is proposed to make such termination or modification;
(2) offers to meet and confer with the other party for
the purpose of negotiating a new contract or a contract
containing the proposed modifications;
(3) notifies the Board within 30 days after such notice
of the existence of a dispute, provided no agreement has been
reached by that time; and
(4) continues in full force and effect, without
resorting to strike or lockout, all the terms and conditions
of the existing contract for a period of 60 days after such
notice is given to the other party or until the expiration
date of such contract, whichever occurs later.
The duties imposed upon employers, employees and labor
organizations by paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) shall become
inapplicable upon an intervening certification of the Board,
under which the labor organization, which is a party to the
contract, has been superseded as or ceased to be the
exclusive representative of the employees pursuant to the
provisions of subsection (a) of Section 9, and the duties so
imposed shall not be construed as requiring either party to
discuss or agree to any modification of the terms and
conditions contained in a contract for a fixed period, if
such modification is to become effective before such terms
and conditions can be reopened under the provisions of the
contract.
Collective bargaining for personal care attendants and
personal assistants under the Home Services Program shall be
limited to the terms and conditions of employment under the
State's control, as defined in this amendatory Act of the
93rd General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 83-1012.)
Section 10. The Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act is
amended by changing Section 3 as follows:
(20 ILCS 2405/3) (from Ch. 23, par. 3434)
Sec. 3. Powers and duties. The Department shall have the
powers and duties enumerated herein:
(a) To co-operate with the federal government in the
administration of the provisions of the federal
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, of the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998, and of the federal Social Security
Act to the extent and in the manner provided in these Acts.
(b) To prescribe and supervise such courses of
vocational training and provide such other services as may be
necessary for the habilitation and rehabilitation of persons
with one or more disabilities, including the administrative
activities under subsection (e) of this Section, and to
co-operate with State and local school authorities and other
recognized agencies engaged in habilitation, rehabilitation
and comprehensive rehabilitation services; and to cooperate
with the Department of Children and Family Services regarding
the care and education of children with one or more
disabilities.
(c) (Blank).
(d) To report in writing, to the Governor, annually on
or before the first day of December, and at such other times
and in such manner and upon such subjects as the Governor may
require. The annual report shall contain (1) a statement of
the existing condition of comprehensive rehabilitation
services, habilitation and rehabilitation in the State; (2) a
statement of suggestions and recommendations with reference
to the development of comprehensive rehabilitation services,
habilitation and rehabilitation in the State; and (3) an
itemized statement of the amounts of money received from
federal, State and other sources, and of the objects and
purposes to which the respective items of these several
amounts have been devoted.
(e) (Blank).
(f) To establish a program of services to prevent
unnecessary institutionalization of persons with Alzheimer's
disease and related disorders or persons in need of long term
care who are established as blind or disabled as defined by
the Social Security Act, thereby enabling them to remain in
their own homes or other living arrangements. Such preventive
services may include, but are not limited to, any or all of
the following:
(1) home health services;
(2) home nursing services;
(3) homemaker services;
(4) chore and housekeeping services;
(5) day care services;
(6) home-delivered meals;
(7) education in self-care;
(8) personal care services;
(9) adult day health services;
(10) habilitation services;
(11) respite care; or
(12) other nonmedical social services that may
enable the person to become self-supporting.
The Department shall establish eligibility standards for
such services taking into consideration the unique economic
and social needs of the population for whom they are to be
provided. Such eligibility standards may be based on the
recipient's ability to pay for services; provided, however,
that any portion of a person's income that is equal to or
less than the "protected income" level shall not be
considered by the Department in determining eligibility. The
"protected income" level shall be determined by the
Department, shall never be less than the federal poverty
standard, and shall be adjusted each year to reflect changes
in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers as
determined by the United States Department of Labor.
Additionally, in determining the amount and nature of
services for which a person may qualify, consideration shall
not be given to the value of cash, property or other assets
held in the name of the person's spouse pursuant to a written
agreement dividing marital property into equal but separate
shares or pursuant to a transfer of the person's interest in
a home to his spouse, provided that the spouse's share of the
marital property is not made available to the person seeking
such services.
The services shall be provided to eligible persons to
prevent unnecessary or premature institutionalization, to the
extent that the cost of the services, together with the other
personal maintenance expenses of the persons, are reasonably
related to the standards established for care in a group
facility appropriate to their condition. These
non-institutional services, pilot projects or experimental
facilities may be provided as part of or in addition to those
authorized by federal law or those funded and administered by
the Illinois Department on Aging.
Personal care attendants shall be paid:
(i) A $5 per hour minimum rate beginning July 1,
1995.
(ii) A $5.30 per hour minimum rate beginning July
1, 1997.
(iii) A $5.40 per hour minimum rate beginning July
1, 1998.
Solely for the purposes of coverage under the Illinois
Public Labor Relations Act (5 ILCS 315/), personal care
attendants and personal assistants providing services under
the Department's Home Services Program shall be considered to
be public employees and the State of Illinois shall be
considered to be their employer as of the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, but not
before. The State shall engage in collective bargaining with
an exclusive representative of personal care attendants and
personal assistants working under the Home Services Program
concerning their terms and conditions of employment that are
within the State's control. Nothing in this paragraph shall
be understood to limit the right of the persons receiving
services defined in this Section to hire and fire personal
care attendants and personal assistants or supervise them
within the limitations set by the Home Services Program. The
State shall not be considered to be the employer of personal
care attendants and personal assistants for any purposes not
specifically provided in this amendatory Act of the 93rd
General Assembly, including but not limited to, purposes of
vicarious liability in tort and purposes of statutory
retirement or health insurance benefits. Personal care
attendants and personal assistants shall not be covered by
the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971 (5 ILCS
375/).
The Department shall execute, relative to the nursing
home prescreening project, as authorized by Section 4.03 of
the Illinois Act on the Aging, written inter-agency
agreements with the Department on Aging and the Department of
Public Aid, to effect the following: (i) intake procedures
and common eligibility criteria for those persons who are
receiving non-institutional services; and (ii) the
establishment and development of non-institutional services
in areas of the State where they are not currently available
or are undeveloped. On and after July 1, 1996, all nursing
home prescreenings for individuals 18 through 59 years of age
shall be conducted by the Department.
The Department is authorized to establish a system of
recipient cost-sharing for services provided under this
Section. The cost-sharing shall be based upon the
recipient's ability to pay for services, but in no case shall
the recipient's share exceed the actual cost of the services
provided. Protected income shall not be considered by the
Department in its determination of the recipient's ability to
pay a share of the cost of services. The level of
cost-sharing shall be adjusted each year to reflect changes
in the "protected income" level. The Department shall deduct
from the recipient's share of the cost of services any money
expended by the recipient for disability-related expenses.
The Department, or the Department's authorized
representative, shall recover the amount of moneys expended
for services provided to or in behalf of a person under this
Section by a claim against the person's estate or against the
estate of the person's surviving spouse, but no recovery may
be had until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any,
and then only at such time when there is no surviving child
who is under age 21, blind, or permanently and totally
disabled. This paragraph, however, shall not bar recovery,
at the death of the person, of moneys for services provided
to the person or in behalf of the person under this Section
to which the person was not entitled; provided that such
recovery shall not be enforced against any real estate while
it is occupied as a homestead by the surviving spouse or
other dependent, if no claims by other creditors have been
filed against the estate, or, if such claims have been filed,
they remain dormant for failure of prosecution or failure of
the claimant to compel administration of the estate for the
purpose of payment. This paragraph shall not bar recovery
from the estate of a spouse, under Sections 1915 and 1924 of
the Social Security Act and Section 5-4 of the Illinois
Public Aid Code, who precedes a person receiving services
under this Section in death. All moneys for services paid to
or in behalf of the person under this Section shall be
claimed for recovery from the deceased spouse's estate.
"Homestead", as used in this paragraph, means the dwelling
house and contiguous real estate occupied by a surviving
spouse or relative, as defined by the rules and regulations
of the Illinois Department of Public Aid, regardless of the
value of the property.
The Department and the Department on Aging shall
cooperate in the development and submission of an annual
report on programs and services provided under this Section.
Such joint report shall be filed with the Governor and the
General Assembly on or before March 30 each year.
The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly
shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the
Speaker, the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and
the Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research
Unit, as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly
Organization Act, and filing additional copies with the State
Government Report Distribution Center for the General
Assembly as required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the
State Library Act.
(g) To establish such subdivisions of the Department as
shall be desirable and assign to the various subdivisions the
responsibilities and duties placed upon the Department by
law.
(h) To cooperate and enter into any necessary agreements
with the Department of Employment Security for the provision
of job placement and job referral services to clients of the
Department, including job service registration of such
clients with Illinois Employment Security offices and making
job listings maintained by the Department of Employment
Security available to such clients.
(i) To possess all powers reasonable and necessary for
the exercise and administration of the powers, duties and
responsibilities of the Department which are provided for by
law.
(j) To establish a procedure whereby new providers of
personal care attendant services shall submit vouchers to the
State for payment two times during their first month of
employment and one time per month thereafter. In no case
shall the Department pay personal care attendants an hourly
wage that is less than the federal minimum wage.
(k) To provide adequate notice to providers of chore and
housekeeping services informing them that they are entitled
to an interest payment on bills which are not promptly paid
pursuant to Section 3 of the State Prompt Payment Act.
(l) To establish, operate and maintain a Statewide
Housing Clearinghouse of information on available, government
subsidized housing accessible to disabled persons and
available privately owned housing accessible to disabled
persons. The information shall include but not be limited to
the location, rental requirements, access features and
proximity to public transportation of available housing. The
Clearinghouse shall consist of at least a computerized
database for the storage and retrieval of information and a
separate or shared toll free telephone number for use by
those seeking information from the Clearinghouse. Department
offices and personnel throughout the State shall also assist
in the operation of the Statewide Housing Clearinghouse.
Cooperation with local, State and federal housing managers
shall be sought and extended in order to frequently and
promptly update the Clearinghouse's information.
(m) To assure that the names and case records of persons
who received or are receiving services from the Department,
including persons receiving vocational rehabilitation, home
services, or other services, and those attending one of the
Department's schools or other supervised facility shall be
confidential and not be open to the general public. Those
case records and reports or the information contained in
those records and reports shall be disclosed by the Director
only to proper law enforcement officials, individuals
authorized by a court, the General Assembly or any committee
or commission of the General Assembly, and other persons and
for reasons as the Director designates by rule. Disclosure
by the Director may be only in accordance with other
applicable law.
(Source: P.A. 91-540, eff. 8-13-99; 92-84, eff. 7-1-02.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.