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91_SB1566
LRB9112202WHcs
1 AN ACT regarding mental health services.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Mental Health Services Accountability Act.
6 Section 5. Legislative findings and declaration of
7 policy.
8 (a) The purposes of this Act are to set forth a program
9 to ensure that tax dollars expended for mental health
10 services to vulnerable citizens of the State of Illinois are
11 properly used for patient care and to better provide human
12 services to needy citizens of Illinois. The State of Illinois
13 enters into reimbursement agreements with, contracts with,
14 and provides grants to private entities (contractors and
15 grantees) for the purpose of providing residential and day
16 treatment services to the mentally ill and developmentally
17 disabled. The State of Illinois enters into these contracts
18 and provides these grants to provide quality human services
19 necessary for the care and development of its neediest
20 citizens.
21 (b) The General Assembly finds that workers in
22 private-sector mental health facilities are among the lowest
23 paid workers in the State and often do not benefit fully from
24 cost-of-living increases appropriated by the State to their
25 employers. Low wages are largely responsible for turnover
26 rates that near 80% per year.
27 (c) The General Assembly finds that the needs of its
28 mentally ill and developmentally disabled citizens cannot be
29 met if the services provided to them through reimbursement
30 agreements, contracts, or grant agreements between the State
31 of Illinois and contractors and grantees are subject to
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1 disruption.
2 (d) The General Assembly finds that mental health
3 providers across the State often have vigorously opposed
4 unionization of their workers and diverted tax dollars
5 intended for resident care to hire consultants and conduct
6 campaigns aimed at influencing the outcome of union
7 elections. Additionally, mental health providers opposing
8 unionization of their workers have required the workers to
9 attend compulsory anti-union meetings on tax-dollar funded
10 work time.
11 (e) The General Assembly finds that the development of a
12 stable, well-trained, committed workforce is essential to the
13 provision of quality services to vulnerable citizens.
14 (f) The General Assembly further finds that tax dollars
15 intended for client care should not be used to conduct
16 campaigns aimed at influencing the outcome of union
17 elections. In addition, tax-dollar funded staff time should
18 be spent providing care to clients and not consumed by
19 attending compulsory anti-union meetings.
20 (g) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State
21 of Illinois that, to foster the development of a stable,
22 well-trained, committed workforce, the State of Illinois
23 shall prohibit the contractors or grantees from using State
24 funding to influence the decision of their employees to be
25 represented or not be represented by a union when a labor
26 organization seeks to become the representative of their
27 employees.
28 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
29 "Contractor or grantee" means an individual or entity,
30 other than the State of Illinois, a State agency, or a
31 political subdivision of the State of Illinois, which has a
32 reimbursement agreement or contractual or other relationship
33 with or has received moneys from the State of Illinois or a
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1 State agency to provide residential or day treatment services
2 to mentally ill or developmentally disabled persons, which
3 reimbursement agreement, contract, or grant is funded in
4 whole or in part by the State of Illinois, or through the
5 Medicaid program of the State of Illinois. "Contractor"
6 includes a subcontractor and a contractor of a grantee and
7 any other entity which provides direct care services
8 controlled in whole or in part by the contractor or an entity
9 in which the contractor has a substantial beneficial
10 interest. "Grantee" includes a sub-grantee and a grantee of
11 a contractor and any other entity which provides direct care
12 services controlled in whole or in part by the grantee, or an
13 entity in which the grantee has a substantial beneficial
14 interest.
15 "Employee" means a person employed by a contractor or
16 grantee other than a person employed in a bona fide
17 supervisory or managerial position as defined by applicable
18 law.
19 "Labor organization" means an organization of any kind in
20 which employees participate and which exists for the purpose,
21 in whole or in part, of representing employees concerning
22 grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, benefits,
23 hours of employment, or working conditions.
24 "Accountability agreement" means an agreement in which a
25 contractor or a grantee agrees:
26 (i) not to use State funds to promote, assist, or
27 deter union organizing or to otherwise seek to influence
28 the decision of any of its employees to be represented or
29 not represented by a labor organization; and
30 (ii) not to require or prohibit the attendance of
31 employees at any meeting related to union representation;
32 and
33 (iii) not to schedule or hold meetings related to
34 union representation during an employee's work time or in
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1 work areas; and
2 (iv) to allow a labor organization the same
3 opportunity to communicate with employees as is used by
4 the contractor or the grantee, including the right to
5 have access to the premises of the contractor or grantee,
6 post notices, distribute literature, and use the premises
7 of the employer to hold meetings with employees.
8 "State funds" means any money or other thing of value
9 provided by the State of Illinois, a State agency, or a
10 political subdivision of the State of Illinois.
11 Section 15. Policy requirements.
12 (a) All contractors and grantees shall be subject to and
13 shall abide by an accountability agreement.
14 (b) No contractor or grantee shall receive a contract or
15 grant to provide residential or day treatment services for
16 the mentally ill or developmentally disabled citizens of the
17 State of Illinois unless the contractor or grantee has agreed
18 to an accountability agreement.
19 (c) Any reimbursement agreement, contract, or grant
20 entered into by and between a contractor or a grantee and the
21 State of Illinois or a State agency to provide residential or
22 day treatment services to the mentally ill or developmentally
23 disabled shall include an accountability agreement and an
24 agreement by the contractor or grantee to comply with the
25 terms of the accountability agreement.
26 (d) Any grant agreement entered into by and between a
27 grantee and the State of Illinois or a State agency to
28 provide residential or day treatment services to the mentally
29 ill or developmentally disabled shall include an
30 accountability agreement and an agreement by the grantee to
31 comply with the terms of the accountability agreement.
32 (e) Any contractor or grantee entering into a contract
33 with any person or entity to provide direct care services
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1 subject to the contract or grant agreement between the
2 contractor or grantee and the State of Illinois or a State
3 agency shall include in the contract or grant agreement an
4 accountability agreement identical to the accountability
5 agreement in the contract or grant agreement between the
6 contractor or grantee and the State of Illinois or State
7 agency.
8 Section 20. Reporting. Any labor organization may file a
9 complaint with the Department of Human Services if it
10 believes that a contractor or grantee is expending funds in
11 violation of this Act. Upon the filing of such a complaint,
12 the Department of Human Services shall, within 14 calendar
13 days, notify the contractor or grantee that it must provide
14 the following accounting:
15 (1) the date, the amount of, and the nature of any
16 use of money or other things of value for the production
17 or distribution of literature or other similar
18 communications, the holding of meetings, including
19 meetings with supervisors and managerial employees, and
20 the use of consultants or lawyers;
21 (2) the source of the money or other things of value
22 so used.
23 The accounting shall be made to the Department of Human
24 Services within 14 calendar days of the receipt of the
25 request for it. The accounting shall be made available to the
26 complainant upon receipt by the Department of Human Services.
27 Section 25. Enforcement.
28 (a) If a contractor or grantee breaches an accountability
29 agreement or fails to comply with the reporting requirements
30 of Section 20, the State of Illinois may take any action
31 necessary to enforce compliance, including but not limited to
32 a civil action for injunctive relief, declaratory relief,
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1 specific performance, or damages or a combination of those
2 remedies.
3 (b) If the State of Illinois brings an enforcement action
4 for violation of this Act, any person or labor organization
5 with a direct interest in compliance with this Act may join
6 in that enforcement action as a real party in interest.
7 (c) If the State of Illinois declines to institute an
8 action for enforcement for violation of this Act, any person
9 or labor organization with a direct interest in compliance
10 with this Act may institute and enforce a civil action on his
11 or her or its own behalf against the contractor or grantee
12 and seek injunctive relief, declaratory relief, specific
13 performance, or damages or a combination of those remedies.
14 (d) Remedies for violation of this Act include but are
15 not limited to injunctive and declaratory relief, specific
16 performance, and monetary damages. In view of the difficulty
17 of determining actual damages incurred because of a violation
18 of this Act, liquidated damages shall be awarded at the rate
19 of $1,000 for each violation plus an additional $500 for each
20 day the violation continues without remedy. Damages shall be
21 distributed equally between the State of Illinois and the
22 private plaintiffs, if any.
23 Section 90. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
24 severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
25 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
26 becoming law.