(225 ILCS 510/14.1)
Sec. 14.1. Investigations; orders; civil penalties.
(a) The Department may at any time, and shall upon receiving a complaint
from any interested person, investigate any person licensed or applying for a
license under this Act suspected of violating any provision of any Section except Section 14.3. The Department shall investigate any person who
operates or advertises a nurse agency without being licensed under this Act. The Department shall establish a system of reporting complaints against a health care staffing agency. The Department shall publish on its website how an interested party may submit a complaint of a violation of this Act to the Department. Complaints may be made by an interested party. Complaints against a nurse agency shall be investigated by the Department of Labor. The investigations shall take into consideration the responsibility of health care facilities under Section 12 for supervising nurse agency employees assigned or referred to the facilities. For purposes of this Section, "interested party" means a health care facility, nurse staffing agency, or an employee of a health care facility or nurse staffing agency.
The Director or his or her authorized representative may examine the premises
of any nurse agency, may compel by subpoena,
for examination or inspection, the attendance and testimony of witnesses and
the production of books, payrolls, records, papers and other evidence in any
investigation or hearing, and may administer oaths or affirmations to
witnesses.
(b) After appropriate notice and hearing, and if supported by the evidence,
the Department may issue and cause to be served on any person an order to cease
and desist from violation of this Act and to take any further action that is
reasonable to eliminate the effect of the violation of any Section except Section 14.3.
Whenever it appears that any person has violated a valid order of the
Department issued under this Act, the Director may commence an action and
obtain from the court an order directing the person to obey the order of the
Department or be subject to punishment for contempt of court.
The Department may petition the court for an order enjoining any
violation of any Section of this Act except Section 14.3.
(c) Any licensee or applicant who violates any provision of this Act or the
rules adopted under this Act shall be subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 per occurrence payable to the Department for the purpose of enforcing this Act. Civil penalties may be assessed by the Department in
an administrative action and may, if necessary, be recovered in a civil action
brought by the Director through the Attorney General of the State of Illinois
or the State's attorney of any county in which the violation occurred. The
court may order that the civil penalties assessed for violation
of this Act, together with any costs or attorney's fees arising out of the
action to collect the penalties, be paid to the Department. The fact that the
violation has ceased does not excuse any person from liability for civil
penalties arising from the violation.
(d) Any nurse staffing agency that has been found not to have paid an employee 100% of the hourly wage rate identified in the contract between such nurse staffing agency and health care facility shall be liable to the employee for the actual amount of the underpayment, plus damages of 5% of the amount of the underpayment. (Source: P.A. 102-946, eff. 7-1-22.)
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