Bill Text: IL HB2474 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Creates the Task Force on Inventorying Employment Restrictions Act. Creates the Task Force on Inventorying Employment Restrictions within the Department of Employment Security. Provides that the Task Force shall review the statutes, administrative rules, policies, and practices that restrict employment of persons with criminal history and report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by January 31, 2010. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Passed) 2009-08-18 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 96-0593 [HB2474 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-HB2474-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning employment.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Task
Force on Inventorying Employment Restrictions Act.
Section 5. Purpose. The General Assembly finds and declares
that:
(1) public safety dictates the adoption of employment
restrictions to protect vulnerable populations, to prevent
the risk of loss and liability, and to minimize the
likelihood of harm to the public, fellow employees and
customers;
(2) gainful employment after release from prison is one
of the critical elements necessary to achieve successful
reentry after prison and that employment has been shown to
reduce recidivism;
(3) to make our communities safer, public safety also
requires that employment opportunities not be so
restricted that people with criminal records are unable to
engage in gainful employment;
(4) many State laws and policies impose restrictions on
the employment of persons with criminal records including
State government jobs, jobs in State-licensed, regulated

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and funded entities, and jobs requiring State
certification;
(5) no comprehensive review of these restrictions has
been undertaken to evaluate whether the restrictions are
substantially related to the safety, trust and
responsibility required of the job or to the goal of
furthering public safety;
(6) a less restrictive approach is preferred if it both
furthers public safety and preserves employment
opportunities; and
(7) the State's agencies, boards, and commissions can
assume a leadership role in providing employment
opportunities to people with criminal records by reviewing
their employment policies and practices and identifying
barriers to employment that can safely be removed to enable
people with criminal records to demonstrate their
rehabilitation.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"State agencies" shall mean the following State
agencies, boards, and commissions: Department on Aging,
Department of Agriculture, Office of Appellate Defender,
Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor,
Illinois Arts Council, Office of the Attorney General,
Auditor General, Capital Development Board, Department of
Central Management Services, Department of Children and

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Family Services, Civil Service Commission, Illinois
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Illinois
Commerce Commission, Illinois Community College Board,
State of Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan,
Office of the Comptroller, Department of Corrections,
Criminal Justice Information Authority, Illinois Council
on Developmental Disabilities, Illinois Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Commission, Commission on Discrimination and Hate
Crimes, State Board of Education, Illinois Educational
Labor Relations Board, State Board of Elections, Illinois
Emergency Management Agency, Department of Employment
Security, Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois State
Fair, Illinois Finance Authority, Department of Financial
and Professional Regulation, Office of the First Lady,
Illinois Gaming Board, Office of the Governor,
Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, Department of
Healthcare and Family Services, Board of Higher Education,
Historic Preservation Agency, Illinois Housing Development
Authority, Illinois Human Rights Commission, Department of
Human Rights, Department of Human Services, Illinois State
Board of Investment, Department of Juvenile Justice,
Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Department of Labor,
Illinois Labor Relations Board, Illinois Law Enforcement
Training Standards Board, Illinois Liquor Control
Commission, Illinois Lottery, Governor's Office of
Management and Budget, Illinois Medical District

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Commission, Department of Military Affairs, Department of
Natural Resources, Pollution Control Board, Prairie State
2000 Authority, Property Tax Appeal Board, Department of
Public Health, Illinois Prisoner Review Board, Illinois
Racing Board, Department of Revenue, Office of the
Secretary of State, State Fire Marshal, Illinois State
Police, State Police Merit Board, State Retirement
Systems, Office of the State Treasurer, State Universities
Civil Service System, State Universities Retirement
System, Illinois Student Assistance Commission, Illinois
Supreme Court, Illinois Teachers' Retirement System,
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, Department of
Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs',
Governor's Office of Women's Affairs, and Illinois
Workers' Compensation Commission.
Section 15. Task Force.
(a) The Task Force on Inventorying Employment Restrictions
is hereby created in the Illinois Criminal Justice Information
Authority. The purpose of the Task Force is to review the
statutes, administrative rules, policies and practices that
restrict employment of persons with a criminal history, as set
out in subsection (c) of this Section, and to report to the
Governor and the General Assembly those employment
restrictions and their impact on employment opportunities for
people with criminal records.

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(b) Within 60 days after the effective date of this Act,
the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Minority Leader of the Senate, and the
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives shall each
appoint 2 members to the Task Force. In addition, the Director
or Secretary of each of the following, or his or her designee,
are members: the Department of Human Services, the Department
of Corrections, the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity, the Department of Children and Family Services,
the Department of Human Rights, the Illinois State Board of
Education, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and the
Illinois Community College Board. Members shall not receive
compensation. The Illinois Criminal Justice Information
Authority shall provide staff and other assistance to the Task
Force.
(c) On or before September 1, 2010, all State agencies
shall produce a report for the Task Force that describes the
employment restrictions that are based on criminal records for
each occupation under the agency's jurisdiction and that of its
boards, if any, including, but not limited to, employment
within the agency; employment in facilities licensed,
regulated, supervised, or funded by the agency; employment
pursuant to contracts with the agency; and employment in
occupations that the agency licenses or provides
certifications to practice. For each occupation subject to a
criminal records-based restriction, the agency shall set forth

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the following:
(1) the job title, occupation, job classification, or
restricted place of employment, including the range of
occupations affected in such places;
(2) the statute, regulation, policy, and procedure
that authorizes the restriction of applicants for
employment and licensure, current employees, and current
licenses;
(3) the substance and terms of the restriction, and
(A) if the statute, regulation, policy or practice
enumerates disqualifying offenses, a list of each
disqualifying offense, the time limits for each
offense, and the point in time when the time limit
begins;
(B) if the statute, regulation, policy or practice
does not enumerate disqualifying offenses and instead
provides for agency discretion in determining
disqualifying offenses, the criteria the agency has
adopted to apply the disqualification to individual
cases. Restrictions based on agency discretion
include, but are not limited to, restrictions based on
an offense "related to" the practice of a given
profession; an offense or act of "moral turpitude"; and
an offense evincing a lack of "good moral character".
(4) the procedures used by the agency to identify an
individual's criminal history, including but not limited

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to disclosures on applications and background checks
conducted by law enforcement or private entities;
(5) the procedures used by the agency to determine and
review whether an individual's criminal history
disqualifies that individual;
(6) the year the restriction was adopted, and its
rationale;
(7) any exemption, waiver, or review mechanisms
available to seek relief from the disqualification based on
a showing of rehabilitation or otherwise, including the
terms of the mechanism, the nature of the relief it
affords, and whether an administrative and judicial appeal
is authorized;
(8) any statute, rule, policy and practice that
requires an individual convicted of a felony to have his
civil rights restored to become qualified for the job; and
9 copies of the following documents:
(A) forms, applications, and instructions provided
to applicants and those denied or terminated from jobs
or licenses based on their criminal record;
(B) forms, rules, and procedures that the agency
employs to provide notice of disqualification, to
review applications subject to disqualification, and
to provide for exemptions and appeals of
disqualification;
(C) memos, guidance, instructions to staff,

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scoring criteria and other materials used by the agency
to evaluate the criminal histories of applicants,
licensees, and employees; and
(D) forms and notices used to explain waiver,
exemption and appeals procedures for denial,
suspensions and terminations of employment or
licensure based on criminal history.
(d) Each executive agency shall participate in a review to
determine the impact of the employment restrictions based on
criminal records and the effectiveness of existing
case-by-case review mechanisms. For each occupation under the
agency's jurisdiction for which there are employment
restrictions based on criminal records, each State agency must
provide the Task Force with a report, on or before November 1,
2009, for the previous 2-year period, setting forth:
(1) the total number of people currently employed in
the occupation whose employment or licensure required
criminal history disclosure, background checks or
restrictions;
(2) the number and percentage of individuals who
underwent a criminal history background check;
(3) the number and percentage of individuals who were
merely required to disclose their criminal history without
a criminal history background check;
(4) the number and percentage of individuals who were
found disqualified based on criminal history disclosure by

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the applicant;
(5) the number and percentage of individuals who were
found disqualified based on a criminal history background
check;
(6) the number and percentage of individuals who sought
an exemption or waiver from the disqualification;
(7) the number and percentage of individuals who sought
an exemption or waiver who were subsequently granted the
exemption or waiver at the first level of agency review (if
multiple levels of review are available);
(8) the number and percentage of individuals who sought
an exemption or waiver who were subsequently granted the
exemption or waiver at the next level of agency review (if
multiple levels of review are available);
(9) the number and percentage of individuals who were
denied an exemption or waiver at the final level of agency
review, and then sought review through an administrative
appeal;
(10) the number and percentage of individuals who were
denied an exemption or waiver at the final level of agency
review, and then sought review through an administrative
appeal and were then found qualified after such a review;
(11) the number and percentage of individuals who were
found disqualified where no waiver or exemption process is
available;
(12) the number and percentage of individuals who were

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found disqualified where no waiver or exemption process is
available and who sought administrative review and then
were found qualified; and
(13) if the agency maintains records of active licenses
or certifications, the executive agency shall provide the
total number of employees in occupations subject to
criminal history restrictions.
(e) The Task Force shall report its findings and
recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by
December 31, 2010.
Section 20. Act subject to appropriation. The provisions of
this Act are subject to an appropriation being made to the
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority to implement
this Act.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.