Rep. Will Guzzardi

Filed: 4/2/2024

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3763

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3763 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Personnel Record Review Act is amended by
5changing Sections 2, 9, 10 and 12 as follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 40/2)  (from Ch. 48, par. 2002)
7    Sec. 2. Open records.
8    (a) Upon request in writing to their employer, every
9employee has a legal right under this Act to inspect, copy, and
10receive copies of the following documents: Every employer
11shall, upon an employee's request which the employer may
12require be in writing on a form supplied by the employer,
13permit the employee to inspect
14        (1) any personnel documents which are, have been or
15    are intended to be used in determining that employee's
16    qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer,

 

 

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1    additional compensation, benefits, discharge, or other
2    disciplinary action, except as provided in Section 10;
3        (2) any employment-related contracts or agreements
4    that the employer maintains are legally binding on the
5    employee;
6        (3) any employee handbooks that the employer made
7    available to the employee or that the employee
8    acknowledged receiving; and
9        (4) any written employer policies or procedures that
10    the employer contends the employee was subject to and that
11    concern qualifications for employment, promotion,
12    transfer, compensation, benefits, discharge, or other
13    disciplinary action.
14    The inspection right encompasses personnel documents in
15the possession of a person, corporation, partnership, or other
16association having a contractual agreement with the employer
17to keep or supply a personnel record. An employee does not have
18a legal right under this Act to the documents categorized may
19request all or any part of his or her records, except as
20provided in Section 10.
21    (b) The employer, upon an employee's written request,
22shall grant at least 2 inspection requests by an employee in a
23calendar year to inspect, copy, and receive copies of records
24to which that employee has a legal right under this Act.
25Requests shall be: when requests are
26        (1) made at reasonable intervals, unless otherwise

 

 

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1    provided in a collective bargaining agreement; and .
2        (2) made to a person responsible for maintaining the
3    employer's personnel records, including the employer's
4    human resources department, payroll department, the
5    employee's supervisor or department manager, or to an
6    individual as provided in the employer's written policy.
7    (c) A written request shall:
8        (1) identify what personnel records the employee is
9    requesting or if the employee is requesting all of the
10    records allowed to be requested under this Section;
11        (2) specify if the employee is requesting to inspect,
12    copy, or receive copies of the records;
13        (3) specify whether records be provided in hardcopy or
14    in a reasonable and commercially available electronic
15    format; and
16        (4) specify whether inspection, copying, or receipt of
17    copies will be performed by that employee's
18    representative, including family members, lawyers, union
19    stewards, other union officials, or translators.
20    (d) The employer shall comply with the employee's request
21provide the employee with the inspection opportunity within 7
22working days after the receipt of employee makes the request,
23or, if the employer can reasonably show that such deadline
24cannot be met, the employer shall have an additional 7
25calendar days to comply. If an employer does not maintain
26records in one or more of the categories requested, the

 

 

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1employer may respond in writing notifying the employee that
2the employer does not maintain records in the category, but
3must still permit inspection, copying, and receipt of copies
4as required by subsection (b) of any other category requested
5as to which the employer does maintain records. Any in-person
6The inspection shall take place at a location reasonably near
7the employee's place of employment and during normal working
8hours. The employer may allow the inspection to take place at a
9time other than working hours or at a place other than where
10the records are maintained if that time or place would be more
11convenient for the employee. Nothing in this Act shall be
12construed as a requirement that an employee be permitted to
13remove any part of such personnel records or any part of such
14records from the place on the employer's premises where it is
15made available for inspection. Each employer shall retain the
16right to protect his records from loss, damage, or alteration
17to ensure insure the integrity of the records. The employer
18shall, upon the employee's written request, email or mail a
19copy of the requested record to the employee by the email
20address or mailing address identified by the employee for the
21purpose of receiving the copy of requested record. An employer
22may charge a fee for providing a copy of the requested record.
23The fee shall be limited to the actual cost of duplicating the
24requested record and may not include the imputed costs of time
25spent duplicating the information, the purchase or rental of
26copying machines, the purchase or rental of computer

 

 

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1equipment, the purchase, rental, or licensing of software, or
2any other similar expenses.
3    (e) As used in this Section, "written request" includes
4any electronic communications, such as email or text messages.
5(Source: P.A. 103-201, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
6    (820 ILCS 40/9)  (from Ch. 48, par. 2009)
7    Sec. 9. An employer shall not gather or keep a record of an
8employee's associations, political activities, publications,
9communications or nonemployment activities, unless the
10employee submits the information in writing or gives
11authorizes the employer express, written consent when the
12employer keeps or gathers in writing to keep or gather the
13information. This prohibition shall not apply to (i)
14activities or associations with individuals or groups involved
15in the physical, sexual, or other exploitation of a minor or
16(ii) the activities that occur on the employer's premises or
17during the employee's working hours with that employer which
18interfere with the performance of the employee's duties or the
19duties of other employees or activities, regardless of when
20and where occurring, which constitute criminal conduct or may
21reasonably be expected to harm the employer's property,
22operations or business, or could by the employee's action
23cause the employer financial liability. A record which is kept
24by the employer as permitted under this Section shall be part
25of the personnel record.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 101-531, eff. 8-23-19.)
 
2    (820 ILCS 40/10)  (from Ch. 48, par. 2010)
3    Sec. 10. Exceptions. The right of the employee or the
4employee's designated representative to inspect his or her
5personnel records does not apply to:
6    (a) Letters of reference for that employee or external
7peer review documents for academic employees of institutions
8of higher education.
9    (b) Any portion of a test document, except that the
10employee may see a cumulative total test score for either a
11section of or the entire test document.
12    (c) Materials relating to the employer's staff planning,
13such as matters relating to the business' development,
14expansion, closing or operational goals, where the materials
15relate to or affect more than one employee, provided, however,
16that this exception does not apply if such materials are, have
17been or are intended to be used by the employer in determining
18an individual employee's qualifications for employment,
19promotion, transfer, or additional compensation, or benefits,
20or in determining an individual employee's discharge or
21discipline.
22    (d) Information of a personal nature about a person other
23than the employee if disclosure of the information would
24constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the other
25person's privacy.

 

 

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1    (e) An employer who does not maintain any personnel
2records.
3    (f) Records relevant to any other pending claim between
4the employer and employee which may be discovered in a
5judicial proceeding.
6    (g) Investigatory or security records maintained by an
7employer to investigate criminal conduct by an employee or
8other activity by the employee which could reasonably be
9expected to harm the employer's property, operations, or
10business or could by the employee's activity cause the
11employer financial liability, unless and until the employer
12takes adverse personnel action based on information in such
13records.
14    (h) An employer's trade secrets, client lists, sales
15projections, and financial data.
16(Source: P.A. 85-1440.)
 
17    (820 ILCS 40/12)  (from Ch. 48, par. 2012)
18    Sec. 12. Administration and enforcement of the Act.
19    (a) The Director of Labor or his authorized representative
20shall administer and enforce the provisions of this Act. The
21Director of Labor may issue rules and regulations necessary to
22administer and enforce the provisions of this Act.
23    (b) If an employee alleges that he or she has been denied
24his or her rights under this Act, he or she may file a
25complaint with the Department of Labor. The Department shall

 

 

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1investigate the complaint and shall have authority to request
2the issuance of a search warrant or subpoena to inspect the
3files of the employer, if necessary. The Department shall
4attempt to resolve the complaint by conference, conciliation,
5or persuasion. If the complaint is not so resolved and the
6Department finds the employer has violated the Act, the
7Department may commence an action in the circuit court to
8enforce the provisions of this Act including an action to
9compel compliance. The circuit court for the county in which
10the complainant resides, in which the complainant is employed,
11or in which the personnel record is maintained shall have
12jurisdiction in such actions.
13    (c) If an employer is alleged to have violated violates
14this Act and the Department has failed to resolve the
15complaint within 180 days after the complaint is filed with
16the Department, or the Department certifies in writing that it
17is unlikely to be able to resolve the complaint within that 180
18days, an employee may commence an action in the circuit court
19to enforce the provisions of this Act, including actions to
20compel compliance, where efforts to resolve the employee's
21complaint concerning such violation by conference,
22conciliation or persuasion pursuant to subsection (b) have
23failed and the Department has not commenced an action in
24circuit court to redress such violation. The circuit court for
25the county in which the complainant resides, in which the
26complainant is employed, or in which the personnel record is

 

 

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1maintained shall have jurisdiction in such actions.
2    (d) Failure to comply with an order of the court may be
3punished as contempt. In addition, the court shall award an
4employee prevailing in an action pursuant to this Act the
5following damages:
6        (1) Actual damages plus costs.
7        (2) For a willful and knowing violation of this Act,
8    $200 plus costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and actual
9    damages.
10    (e) Any employer or his agent who violates the provisions
11of this Act is guilty of a petty offense.
12    (f) Any employer or his agent, or the officer or agent of
13any private employer, who discharges or in any other manner
14discriminates against any employee because that employee has
15made a complaint to his employer, or to the Director or his
16authorized representative, or because that employee has caused
17to be instituted or is about to cause to be instituted any
18proceeding under or related to this Act, or because that
19employee has testified or is about to testify in an
20investigation or proceeding under this Act, is guilty of a
21petty offense.
22(Source: P.A. 84-525.)
 
23    (820 ILCS 40/5 rep.)
24    Section 10. The Personnel Record Review Act is amended by
25repealing Section 5.".