Full Text of HB2846 98th General Assembly
HB2846ham005 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Rep. Esther Golar Filed: 3/24/2014
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2846
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2846 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Best | 5 | | Candidate for the Job Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Purpose. This Act is intended to ensure that | 7 | | private employers properly consider persons previously | 8 | | convicted of one or more criminal offenses for employment. | 9 | | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | 10 | | "Direct relationship" means that the nature of criminal | 11 | | conduct for which the person was convicted has a direct bearing | 12 | | on his or her fitness or ability to perform one or more of the | 13 | | duties or responsibilities necessarily related to the | 14 | | opportunity or job in question.
| 15 | | "Employment" means any occupation, vocation, or |
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| 1 | | employment, or any form of vocational or educational training. | 2 | | "Employment" does not, for the purposes of this Act, however, | 3 | | include membership in any law enforcement agency.
| 4 | | "Private employer" means any person, company, corporation, | 5 | | labor organization, or
association that employs one or more | 6 | | persons.
| 7 | | Section 15. Applicability. This Act applies to any person | 8 | | who applies for employment at any private employer or who is | 9 | | currently employed who has previously been convicted of one or | 10 | | more criminal offenses in any jurisdiction or whose conviction | 11 | | of one or more criminal offenses in any jurisdiction preceded | 12 | | such employment, except when a mandatory forfeiture, | 13 | | disability, or bar to employment is imposed by law and has not | 14 | | been removed by an executive pardon, certificate of relief from | 15 | | disabilities, or certificate of good conduct. Nothing in this | 16 | | Act shall be construed to affect any right an employer may have | 17 | | with respect to an intentional misrepresentation in connection | 18 | | with an application for employment made by a prospective | 19 | | employee or previously made by a current employee. | 20 | | Section 20. Discrimination against persons previously | 21 | | convicted of one or more criminal offenses prohibited. No | 22 | | application for any employment and no employment held by an | 23 | | individual, to which the provisions of this Act are applicable, | 24 | | shall be denied or acted upon adversely by reason of the |
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| 1 | | individual's having been previously convicted of one or more | 2 | | criminal offenses or by reason of a finding of lack of good | 3 | | moral character when such finding is based upon the fact that | 4 | | the individual has previously been convicted of one or more | 5 | | criminal offenses, unless, after carefully considering the | 6 | | factors specified in Section 25, the employer determines that:
| 7 | | (1) there is a direct relationship between one or more | 8 | | of the previous criminal offenses and the specific | 9 | | employment sought or held by the individual; and | 10 | | (2) the granting or continuation of the employment | 11 | | would involve a substantial risk to property or to the | 12 | | safety or welfare of specific individuals or the general | 13 | | public.
| 14 | | Section 25. Factors to be considered concerning a previous | 15 | | criminal conviction.
| 16 | | (a) In making a determination pursuant to Section 20, the | 17 | | private employer shall consider the following factors:
| 18 | | (1) The public policy of this State to encourage the | 19 | | employment of persons previously convicted of one or more | 20 | | criminal offenses.
| 21 | | (2) The specific duties and responsibilities | 22 | | necessarily related to the employment sought or held by the | 23 | | person.
| 24 | | (3) The bearing, if any, the criminal offense or | 25 | | offenses for which the person was previously convicted will |
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| 1 | | have on his or her fitness or ability to perform one or | 2 | | more of the duties or responsibilities necessarily related | 3 | | to the job or opportunity in question.
| 4 | | (4) Any evidence demonstrating the ability of the | 5 | | applicant or employee to perform the responsibilities of | 6 | | the job or opportunity in question. | 7 | | (5) The time that has elapsed since the occurrence of | 8 | | the criminal offense or offenses.
| 9 | | (6) The age of the person at the time of occurrence of | 10 | | the criminal offense or offenses.
| 11 | | (7) The seriousness of the offense or offenses.
| 12 | | (8) The circumstances surrounding the offense or | 13 | | offenses.
| 14 | | (9) Any information produced by the person, or produced | 15 | | on the person's behalf, in regard to the person's | 16 | | rehabilitation and good conduct.
| 17 | | (10) The legitimate interest of the private employer in | 18 | | protecting property and the safety and welfare of specific | 19 | | individuals or the general public. | 20 | | (b) In making a determination pursuant to Section 20, the | 21 | | private employer shall also give consideration to a certificate | 22 | | of relief from disabilities or a certificate of good conduct | 23 | | issued to the applicant, which certificate shall create a | 24 | | presumption of rehabilitation in regard to the offense or | 25 | | offenses specified therein.
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| 1 | | Section 30. Employer protections. If an employer | 2 | | demonstrates that it has hired an individual pursuant to this | 3 | | Act, except for a willful or wanton act by the employer in | 4 | | hiring the individual, the employer shall not be civilly or | 5 | | criminally liable for an act or omission by the employee. | 6 | | Section 35. Retaliatory or discriminatory acts. A person | 7 | | shall not retaliate or discriminate against a person because | 8 | | the person has done or was about to do any of the following: | 9 | | (1) File a complaint under this Act.
| 10 | | (2) Testify, assist, or participate in an | 11 | | investigation, proceeding, or action concerning a | 12 | | violation of this Act.
| 13 | | (3) Oppose a violation of this Act.
| 14 | | Section 40. Waiver. An employer shall not require an | 15 | | applicant or employee to waive any right under this Act. An | 16 | | agreement by an applicant or employee to waive any right under | 17 | | this Act is invalid and unenforceable. | 18 | | Section 45. Remedies. | 19 | | (a) A person who is injured by a violation of this Act may | 20 | | bring a civil action in circuit court to obtain injunctive | 21 | | relief or damages, or both. | 22 | | (b) The court shall award costs, reasonable litigation | 23 | | expenses, and reasonable attorney's fees to a person who |
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| 1 | | prevails as a plaintiff in an action authorized under | 2 | | subsection (a) of this Section.".
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