HB4740 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 25192 RJF 34457 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4740

Introduced 1/27/2022, by Rep. Deanne M. Mazzochi

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 415/8a.2	from Ch. 127, par. 63b108a.2
20 ILCS 415/9	from Ch. 127, par. 63b109

Amends the Personnel Code. Provides that a bilingual pay supplement shall go into effect within 30 calendar days after an employee presents to the Director or the Director's designee a certification from either: (i) the designated testing program process selected by the Director; or (ii) an Illinois community college confirming that language skill proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking has been satisfied by the employee. Provides for the acceptance of certifications of linguistic competence from pre-approved third parties for needs that require a certain linguistic ability. Provides further requirements concerning the testing and certification of linguistic ability for job positions.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Personnel Code is amended by changing Sections 8a.2 and 9 as follows:

(20 ILCS 415/8a.2) (from Ch. 127, par. 63b108a.2)

Sec. 8a.2. For the purposes of the pay plan established under Section 8a of this Code, the Director may establish a special pay supplement for those positions of employment that require, pursuant to the Department's official classification specification, that a person employed in that position speak or write a language other than English. Positions paid under Section 8a of this Code may be eligible for a bilingual pay supplement to attract bilingual individuals, to encourage present employees to become proficient in languages other than English, or to retain qualified bilingual employees.

The positions eligible for a bilingual pay supplement, the amount of the supplement and the length of time it remains in effect shall be negotiated between the Department and the appropriate collective bargaining representative as determined under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. The bilingual pay supplement may be negotiated for each foreign language required for the position by the Department's official classification specification.

A bilingual pay supplement shall go into effect within 30 calendar days after the employee presents to the Director, or the Director's designee for this purpose, a certification from either: (i) the designated testing program process selected by the Director; or (ii) an Illinois community college confirming that language skill proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking has been satisfied by the employee.

(Source: P.A. 86-1427.)

(20 ILCS 415/9) (from Ch. 127, par. 63b109)

Sec. 9. Director, powers and duties. The Director, as executive head of the Department, shall direct and supervise all its administrative and technical activities. In addition to the duties imposed upon him elsewhere in this law, it shall be his duty:

(1) To apply and carry out this law and the rules adopted thereunder.

(2) To attend meetings of the Commission.

(3) To establish and maintain a roster of all employees subject to this Act, in which there shall be set forth, as to each employee, the class, title, pay, status, and other pertinent data.

(4) To appoint, subject to the provisions of this Act, such employees of the Department and such experts and special assistants as may be necessary to carry out effectively this law.

(5) Subject to such exemptions or modifications as may be necessary to assure the continuity of federal contributions in those agencies supported in whole or in part by federal funds, to make appointments to vacancies; to approve all written charges seeking discharge, demotion, or other disciplinary measures provided in this Act and to approve transfers of employees from one geographical area to another in the State, in offices, positions or places of employment covered by this Act, after consultation with the operating unit.

(6) To formulate and administer service wide policies and programs for the improvement of employee effectiveness, including training, safety, health, incentive recognition, counseling, welfare and employee relations. The Department shall formulate and administer recruitment plans and testing of potential employees for agencies having direct contact with significant numbers of non-English speaking or otherwise culturally distinct persons. The Department shall require each State agency to annually assess the need for employees with appropriate bilingual capabilities to serve the significant numbers of non-English speaking or culturally distinct persons. The Department shall develop a uniform procedure for assessing an agency's need for employees with appropriate bilingual capabilities. Agencies shall establish occupational titles or designate positions as "bilingual option" for persons having sufficient linguistic ability or cultural knowledge to be able to render effective service to such persons. The Department shall ensure that any such option is exercised according to the agency's needs assessment and the requirements of this Code. The Department shall make annual reports of the needs assessment of each agency and the number of positions calling for non-English linguistic ability to whom vacancy postings were sent, and the number filled by each agency. Such policies and programs shall be subject to approval by the Governor, provided that for needs that require a certain linguistic ability that: (i) have not been met for a posted position for a period of at least one year; or (ii) arise when an individual's health or safety would be placed in immediate risk, the Department shall accept certifications of linguistic competence from pre-approved third parties. To facilitate expanding the scope of sources to demonstrate linguistic competence, the Department shall issue standards for demonstrating linguistic competence. No later than January 2023, the Department shall authorize at least one if not more community colleges in the regions involving the counties of Cook, Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Will, Sangamon, and 5 other geographically distributed counties within the State to pre-test and certify linguistic ability, and such certifications by candidates shall be presumed to satisfy the linguistic ability requirements for the job position. Such policies, program reports and needs assessment reports, as well as linguistic certification standards, shall be filed with the General Assembly by January 1 of each year and shall be available to the public.

The Department shall include within the report required above the number of persons receiving the bilingual pay supplement established by Section 8a.2 of this Code. The report shall provide the number of persons receiving the bilingual pay supplement for languages other than English and for signing. The report shall also indicate the number of persons, by the categories of Hispanic and non-Hispanic, who are receiving the bilingual pay supplement for language skills other than signing, in a language other than English.

(7) To conduct negotiations affecting pay, hours of work, or other working conditions of employees subject to this Act.

(8) To make continuing studies to improve the efficiency of State services to the residents of Illinois, including but not limited to those who are non-English speaking or culturally distinct, and to report his findings and recommendations to the Commission and the Governor.

(9) To investigate from time to time the operation and effect of this law and the rules made thereunder and to report his findings and recommendations to the Commission and to the Governor.

(10) To make an annual report regarding the work of the Department, and such special reports as he may consider desirable, to the Commission and to the Governor, or as the Governor or Commission may request.

(11) (Blank).

(12) To prepare and publish a semi-annual statement showing the number of employees exempt and non-exempt from merit selection in each department. This report shall be in addition to other information on merit selection maintained for public information under existing law.

(13) To authorize in every department or agency subject to Jurisdiction C the use of flexible hours positions. A flexible hours position is one that does not require an ordinary work schedule as determined by the Department and includes but is not limited to: 1) a part time job of 20 hours or more per week, 2) a job which is shared by 2 employees or a compressed work week consisting of an ordinary number of working hours performed on fewer than the number of days ordinarily required to perform that job. The Department may define flexible time to include other types of jobs that are defined above.

The Director and the director of each department or agency shall together establish goals for flexible hours positions to be available in every department or agency.

The Department shall give technical assistance to departments and agencies in achieving their goals, and shall report to the Governor and the General Assembly each year on the progress of each department and agency.

When a goal of 10% of the positions in a department or agency being available on a flexible hours basis has been reached, the Department shall evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the program and determine whether to expand the number of positions available for flexible hours to 20%.

When a goal of 20% of the positions in a department or agency being available on a flexible hours basis has been reached, the Department shall evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the program and determine whether to expand the number of positions available for flexible hours.

Each department shall develop a plan for implementation of flexible work requirements designed to reduce the need for day care of employees' children outside the home. Each department shall submit a report of its plan to the Department of Central Management Services and the General Assembly. This report shall be submitted biennially by March 1, with the first report due March 1, 1993.

(14) To perform any other lawful acts which he may consider necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes and provisions of this law.

The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act, and filing such additional copies with the State Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.

(Source: P.A. 100-1148, eff. 12-10-18.)