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1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Employee" means any individual permitted to work by an
8employer.
9    "Employer" means an individual, partnership, corporation,
10association, business, trust, person, or entity for whom
11employees are gainfully employed in Illinois and includes the
12State of Illinois, any State officer, department or agency,
13any unit of local government, and any school district.
 
14    Section 10. Required disclosures.
15    (a) An employer that provides group health insurance
16coverage to its employees shall, upon hire, annually
17thereafter, and upon request from an employee, provide all
18employees eligible for the coverage a written list of the
19covered benefits included in the group health insurance
20coverage in a format that easily compares those covered
21benefits with the essential health insurance benefits required
22of individual health insurance coverage regulated by the State

 

 

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1of Illinois.
2    (b) The Department of Insurance shall provide information
3outlining the essential health insurance benefits of
4individual health insurance coverage regulated by the State of
5Illinois, which an employer may use to inform eligible
6employees of benefits included or not included in their health
7insurance coverage.
8    (c) An employer may comply with the requirements of
9subsection (a) by providing the required information by email
10to its employees or providing the information on a website
11that an employee is able to regularly access.
 
12    Section 15. Enforcement. It is the duty of the Department
13of Labor to enforce the provisions of this Act.
14    The Department of Labor has the power to conduct
15inspections in connection with the administration and
16enforcement of this Act. Upon request of the Department of
17Labor, the employer shall demonstrate that each employee
18received the information required by Section 10 and maintain
19records of providing such information for one year. Upon
20finding of a violation, the Department of Labor shall issue a
21notice to show cause giving the employer 30 days to comply.
22    If the employer does not comply within 30 days, the
23Department may impose a penalty as provided for in this Act.
24The Department shall conduct hearings in accordance with the
25Illinois Administrative Procedure Act upon written complaint

 

 

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1of a violation of the Act made by an investigator of the
2Department or any interested person. After the hearing, if
3supported by the evidence, the Department may determine the
4amount of any civil penalty allowed by the Act.
 
5    Section 20. Review under Administrative Review Law. Any
6party to a proceeding under this Act may apply for and obtain
7judicial review of an order of the Department entered under
8this Act in accordance with the provisions of the
9Administrative Review Law, and the Department in proceedings
10under the Act may obtain an order from the court for the
11enforcement of its order.
 
12    Section 25. Penalties.
13    (a) The Department may impose civil penalties as follows:
14        (1) For an employer with fewer than 4 employees: a
15    penalty not to exceed $500 for a first offense; a penalty
16    not to exceed $1,000 for a second offense; and a penalty
17    not to exceed $3,000 for a third or subsequent offense.
18        (2) For an employer with 4 or more employees: a
19    penalty not to exceed $1,000 for a first offense; a
20    penalty not to exceed $3,000 for a second offense; and a
21    penalty not to exceed $5,000 for a third or subsequent
22    offense.
23    (b) The appropriateness of the penalty to the size of the
24employer, the good faith efforts made by the employer to

 

 

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1comply, and the gravity of the violation shall be considered
2in determining the amount of the civil penalty.
3    (c) The amount of the penalty, when finally determined,
4may be recovered in a civil action brought by the Director of
5Labor in any circuit court. In this litigation, the Director
6of Labor shall be represented by the Attorney General.
7    (d) Any administrative determination by the Department as
8to the amount of each penalty shall be final unless reviewed as
9provided in Section 20 of this Act.
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.