State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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[ Introduced ][ Enrolled ][ Senate Amendment 001 ]
[ Senate Amendment 003 ]

91_HB1959eng

 
HB1959 Engrossed                               LRB9104081WHpr

 1        AN ACT regarding certain contracts for  the  delivery  of
 2    human services.

 3        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:

 5        Section 1. Short title. This Act  may  be  cited  as  the
 6    Human Services Delivery Neutrality Agreement Act.

 7        Section   5.  Legislative  findings  and  declaration  of
 8    policy.
 9        (a)   The purpose of this Act is to set forth  a  program
10    to  better  provide  human  services to needy citizens of the
11    State of Illinois. The State of Illinois  contracts  with  or
12    provides   grants   to   private  entities  (contractors  and
13    grantees) for the purpose of providing  residential  and  day
14    treatment  services  to  the mentally ill and developmentally
15    disabled. The State of Illinois enters into  these  contracts
16    and  provides these grants to best provide the human services
17    necessary for  the  care  and  development  of  its  neediest
18    citizens.
19        (b)    The  General  Assembly finds that the needs of its
20    mentally ill and developmentally disabled citizens cannot  be
21    met  if  the  services  provided to them through contracts or
22    grant  agreements  between  the   State   of   Illinois   and
23    contractors  and  grantees  are  subject  to  disruption. The
24    General Assembly further finds that the likelihood of service
25    disruption  is  enhanced  when  contention   arises   between
26    contractors  and  grantees and labor organizations seeking to
27    represent  the  employees  of  those  entities.  The  General
28    Assembly finds that contractors and  grantees  that  seek  to
29    influence  their  employees  with  respect to the decision of
30    those employees to be or not to be  represented  by  a  labor
31    organization,  that  is  contractors and grantees who fail to
 
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 1    remain neutral during periods when  labor  organizations  are
 2    seeking  to become the representative of their employees, are
 3    most likely to be subject to strikes, work stoppages, or work
 4    disruptions  by  their  employees.    These   strikes,   work
 5    stoppages,  or  work disruptions have a detrimental effect on
 6    the services being provided  to  Illinois  citizens  who  are
 7    mentally ill or developmentally disabled.
 8        (c)  It  is hereby declared to be the policy of the State
 9    of Illinois that, to prevent the  disruption  of  residential
10    and   day   treatment   services  to  its  mentally  ill  and
11    developmentally disabled  citizens,  the  State  of  Illinois
12    shall  require  as  a condition of any contract or grant that
13    the contractor or grantee remain neutral,  as  set  forth  in
14    this  Act,  when  a  labor  organization  seeks to become the
15    representative  of  their  employees  with  respect  to   the
16    decision  of  those  employees to be represented or not to be
17    represented by the labor organization.

18        Section 10. Definitions.  As used in this Act:
19        "Contractor or grantee" means  an  individual  or  entity
20    other  than  the  State  of  Illinois,  a  State agency, or a
21    political subdivision of the State of Illinois, which  has  a
22    contractual or other relationship with or has received moneys
23    from  the  State  of  Illinois  or  a State agency to provide
24    residential or day treatment  services  to  mentally  ill  or
25    developmentally  disabled persons, which contract or grant is
26    funded in whole or in part  by  the  State  of  Illinois,  or
27    through  the  Medicaid  program  of  the  State  of Illinois.
28    "Contractor" includes a subcontractor and a contractor  of  a
29    grantee.  "Grantee" includes a sub-grantee and a grantee of a
30    contractor.
31        "Employee" means a person employed  by  a  contractor  or
32    grantee   other  than  a  person  employed  in  a  bona  fide
33    supervisory or managerial position as defined  by  applicable
 
HB1959 Engrossed            -3-                LRB9104081WHpr
 1    law.
 2        "Labor organization" means an organization of any kind in
 3    which employees participate and which exists for the purpose,
 4    in  whole  or  in  part, of representing employees concerning
 5    grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates  of  pay,  benefits,
 6    hours of employment, or working conditions.
 7        "Neutrality agreement" means an agreement by a contractor
 8    or grantee not to participate in or request or otherwise seek
 9    to  influence,  either  in writing or orally, the decision of
10    its employees, or any of them,  to be represented or  not  to
11    be  represented  by  a labor organization. Under a neutrality
12    agreement, a contractor or grantee  is  prohibited  from  (i)
13    coercing   or   intimidating  its  employees,  explicitly  or
14    implicitly, in selecting or not selecting representation by a
15    labor  organization  and  (ii)  permitting,  requesting,   or
16    seeking  to  have  any other person participate in or seek to
17    influence the decision of its employees to be represented  or
18    not to be represented by a labor organization.

19        Section 15. Policy requirements.
20        (a)  All contractors and grantees shall be subject to and
21    shall abide by a neutrality agreement.
22        (b)  No contractor or grantee shall receive a contract or
23    grant  to  provide  residential or day treatment services for
24    the mentally ill or developmentally disabled citizens of  the
25    State of Illinois unless the contractor or grantee has agreed
26    to a neutrality agreement.
27        (c)  Any   contract   entered   into  by  and  between  a
28    contractor and the State of Illinois or  a  State  agency  to
29    provide residential or day treatment services to the mentally
30    ill  or  developmentally  disabled shall include a neutrality
31    agreement and an agreement by the contractor to  comply  with
32    the terms of the neutrality agreement.
33        (d)  Any  grant  agreement  entered into by and between a
 
HB1959 Engrossed            -4-                LRB9104081WHpr
 1    grantee and the State  of  Illinois  or  a  State  agency  to
 2    provide residential or day treatment services to the mentally
 3    ill  or  developmentally  disabled shall include a neutrality
 4    agreement and an agreement by the grantee to comply with  the
 5    terms of the neutrality agreement.
 6        (e)  Any  contractor  or grantee entering into a contract
 7    with any person or entity to  provide  any  of  the  services
 8    subject  to  the  contract  or  grant  agreement  between the
 9    contractor or grantee and the State of Illinois  or  a  State
10    agency  shall  include  in  the contract or grant agreement a
11    neutrality agreement identical to the neutrality agreement in
12    the contract or grant agreement  between  the  contractor  or
13    grantee and the State of Illinois or State agency.

14        Section 20. Enforcement.
15        (a)  If  a  contractor  or  grantee breaches a neutrality
16    agreement,  the  State  of  Illinois  may  take  any   action
17    necessary to enforce compliance, including but not limited to
18    a  civil  action  for  injunctive relief, declaratory relief,
19    specific performance, or damages or a  combination  of  those
20    remedies.
21        (b)  If  the  State  of  Illinois  brings  an enforcement
22    action for  violation  of  this  Act,  any  person  or  labor
23    organization  with  a direct interest in compliance with this
24    Act may join in that enforcement action as a  real  party  in
25    interest.
26        (c)  If  the  State  of Illinois declines to institute an
27    action for enforcement for violation of this Act, any  person
28    or  labor  organization  with a direct interest in compliance
29    with this Act may institute and enforce a civil action on his
30    or her or its own behalf  and  on  behalf  of  the  State  of
31    Illinois   against   the   contractor  or  grantee  and  seek
32    injunctive relief, declaratory relief, specific  performance,
33    or damages or a combination of those remedies.
 
HB1959 Engrossed            -5-                LRB9104081WHpr
 1        (d)  Remedies  for  violation of this Act include but are
 2    not limited to injunctive and  declaratory  relief,  specific
 3    performance,  and monetary damages. In view of the difficulty
 4    of determining actual damages incurred because of a violation
 5    of this Act, liquidated damages shall be awarded at the  rate
 6    of $1,000 for each violation plus an additional $500 for each
 7    day the violation continues without remedy.  Damages shall be
 8    distributed  equally  between  the  State of Illinois and the
 9    private plaintiffs, if any.

10        Section 90. Severability. The provisions of this Act  are
11    severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

12        Section  99.  Effective  Date. This Act takes effect upon
13    becoming law.

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