HB5701ham001 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Rita Mayfield

Filed: 3/5/2014

09800HB5701ham001 LRB098 18610 JLS 56436 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5701

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5701 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act.

Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest to do more to give Illinois employers access to the broadest pool of qualified applicants possible, protect the civil rights of those seeking employment, and ensure that all qualified applicants are properly considered for employment opportunities and are not pre-screened or denied an employment opportunity unnecessarily or unjustly.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Candidate" means a person pursuing employment with an employer or with or through an employment agency.

"Employer" means an entity or person who has one or more employees in the current or preceding calendar year and any agent of such an entity or person.

"Employment" means an occupation or vocation.

"Employment agency" means a person or entity regularly undertaking with or without compensation to procure employees for an employer or to procure for employees opportunities to work for an employer and includes an agent of such a person.

Section 15. Employer pre-screening.

(a) An employer or employment agency may not inquire about or into, consider, or require disclosure of the criminal conviction history of a candidate until the candidate has been determined qualified for the position and notified that he or she has been selected for an interview by the employer or employment agency or, if there is not an interview, until after a conditional offer of employment is made to the candidate by the employer or employment agency.

(b) The requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this Section do not apply to positions for which employers are required to exclude candidates with certain criminal convictions from employment due to federal or State law.

Section 20. Violations.

(a) The Illinois Department of Labor shall investigate any alleged violations of this Act by an employer or employment agency. If the Department finds that a violation has occurred, the Director may impose the following penalties:

(1) For the first violation, the Director shall issue a written notice warning to the employer or employment agency that includes notice regarding penalties for subsequent violations, and that the employer shall have 30 days to remedy the violation.

(2) For the second violation or if the first violation is not remedied within 30 days after notice by the Department, the Director may impose a civil penalty of up to $500.

(3) For the third violation or if the first violation is not remedied within 60 days after notice by the Department, the Director may impose an additional civil penalty of up to $1,500.

(4) For subsequent violations or if the first violation is not remedied within 90 days after notice by the Department, the Director may impose an additional penalty of up to $1,500 for every 30 days that passes thereafter without compliance.

(b) Penalties under this Section may be assessed by the Department and recovered in a civil action brought by the Department in any circuit court or in any administrative adjudicative proceeding under this Act. In any such civil action or administrative adjudicative proceeding under this Act, the Department shall be represented by the Attorney General.

(c) All moneys recovered as civil penalties under this Act shall be deposited into the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Enforcement Fund, a special fund which is hereby created in the State treasury. Moneys in the Fund may be used only for enforcement of this Act.

Section 95. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.855 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.855 new)

Sec. 5.855. The Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Enforcement Fund.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2015.".