Full Text of SR0484 101st General Assembly
SR0484 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, As more national attention is brought to issues | 3 | | such as worker exploitation and
economic inequality, evidence | 4 | | suggests a major contributing factor is wage theft; studies | 5 | | have found
that wage theft costs individual workers hundreds of | 6 | | millions of dollars in wages and benefits per year; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Further compounding the issue is a national growth | 8 | | in the underground economy,
which, while typically associated | 9 | | with trafficking, prostitution, and piracy, has seen a growing | 10 | | portion of
illegal practices within labor sectors such as | 11 | | construction, auto repair, and food service; practices include | 12 | | the violation of labor, tax, insurance, and licensing laws; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, These activities are detrimental not only to the | 14 | | workers in these industries, many of
whom are immigrants, but | 15 | | also to the residents of Illinois; the strengthening of an | 16 | | underground
economy harms the people of Illinois by requiring | 17 | | the subsidization of bad actors while simultaneously
placing | 18 | | workers in harm's way; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Wage theft and the underground economy also injure | 20 | | business owners who abide
by the rules; they cannot compete | 21 | | against those who offer lower prices due to illegal practices | 22 | | that expose consumers to greater risks of substandard service; |
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| 1 | | and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Such issues may be rampant in the construction | 3 | | industry where there is a myriad of
contractual relationships | 4 | | resulting in worker confusion and unclear employment | 5 | | relationships as well as
employee misidentification; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, An industry where safety is of paramount concern | 7 | | must also prioritize the well-being and
health of employees, | 8 | | including financial well-being; in order to protect all | 9 | | workers, it is necessary to close loopholes that allow for the | 10 | | exploitation of human labor for profit; therefore, be it
| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 12 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois | 13 | | Department of Labor to investigate the prevalence of wage theft | 14 | | and the underground economy in the State of Illinois and submit | 15 | | to the General Assembly a report providing data on the issue | 16 | | along with recommendations for eliminating such unlawful labor | 17 | | practices throughout the State; and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | delivered to the Illinois Department of Labor.
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