SB1266sam001 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Emil Jones Jr.

Filed: 4/11/2005

09400SB1266sam001 LRB094 04935 WGH 44287 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1266

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1266 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Illinois Apprenticeship and Training Act.

Section 5. Purpose and policy. It is the declared purpose and policy of this Act to:

(1) open to young people, regardless of race, sex, creed, color, or national origin, the opportunity to obtain training that will equip them for profitable employment and citizenship;

(2) establish, as a means to this end, a program of voluntary apprenticeship under approved apprentice agreements providing facilities for their training and guidance in the arts, skills, and crafts of industry and trade, with concurrent, supplementary instruction in related subjects;

(3) promote employment opportunities under conditions providing adequate training and reasonable earnings;

(4) relate the supply of skilled workers to employment demands;

(5) establish standards for apprentice training;

(6) establish an Illinois Apprenticeship Council within the Department of Labor and local, regional, and State joint apprenticeship committees to assist in effectuating the purposes of this Act;

(7) provide for the appointment of a Deputy Director of the Department of Labor to oversee the newly-created Office of Apprenticeship Training and Standards within the Department of Labor;

(8) provide for reports to the General Assembly regarding the status of apprentice training in the State;

(9) establish a procedure for the determination of apprentice agreement controversies; and

(10) to accomplish related ends.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

"Apprentice" means a person at least 16 years of age who has entered into an apprentice agreement with an employer, or an association of employers, or an organization of employees, or another apprentice program sponsor.

"Apprentice agreement" or "agreement" means a written agreement between an apprentice and an apprentice program sponsor which is registered with the Office of Apprenticeship Training and Standards and which provides for not less than 2,000 hours of reasonably continuous employment, consistent with training requirements as established by industry practice, in the occupation to which he or she is apprenticed. The written agreement shall also provide for not less than 150 hours per year of related instruction for a person in the occupation to which he or she is apprenticed, as well as participation in an approved schedule of work experience throughout a reasonably continuous period of employment.

"Apprentice program" or "program" means a program which is registered with the Office of Apprenticeship Training and Standards within the Department of Labor for the recruitment, selection, employment, training, and qualification of apprentices.

"Apprentice program sponsor" or "program sponsor" means a person, association, committee, joint apprenticeship committee, organization, corporation, partnership, trust, or other entity operating an apprentice program and in whose name the program is registered with the Office of Apprenticeship Training and Standards within the Department of Labor.

"Council" means the Illinois Apprenticeship Council within the Department of Labor.

"Department" means the Department of Labor.

"Deputy Director" means the Deputy Director of the Department of Labor who shall oversee the Office of Apprenticeship Training and Standards within the Department of Labor.

"Office" means the Office of Apprenticeship Training and Standards within the Department of Labor.

Section 15. Office of Apprenticeship Training and Standards; Illinois Apprenticeship Council. The Office of Apprenticeship Training and Standards is created within the Department of Labor. The Illinois Apprenticeship Council is created in the Office. The Council shall be appointed by the Governor and be composed of 4 representatives each from employers or employer organizations and employee organizations that sponsor apprentice programs under this Act, respectively, and of 3 representatives of the general public. The Governor's appointees shall be subject to the advice and consent of the Illinois Senate. The Director of Labor, or his or her designee, the Director of Employment Security, or his or her designee, the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or his or her designee, and the Chairman of the Illinois Community College Board, or his or her designee, shall be ex-officio non-voting members of the Council. The chairperson shall be elected from the appointed members of the Council by vote of the appointed members of the Council. Members of the Council, other than ex-officio members, shall be appointed for a term of 4 years and until their successors are appointed, except that 2 of the original members appointed to represent either employers or employer organizations or employee organizations shall be appointed for a term of one year, 2 other such appointees and one of the members appointed to represent the general public shall be appointed to a term of 2 years, 3 other such members shall be appointed to a term of 3 years, and the remaining 3 original members shall be appointed to a term of 4 years. Members of the Council shall be eligible for reappointment. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term of his or her predecessor shall be appointed for the remainder of that term. Each member of the Council shall receive the sum of $100 for each day of actual attendance at meetings or hearings of the Council together with his or her actual and necessary traveling expenses.

Section 20. Meetings of the Council. Meetings of the Council shall be held monthly and additional meetings may be held as often as is necessary in the opinion of the majority of the Council. The chairperson of the Council shall designate the time and place of the meetings and the secretary of the Council shall notify all Council members at least one week in advance of each meeting. A majority of the membership of the Council shall constitute a quorum if at least one representative from both employee and employer groups is present.

Section 25. Duties of the Council. The Council shall:

(1) establish standards for apprenticeship in conformity with this Act and applicable statutes and regulations of the federal government;

(2) adopt such rules as may be necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this Act;

(3) compile such data on population and employment trends, industrial production, vocational and industrial education, and job requirements as may be deemed necessary to carry out the intent and purposes of this Act;

(4) terminate or cancel any apprentice agreements in accordance with those agreements or order modifications of those agreements;

(5) maintain close liaison with the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, the United States Department of Labor, and such other federal, State, regional, or local agencies or organizations which carry on programs closely related to the purposes of this Act;

(6) conduct studies, surveys, and investigations of the special problems of retraining or training unemployed or employed persons to improve or modernize work skills and make appropriate recommendations to cooperating agencies described above;

(7) act as a convening agency in local communities to bring together local representatives of employees, employers, educational agencies, trade associations, and industrial development agencies in order to promote closer local cooperation in establishing better apprentice and other training programs including programs for employed persons who wish to improve and modernize their work skills;

(8) use appropriate public information and education campaigns to acquaint employers, employees, and the public at large with the advantages and availability of apprentice and other occupational training programs;

(9) study the effectiveness of apprentice agreements and make recommendations in accordance with those agreements for their improvement;

(10) adopt rules governing equal opportunities in apprenticeship, and establish an Illinois plan for equal employment opportunity in apprenticeship consistent with applicable statutes and regulations of the federal government, and other on-the-job training, and criteria for selection procedures with a view toward eliminating criteria not relevant to qualification for training employment or more stringent than is reasonably necessary; and

(11) perform such other duties as may be necessary to give full effect to this Act.

Section 30. Administration. The Governor shall appoint a Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall administer this Act and shall have the following duties: act as secretary of the Council; oversee the Office of Apprenticeship Training and Standards within the Department; issue certificates of registration to sponsors of approved apprentice programs; foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the apprentice and industry, improve the working conditions of apprentices, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment; ensure that selection procedures are impartially administered to all applicants for apprenticeship; gather and promptly disseminate information through apprenticeship and training information centers that may be maintained by the Office, other State agencies, community-based organizations, or educational institutions; maintain on public file in all high schools, community colleges, and field offices of the Department of Employment Security the name and location of the local apprenticeship committees, the filing date, and minimum requirements for application of all registered apprentice programs; cooperate in the development of programs and advise them on problems affecting apprenticeship standards; audit all selection and disciplinary proceedings of apprentices or prospective apprentices; enter into joint agreements with State, federal, regional, educational, or community-based organizations for outreach education and employment programs and on the operation of apprenticeship information centers, including positive efforts to achieve information on equal opportunity and affirmative action programs for women and minorities; and supervise and recommend apprentice agreements as to these standards and perform such other duties as the Council may recommend. The Deputy Director shall coordinate the exchange, by the Council, the program sponsors, community organizations, and other interested persons, of information on available minorities and women who may serve as apprentices.

Section 35. Audits.

(a) The Office shall randomly audit apprentice programs approved under this Act during each five-year period commencing on this Act's effective date to ensure that the program is complying with its standards, all on-the-job training is performed by journeymen, all related and supplemental instruction required by the apprenticeship standards is being provided, all work processes in the apprenticeship standards are being covered, and graduates have completed the program's requirements. The Office shall examine each program to determine whether apprentices are graduating from the program on schedule or dropping out and to determine whether graduates of the program have obtained employment as journeymen. Every program sponsor has a duty to cooperate with the Office in conducting an audit.

(b) Audit reports shall be presented to the Council and shall be made public, except that the Office shall not make public information that would infringe on the privacy of individual apprentices. The Office shall recommend remedial action to correct deficiencies recognized in the audit report, and the failure to correct deficiencies within a reasonable period of time shall be grounds for withdrawing State approval of a program. The Office may conduct more frequent audits of programs where deficiencies have been identified.

(c) The Office shall give priority in conducting audits to programs that have been identified as having deficiencies. The Office may conduct simplified audits for programs with fewer than 5 registered apprentices.

Section 40. Reports. The Deputy Director and the Council shall annually report to the General Assembly and the public on the activities of the Office and the Council. The report shall contain information including, but not limited to, analyses of the following:

(1) The number of individuals, including numbers of women and minorities, registered in apprentice programs in this State for the current year and in each of the previous 5 years.

(2) The number and percentage of apprentices, including numbers and percentages of minorities and women, registered in each program having 5 or more apprentices, and the percentage of those apprentices who have completed their programs successfully in the current year and in each of the previous 5 years.

(3) Remedial actions taken by the Office to assist programs having difficulty in achieving affirmative action goals or having very low completion rates.

(4) The number of disputed issues with respect to individual apprentice agreements submitted for determination and the number of those issues resolved by the Council on appeal.

(5) The number of program applications received by the Office, the number approved, the number denied and the reason for those denials, the number being reviewed, and deficiencies, if any, with respect to those program applications being reviewed.

(6) The number of programs approved by the Office that are disapproved by the Council, and the reasons for those disapprovals.

Section 45. Local, regional, and State joint apprenticeship committees.

(a) Local, regional, and State joint apprenticeship committees may be approved as program sponsors, in any trade or group of trades, in cities, regions of the State, or trade areas, by the Council, whenever the apprentice training needs of such trade or group of trades or such regions justify such establishment. The local, regional, or State joint apprenticeship committees shall be composed of an equal number of employer and employee representatives chosen from names submitted by the respective local or State employer and employee organizations in such trade or group of trades; also such additional members representing local boards of education or other educational agencies as may be deemed advisable. In a trade or group of trades in which there is no bona fide employer or employee organization, the joint committee shall be composed of persons known to represent the interests of employers and of employees respectively or a State joint apprenticeship committee may be approved as, or the Council may act itself as, the joint committee in that trade or group of trades. Subject to the review of the Council and in accordance with the standards established by the Council, the committees may devise standards for apprentice agreements and give such aid as may be necessary in their operation, in their respective trades and localities.

(b) The total number of members on a local, regional, or State joint apprenticeship committee may range from 4 to 15. On such committees, there shall be equal representation of employers and employees. Members shall be selected by the group or groups they represent subject to approval by the Council. A committee may have, as one of its employee representatives, an active apprentice of record, provided that the apprentice has completed a minimum of 6,000 hours of an apprenticeship term or has entered the fourth year of the term.

(c) A program operating under this Section shall, in its standards, include the procedures to be followed in the administration of the program which in no case shall be inconsistent with this Act and the rules established by the Council. Every program operating under this Section shall, in its standards, provide for a tie breaking procedure should the committee, by its voting, find itself unable to reach a majority decision on any matter relative to the committee's supervision and operation of the program.

Section 50. Program sponsor selection procedures. Program sponsors shall: (1) establish selection procedures which specify minimum requirements for formal education or equivalency, physical examination, if any, subject matter of written tests and oral interviews, and any other criteria pertinent to the selection process; (2) specify the relative weights of all factors which determine selection to a program; (3) submit in writing to the Council an official statement of each selection procedure including the filing date and location of the program sponsor; (4) make a copy of the selection procedures available to each applicant; (5) provide in writing to each applicant not selected an official explanation setting forth the reason or reasons for the decision, copies of which shall be retained as a public record in the files of the program sponsor for 5 years; and (6) implement affirmative action programs for minorities and women in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the Council.

Section 55. Apprentice agreements.

(a) Every apprentice agreement under this Act is subject to the approval of the Council and shall be signed by the apprentice program sponsor and by the apprentice, and, if the apprentice is a minor, by a parent or legal guardian. If a minor enters into an apprentice agreement under this Act for a period of training extending into his or her majority, the agreement shall likewise be binding for such a period as may be covered during the apprentice's majority.

(b) Every apprentice agreement entered into under this Act shall directly, or by reference, contain:

(1) The names of the contracting parties.

(2) The date of birth of the apprentice.

(3) A statement of the trade, craft, or business which the apprentice is to be taught, and the time at which the apprenticeship will begin and end.

(4) A statement showing the number of hours to be spent by the apprentice in work and the learning objectives to be accomplished through related and supplemental instruction. In no case shall the combined weekly hours of work and required related and supplemental instruction of the apprentice exceed the maximum number of hours of work prescribed by law for a person of the age of the apprentice.

(5) A statement setting forth a schedule of the processes in the trade or industry divisions in which the apprentice is to be taught and the approximate time to be spent at each process.

(6) A statement of the graduated scale of wages to be paid the apprentice and whether the required class room time shall be compensated.

(7) A statement providing for a period of probation of not more than 500 hours of employment and instruction extending over not more than 4 months, during which time the apprentice agreement may be terminated by the program sponsor at the request in writing of either party, and providing that after the probationary period the agreement may be terminated by the Deputy Director by mutual agreement of all parties thereto, or canceled by the Deputy Director for good and sufficient reason.

(8) A provision that all controversies or differences concerning the apprentice agreement which cannot be resolved by the parties thereto, or which are not covered in a collective bargaining agreement, may be submitted to the Deputy Director as provided in Section 60 of this Act.

(9) A provision that an employer who is unable to fulfill his or her obligation under the apprentice agreement may, with approval of the administrator, transfer the contract to any other employer if the apprentice consents and the other employer agrees to assume the obligation of the agreement.

(10) Such additional terms and conditions as may be prescribed or approved by the Council, not inconsistent with this Act.

(c) Acceptance of an application for entrance into a program shall not be predicated on the payment of any fee. Reasonable costs for expenses incurred may be charged after an applicant has been accepted into the program.

Section 60. Investigations by Deputy Director.

(a) Complaint. Upon the complaint of any interested person or upon the Deputy Director's own initiative, the Deputy Director may investigate to determine if there has been a violation of the terms of an apprentice agreement made under this Act. The Deputy Director may conduct such proceedings as are necessary for that investigation and determination. All such proceedings shall be on a fair and impartial basis and shall be conducted according to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.

(b) Determination; appeal. The determination of the Deputy Director shall be filed with the Council and written notice shall be served on all parties affected by it. Any person aggrieved by any determination or action of the Deputy Director may appeal to the Council. If no appeal is filed with the Council within 10 days of the date of service, the Deputy Director's determination shall become the order of the Council. If an appeal is filed, the Council shall appoint and convene a hearing board composed of 3 appointed members of the Council, one member being a representative of an employer organization, one member being a representative of an employee organization, and one member representing the general public. The hearing board shall hold a hearing on the appeal after due notice to the interested parties and shall submit to the full Council findings of fact and a recommended decision accompanied by a memorandum of the reasons for it. Within 30 days after submission, the Council may adopt the recommended decision of the hearing board, or disregard the recommended decision of the hearing board and prepare a decision based on the findings of fact and accompanied by a memorandum of reasons for that decision. Written notice of the Council's determination and order shall be served on all parties affected by it. The Council's determination and order is the final administrative decision of the Department and is subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law.

Section 65. Exhaustion of administrative remedies. A person may not institute an action for the enforcement of an apprentice agreement, or damages for the breach of an apprentice agreement, made under this Act, unless the person has first exhausted all administrative remedies provided by this Act.

Section 70. Higher standards. Nothing in this Act or in any apprentice agreement approved under this Act shall operate to invalidate any apprenticeship provision in any collective agreement between employers and employees setting up higher apprenticeship standards, unless the Council determines that the higher standards are not relevant to the employment training.

Section 75. Federal reimbursements. The Office shall investigate and approve or reject applications from program sponsors for apprenticeships and other on-the-job training, and for that purpose, may cooperate, or contract with, and receive reimbursements from the appropriate agencies of the federal government.

Section 90. The Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by changing Sections 5-145 and 5-365 as follows:

(20 ILCS 5/5-145) (was 20 ILCS 5/5.03)

Sec. 5-145. In the Department of Labor. Assistant Director of Labor; Chief Factory Inspector; and Superintendent of Safety Inspection and Education; and Deputy Director of the Department of Labor.

(Source: P.A. 91-239, eff. 1-1-00.)

(20 ILCS 5/5-365) (was 20 ILCS 5/9.03)

Sec. 5-365. In the Department of Labor. The Director of Labor shall receive an annual salary as set by the Governor from time to time or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater.

The Assistant Director of Labor shall receive an annual salary as set by the Governor from time to time or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater.

The Chief Factory Inspector shall receive $24,700 from the third Monday in January, 1979 to the third Monday in January, 1980, and $25,000 thereafter, or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater.

The Superintendent of Safety Inspection and Education shall receive $27,500, or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater.

The Superintendent of Women's and Children's Employment shall receive $22,000 from the third Monday in January, 1979 to the third Monday in January, 1980, and $22,500 thereafter, or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater.

The Deputy Director of the Department of Labor shall receive an annual salary as set by the Governor from time to time or as set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater.

(Source: P.A. 91-25, eff. 6-9-99; 91-239, eff. 1-1-00; 92-16, eff. 6-28-01.)

Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.".