Illinois Compiled Statutes
Chapter 820 - EMPLOYMENT
820 ILCS 75/ - Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act.

(820 ILCS 75/1)
Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act.

(Source: P.A. 98-774, eff. 1-1-15.)
 
(820 ILCS 75/5)
Sec. 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest to do more to give Illinois employers access to the broadest pool of qualified applicants possible, protect the civil rights of those seeking employment, and ensure that all qualified applicants are properly considered for employment opportunities and are not pre-screened or denied an employment opportunity unnecessarily or unjustly.

(Source: P.A. 98-774, eff. 1-1-15.)
 
(820 ILCS 75/10)
Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Applicant" means any person pursuing employment with an employer or with or through an employment agency.
"Employer" means any person or private entity that has 15 or more employees in the current or preceding calendar year, and any agent of such an entity or person.
"Employment agency" means any person or entity regularly undertaking with or without compensation to procure employees for an employer or to procure for employees opportunities to work for an employer and includes an agent of such a person.
"Employment" means any occupation or vocation.


(Source: P.A. 98-774, eff. 1-1-15.)
 
(820 ILCS 75/15)
Sec. 15. Employer pre-screening.
(a) An employer or employment agency may not inquire about or into, consider, or require disclosure of the criminal record or criminal history of an applicant until the applicant has been determined qualified for the position and notified that the applicant has been selected for an interview by the employer or employment agency or, if there is not an interview, until after a conditional offer of employment is made to the applicant by the employer or employment agency.
(b) The requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this Section do not apply for positions where:

(3) employers employ individuals licensed under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act.
(c) This Section does not prohibit an employer from notifying applicants in writing of the specific offenses that will disqualify an applicant from employment in a particular position due to federal or State law or the employer's policy.



(Source: P.A. 98-774, eff. 1-1-15.)
 
(820 ILCS 75/20)
Sec. 20. Administration of Act and rulemaking authority.
(a) The Illinois Department of Labor shall investigate any alleged violations of this Act by an employer or employment agency. If the Department finds that a violation has occurred, the Director of Labor may impose the following civil penalties:
(b) Penalties under this Section may be assessed by the Department and recovered in a civil action brought by the Department in any circuit court or in any administrative adjudicative proceeding under this Act. In any such civil action or administrative adjudicative proceeding under this Act, the Department shall be represented by the Attorney General.
(c) All moneys recovered as civil penalties under this Section shall be deposited into the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Enforcement Fund, a special fund which is created in the State treasury. Moneys in the Fund may be used only to enforce employer violations of this Act.
(d) The Department may adopt rules necessary to administer this Act and may establish an administrative procedure to adjudicate claims and issue final and binding decisions subject to the Administrative Review Law.
(Source: P.A. 98-774, eff. 1-1-15.)
 
(820 ILCS 75/90)
Sec. 90. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).

(Source: P.A. 98-774, eff. 1-1-15; text omitted.)
 
(820 ILCS 75/99)
Sec. 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2015.

(Source: P.A. 98-774, eff. 1-1-15.)

Structure Illinois Compiled Statutes