Section 1600.2570  Equal Employment Opportunity; Affirmative Action

a)         Public Contracts.  Every party to a public contract and every eligible bidder shall:

1)         Refrain from unlawful discrimination and discrimination based on citizenship status in employment and undertake affirmative action to assure equality of employment opportunity and eliminate the effects of past discrimination;

2)         Comply with the procedures and requirements of the Department of Human Rights (DHR) regulations concerning equal employment opportunities and affirmative action;

3)         Provide such information, with respect to its employees and applicants for employment, and assistance as DHR may reasonably request;

4)         Have written sexual harassment policies that shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

A)        the illegality of sexual harassment;

B)        the definition of sexual harassment under State law;

C)        a description of sexual harassment, utilizing examples;

D)        the vendor's internal complaint process, including penalties;

E)        the legal recourse, investigative and complaint process available through DHR and the Human Rights Commission;

F)         directions on how to contact DHR and the Commission; and

G)        protection against retaliation as provided by Section 6-101 of the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) [775 ILCS 5]. A copy of the policies shall be provided to the Department of Human Rights upon request.

b)         Section 7-105A of the IHRA authorizes the Department of Human Rights to promulgate policies, rules and regulations to implement the provisions of the IHRA applicable to eligible bidders and public contractors.  DHR has promulgated rules, 44 Ill. Adm. Code 750, that establish public contractor and eligible bidder duties, obligations, and reporting requirements.  Those rules require that certain employers register with DHR in order to be eligible for the award of certain public contracts (44 Ill. Adm. Code 750.Appendix A).