SB2261 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB101 12716 CPF 61448 b

101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB2261

Introduced 5/30/2019, by Sen. Napoleon Harris, III

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

101st G.A., SB1407 Engrossed, Sec. 10

If and only if Senate Bill 1407 of the 101st General Assembly becomes law in the form in which it passed the Senate, amends the Illinois Hazardous Materials Workforce Training Act by providing that the prevailing wage rate required for a "skilled journeyperson" shall not apply to a construction contractor meeting specified requirements. Effective immediately or on the date Senate Bill 1407 of the 101st General Assembly takes effect, whichever is later.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning safety.

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

Section 5. If and only if Senate Bill 1407 of the 101st General Assembly becomes law in the form in which it passed the Senate, then the Illinois Hazardous Materials Workforce Training Act is amended by changing Section 10 as follows:

(101st G.A., SB1407 Engrossed, Sec. 10)

Sec. 10. Advanced safety training.

(a) The Department shall develop by rule a curriculum of approved advanced safety training for workers at high hazard facilities. That training shall be available through the Department or instruction may be provided by a community college or United States Department of Labor apprenticeship program. The Department shall approve a curriculum in accordance with this subsection (a) by January 1, 2021, and shall periodically revise the curriculum to reflect current best practices. Upon receipt of certification from the apprenticeship program or community college, the Department shall issue a certificate to a worker who completes the approved training.

(b) An owner or operator, when contracting for the performance of construction work at the stationary source, shall require that its contractors and any subcontractors use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all onsite work within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades.

(c) The requirements of this Section shall not immediately apply to contracts awarded before January 1, 2020, unless the contract is extended or renewed after that date. Contracts awarded before January 1, 2020 shall meet the requirements of this Section no later than January 1, 2021.

(d) The requirements of this Section shall only apply to the skilled and trained workforce, contracted with an owner or operator to perform construction work at the stationary source site.

(e) The skilled and trained workforce requirements under this Section shall not apply to:

(1) Contractors that have requested qualified workers from the local hiring halls that dispatch workers in the apprenticeable occupation and, due to workforce shortages, the contractor is unable to obtain sufficient qualified workers within 48 hours of the request, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted. This Act shall not prevent contractors from obtaining workers from any source.

(2) An emergency where compliance is impracticable; namely, an emergency requires immediate action to prevent imminent harm to public health or safety or to the environment. Within 14 days of an emergency, the Attorney General's Workers Rights Bureau, in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Labor, must certify that the emergency warranted noncompliance with this Act. The employer must provide necessary documentation of the emergency to the Attorney General's Workers Rights Bureau and the Illinois Department of Labor.

(f) The prevailing wage rate required for a "skilled journey person" under Section 5 shall not apply to a construction contractor:

(1) whose employees performing work at an owner or operator's facility have completed an approved Occupational Safety and Health Administration training course on the handling of hazardous materials;

(2) who hires Illinois residents from a training program for individuals with barriers to employment and partners with a Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity local workforce office or a community-based organization; and

(3) who employs at least 15% minorities who have either graduated from an approved apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation or have at least as many hours of on-the-job experience in the applicable occupation that would be required to graduate from an approved apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation.

For purposes of this subsection, "individuals with barriers to employment" means training participants who have been released by the Illinois Department of Corrections or county or local law enforcement authorities, lack a high school diploma or its equivalent, demonstrate few marketable abilities or skills for employment, or have no prior job-seeking skills.

(Source: 101st G.A., SB1407 Engrossed.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law, or on the date Senate Bill 1407 of the 101st General Assembly takes effect, whichever is later.