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Public Act 094-0146
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| HB2547 Enrolled |
LRB094 03541 WGH 33544 b |
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AN ACT concerning human rights.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by |
changing Section 7A-102 as follows:
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(775 ILCS 5/7A-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 7A-102)
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Sec. 7A-102. Procedures.
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(A) Charge.
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(1) Within 180 days after the
date that a civil rights |
violation allegedly has been committed, a
charge in writing |
under oath or affirmation may be filed with the
Department |
by an aggrieved party or issued by the Department itself
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under the signature of the Director.
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(2) The charge shall be in such detail as to |
substantially apprise
any party properly concerned as to |
the time, place, and facts
surrounding the alleged civil |
rights violation.
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(B) Notice, and Response, and Review of Charge.
The |
Department shall, within 10
days of the date on which the |
charge
was filed, serve a copy of the charge on the respondent. |
This period shall
not be construed to be jurisdictional. The |
charging party and the respondent
may each file a position |
statement and other materials with the Department
regarding the |
charge of alleged discrimination within 60 days of receipt of |
the
notice of the charge. The position statements and other |
materials filed shall
remain confidential unless otherwise |
agreed to by the party providing the
information and shall not |
be served on or made available to the other
party during |
pendency
of a charge with the Department. The Department
shall
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require the respondent to file a verified response to
the |
allegations contained in the charge within 60 days of receipt |
of the
notice of the
charge. The respondent shall serve a copy
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of its response on the
complainant or his representative. All |
allegations contained in the charge
not timely denied by the |
respondent shall be deemed admitted, unless the
respondent |
states that it is without sufficient information to
form a |
belief with respect to such allegation. The Department shall |
issue
a notice of default directed to any respondent who fails |
to file a
verified response to a charge within 60 days of |
receipt of the
notice of the charge,
unless the respondent can
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demonstrate good cause as
to why such notice should not issue. |
Within 30 days of receipt
of the respondent's response, the |
complainant may file a
reply to
said response and
shall serve
a |
copy of said reply on the respondent or his representative. A |
party
shall have the right to supplement his response or reply |
at any time that
the investigation of the charge is pending. |
The Department shall,
within 10 days of the date on which the |
charge was filed,
and again no later than 335 days thereafter,
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send by certified or registered mail written notice to the |
complainant
and to the respondent
informing the complainant
of |
the right to file a complaint with the Human
Rights Commission
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under subparagraph (2) of paragraph (G), including in such |
notice the dates
within which the complainant may exercise this |
right.
In the notice the Department shall notify the |
complainant that the
charge of civil rights violation will be |
dismissed with prejudice and with no
right to further proceed |
if a written complaint is not timely filed with
the Commission |
by the complainant pursuant to subparagraph (2) of paragraph |
(G)
or by the Department pursuant to subparagraph (1) of |
paragraph (G).
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(B-1) Mediation. The complainant and respondent may agree |
to voluntarily
submit the charge
to mediation without waiving |
any rights that are otherwise available to
either party |
pursuant to this Act and without incurring any obligation to
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accept the result of the mediation process. Nothing occurring |
in mediation
shall
be disclosed by the Department or admissible |
in evidence in any subsequent
proceeding unless the complainant |
and the respondent agree in writing that such
disclosure be |
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made.
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(C) Investigation.
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(1) After the respondent has been notified, the
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Department shall conduct a full investigation of the |
allegations set
forth in the charge.
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(2) The Director or his or her designated |
representatives shall have
authority to request any member |
of the Commission to issue subpoenas to
compel the |
attendance of a witness or the production for
examination |
of any books, records or documents whatsoever.
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(3) If any witness whose testimony is required for any |
investigation
resides outside the State, or through |
illness or any other good cause as
determined by the |
Director is unable to be interviewed by the investigator
or |
appear at a fact finding conference, his or her testimony |
or deposition
may be taken, within or without the State, in |
the same manner as is
provided for in the taking of |
depositions in civil cases in circuit courts.
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(4) Upon reasonable notice to the complainant and the |
respondent,
the Department shall conduct a fact finding |
conference prior to
365 days after the date on which the |
charge was filed,
unless the Director has determined |
whether there is substantial evidence
that the alleged |
civil rights violation has been committed or the charge has
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been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. If the parties |
agree in writing,
the fact finding conference may be held |
at a time after the 365 day limit.
Any party's failure to |
attend the conference without good cause
shall result in |
dismissal or default. The term "good cause"
shall
be |
defined by rule promulgated by the Department. A notice of |
dismissal or
default shall be issued by the Director and |
shall notify the relevant
party that a request for review |
may be filed in writing with the Chief Legal
Counsel of the |
Department
within 30 days of receipt of notice of dismissal |
or default.
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(D) Report.
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(1) Each charge shall be the
subject of a
report to the |
Director. The report shall be a confidential document
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subject to review by the Director, authorized Department |
employees, the
parties, and, where indicated by this Act, |
members of the Commission or
their designated hearing |
officers.
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(2) Upon review of the report, the Director shall |
determine whether
there is substantial evidence that the |
alleged civil rights violation
has been committed.
The |
determination of substantial evidence is limited to |
determining the need
for further consideration of the |
charge pursuant to this Act
and includes, but is not |
limited to, findings of fact and conclusions, as well
as |
the reasons for the determinations on all material issues |
and questions of
credibility. Substantial evidence is |
evidence which a reasonable mind accepts
as sufficient to |
support a particular conclusion and which consists of more
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than a mere scintilla but may be somewhat less than a |
preponderance.
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(a) If the Director determines that there is no |
substantial
evidence, the charge shall be dismissed by |
order of the
Director and the
complainant notified
that |
he or she may seek review of the dismissal order before |
the
Chief Legal Counsel of the Department. The |
complainant
shall have 30 days from receipt of
notice
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to file a request for review by the Chief Legal Counsel |
of the Department.
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(b) If the Director determines that there is |
substantial evidence,
he or she shall designate a |
Department employee who is an attorney
licensed to |
practice in Illinois to endeavor to eliminate the |
effect of
the alleged civil rights violation and to |
prevent its repetition by
means of conference and |
conciliation.
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(E) Conciliation.
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(1) When the Department determines that a formal
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conciliation conference is necessary, the complainant and |
respondent
shall be notified of the time and place of the |
conference by registered
or certified mail at least 10 days |
prior thereto and either or both
parties shall appear at |
the conference in person or by attorney.
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(2) The place fixed for the conference shall be within |
35 miles of
the place where the civil rights violation is |
alleged to have been
committed.
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(3) Nothing occurring at the conference shall be |
disclosed by the
Department unless
the complainant and |
respondent agree in writing that
such disclosure be made.
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(F) Complaint.
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(1) When there is a failure to settle or adjust any
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charge through conciliation, the Department shall prepare |
a
written complaint, under oath or affirmation, stating the |
nature of the
civil rights violation substantially as |
alleged in the charge previously
filed and the relief |
sought on behalf of the aggrieved party.
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(2) The complaint shall be filed with the Commission.
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(G) Time Limit.
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(1) When a charge of a civil rights violation has been
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properly filed, the Department, within 365
days thereof or |
within any
extension of that period agreed to in writing by |
all parties, shall
either issue and file a complaint in the |
manner and form set forth in
this Section or shall order |
that no complaint be issued and dismiss the
charge with |
prejudice without any further right to proceed except in |
cases in
which the order was procured by fraud or duress. |
Any such order
shall be duly served upon both the |
complainant and the respondent.
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(2) Between 365 and 395 days after the charge is filed, |
or such longer
period agreed to in writing by all parties, |
the
aggrieved party may file a complaint with the |
Commission, if the Director
has not sooner issued a report |
and determination pursuant to paragraphs
(D)(1)
and (D)(2) |
of this Section.
The form of the complaint shall be in |
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accordance with the provisions of
paragraph (F). The |
aggrieved party shall notify the Department that a
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complaint
has been filed and shall serve a copy of the |
complaint on the Department
on the same date that the |
complaint is filed with the Commission.
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(3) If an aggrieved party files a complaint
with the
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Human Rights Commission pursuant to paragraph (2) of this |
subsection, or if
the time period for filing a complaint |
has expired, the
Department shall immediately cease its |
investigation and
dismiss the charge of civil rights |
violation.
Any final order entered by the Chief Legal |
Counsel under this Section is
appealable in accordance with |
paragraph (A)(1) of Section 8-111.
Failure to immediately |
cease an investigation and dismiss the charge of civil
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rights violation as provided in this paragraph
(3) |
constitutes grounds for entry of an order by the circuit |
court permanently
enjoining the
investigation. The |
Department may also be liable for any
costs and other |
damages incurred by the respondent as a result of the |
action of
the Department.
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(4) The Department shall stay any administrative |
proceedings
under this Section after the filing of a civil |
action by or on behalf of the
aggrieved party under any |
federal or State law seeking relief with respect to
the
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alleged civil rights violation.
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(H) This amendatory Act of 1995 applies to causes of action |
filed on or
after January 1, 1996.
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(I) This amendatory Act of 1996 applies to causes of action |
filed on or
after January 1, 1996.
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(Source: P.A. 89-370, eff. 8-18-95; 89-520, eff. 7-18-96.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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