Public Act 0107 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3125 Enrolled LRB098 09274 JLS 39414 b

Public Act 098-0107

AN ACT concerning employment.

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

Section 5. The Department of Employment Security Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by changing Section 1005-47 and by adding Section 1005-165 as follows:

(20 ILCS 1005/1005-47)

Sec. 1005-47. IllinoisJobLink.com Illinois Skills Match Program.

(a) The Department of Employment Security, through its IllinoisJobLink.com Illinois Skills Match System, or a successor system, shall maintain a web site that allows job seekers to search online for employment opportunities that match the skills of the person seeking employment.

(b) Each executive branch State agency and any individual or entity that is party to a contract with an executive branch State agency, except those individuals or entities that are party to a contract with a bona fide labor organization and perform construction or construction-related services as defined in Section 1-15.20 of the Illinois Procurement Code agencies with one or more positions subject to any jurisdiction of the Personnel Code, must either (i) post employment vacancies on the Department's IllinoisJobLink.com Skills Match System or its successor system or (ii) provide an online link to its employment vacancies so that this link is accessible through the web page of the IllinoisJobLink.com Illinois Skills Match System or its successor system. "State agency" has the meaning as defined in Section 1-5 of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act and, for purposes of this Section, includes community colleges. "Contract" has the meaning given to that term in Section 1-15.30 of the Illinois Procurement Code. The Department of Central Management Services shall comply with this Section on behalf of executive branch State agencies with one or more positions subject to any jurisdiction of the Personnel Code provide an online link to its State employment information and career services web page so that this link is accessible through the web page of the Illinois Skills Match System or its successor system.

This Section does not apply to positions exempt from the requirements of the Rutan decision or to construction-related services as defined in Section 1-15.20 of the Illinois Procurement Code.

(c) All units of local government, school districts, and other public and private employers not subject to subsection (b) may, and are encouraged to, post employment vacancies on the IllinoisJobLink.com Illinois Skills Match System or successor system.

(d) The Department may not charge any employer or any person seeking employment a fee for using the IllinoisJobLink.com Illinois Skills Match System or successor system.

(e) The Department is authorized to adopt all rules necessary to implement and administer the IllinoisJobLink.com Illinois Skills Match System or any successor system under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 94-786, eff. 7-1-07.)

(20 ILCS 1005/1005-165 new)

Sec. 1005-165. Disabled veterans outreach. The Department shall employ such disabled veterans outreach program specialists as appropriate and efficient according to Section 4103A of Title 38 of the United States Code, or any successor legislation, based upon available federal funding for that purpose.

Section 10. The Veterans' Employment Representative Act is amended by changing Sections 1 and 2 as follows:

(330 ILCS 50/1) (from Ch. 48, par. 186a)

Sec. 1. Veteran services; representative. The Department of Employment Security Each full service office of the Job Service shall assign at least one full time Veterans' Employment Representative, defined by title and classification under the Personnel Code of Illinois, to each full service office of the employment service, to work exclusively in job counseling, training, and placement of veterans. Preference for these positions shall be given to qualified persons who have been members of the armed forces of the United States in times of hostilities with a foreign country. Any candidate for these positions shall be deemed to have met and satisfied examination admission requirements if the candidate served in the armed forces during times of hostilities with a foreign country and was honorably discharged therefrom due to a combat-related disability. The holder of such a position shall be administratively responsible to the local office manager, and his or her first line responsibility is functional supervision of all local office services to veterans. He or she may also be delegated line supervision of veteran units, assistant local veterans' employment representative, or veteran aid. Individualized veterans' services such as application taking, counseling, job referral, or training will continue to be provided to veterans on a priority basis by all local office staff.

(Source: P.A. 90-372, eff. 7-1-98.)

(330 ILCS 50/2) (from Ch. 48, par. 186b)

Sec. 2. Veteran services; funding. Since funding for these veteran services by the employment service Job Service has already been provided for by the U.S. Department of Labor, no additional funds will be required to carry out the provisions of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 90-372, eff. 7-1-98.)

Section 15. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by changing Sections 1400, 1510, 1801.1, 2401, and 2800 and by adding Section 2208.1 as follows:

(820 ILCS 405/1400) (from Ch. 48, par. 550)

Sec. 1400. Payment of contributions. On and after July 1, 1937, contributions shall accrue and become payable by each employer for each calendar year in which he is subject to this Act, with respect to wages payable for employment occurring during the six months' period beginning July 1, 1937, and the calendar years 1938, 1939, and 1940. For the year 1941 and for each calendar year thereafter, contributions shall accrue and become payable by each employer upon the wages paid with respect to employment after December 31, 1940. Except as otherwise provided in Section 1400.2, such contributions shall become due and shall be paid quarterly on or before the last day of the month next following the calendar quarter for which such contributions have accrued; except that any employer who is delinquent in filing a contribution report or in paying his contributions for any calendar quarter may, at the discretion of the Director, be required to report and to pay contributions on a calendar month basis. Such contributions shall not be deducted, in whole or in part, from the wages of individuals in such employer's employ. If the Director shall find that the collection of any contributions will be jeopardized by delay, he may declare the same to be immediately due and payable.

In the payment of any contributions, interest, or penalties, a fractional part of a cent shall be disregarded unless it amounts to one-half cent or more, in which case it shall be increased to one cent.

The Director may by regulation provide that if, at any time, a total amount of less than $2 is payable with respect to a quarter, including any contributions, payments in lieu of contributions, interest or penalties, such amount may be disregarded. Any amounts disregarded under this paragraph are deemed to have been paid for all other purposes of this Act. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to relieve any employer from filing any reports required by this Act or by any rules or regulations adopted by the Director pursuant to this Act.

Except with respect to the provisions concerning amounts that may be disregarded pursuant to regulation, this Section does not apply to any nonprofit organization or any governmental entity referred to in subsection B of Section 1405 for any period with respect to which it does not incur liability for the payment of contributions by reason of having elected to make payments in lieu of contributions, or to any political subdivision or municipal corporation for any period with respect to which it is not subject to payments in lieu of contributions under the provisions of paragraph 1 of Section 302C by reason of having elected to make payments in lieu of contributions under paragraph 2 of that Section, or to the State of Illinois or any of its instrumentalities.

The Director may, by regulation, provide that amounts due from an employing unit for contributions, payments in lieu of contributions, penalties, or interest be paid by an electronic funds transfer, including amounts paid on behalf of an employing unit by an entity representing the employing unit. The regulation shall not apply to an employing unit until the Director notifies the employing unit of the regulation. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, where the employing unit, within 30 days of the date of service of the notice sent pursuant to this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, notifies the Director that it declines to pay by electronic funds transfer, the regulation shall not apply to the employing unit. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, where the employing unit, within 30 days of the date of service of a notice sent pursuant to Section 1509 of this Act, notifies the Director that it declines to pay by electronic funds transfer, the regulation shall not apply to the employing unit with respect to any payment due after the date the employing unit so notifies the Director. The Director is authorized to provide by regulation reasonable penalties for employing units that are subject to and fail to comply with such a regulation. Any employing unit that is not subject to the regulation may elect to become subject to the regulation by paying amounts due for contributions, payments in lieu of contributions, penalties, or interest by an electronic funds transfer. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, in the case of an entity representing 5 or more employing units, neither the entity nor the employing units (for as long as they are represented by that entity) shall have the option to decline to pay by electronic funds transfer.

(Source: P.A. 94-723, eff. 1-19-06.)

(820 ILCS 405/1510) (from Ch. 48, par. 580)

Sec. 1510. Service of notice. Whenever service of notice is required by Sections 1400, 1508, and 1509, such notice may be given and be complete by depositing the same with the United States Mail, addressed to the employer at his last known address. If represented by counsel in the proceedings before the Director, then service of notice may be made upon such employer by mailing same to such counsel. If agreed to by the person or entity entitled to notice, notice may be given and completed electronically, in the manner prescribed by rule, by posting the notice on a secure web site accessible to the person or entity and sending notice of the posting to the last known e-mail address of the person or entity.

(Source: P.A. 97-621, eff. 11-18-11.)

(820 ILCS 405/1801.1)

Sec. 1801.1. Directory of New Hires.

A. The Director shall establish and operate an automated directory of newly hired employees which shall be known as the "Illinois Directory of New Hires" which shall contain the information required to be reported by employers to the Department under subsection B. In the administration of the Directory, the Director shall comply with any requirements concerning the Employer New Hire Reporting Program established by the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. The Director is authorized to use the information contained in the Directory of New Hires to administer any of the provisions of this Act.

B. Each employer in Illinois, except a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States, shall file with the Department a report in accordance with rules adopted by the Department (but in any event not later than 20 days after the date the employer hires the employee or, in the case of an employer transmitting reports magnetically or electronically, by 2 monthly transmissions, if necessary, not less than 12 days nor more than 16 days apart) providing the following information concerning each newly hired employee: the employee's name, address, and social security number, the date services for remuneration were first performed by the employee, the employee's projected monthly wages, and the employer's name, address, Federal Employer Identification Number assigned under Section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and such other information as may be required by federal law or regulation, provided that each employer may voluntarily file the address to which the employer wants income withholding orders to be mailed, if it is different from the address given on the Federal Employer Identification Number. An employer in Illinois which transmits its reports electronically or magnetically and which also has employees in another state may report all newly hired employees to a single designated state in which the employer has employees if it has so notified the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services in writing. An employer may, at its option, submit information regarding any rehired employee in the same manner as information is submitted regarding a newly hired employee. Each report required under this subsection shall, to the extent practicable, be made on an Internal Revenue Service Form W-4 or, at the option of the employer, an equivalent form, and may be transmitted by first class mail, by telefax, magnetically, or electronically.

C. An employer which knowingly fails to comply with the reporting requirements established by this Section shall be subject to a civil penalty of $15 for each individual whom it fails to report. An employer shall be considered to have knowingly failed to comply with the reporting requirements established by this Section with respect to an individual if the employer has been notified by the Department that it has failed to report an individual, and it fails, without reasonable cause, to supply the required information to the Department within 21 days after the date of mailing of the notice. Any individual who knowingly conspires with the newly hired employee to cause the employer to fail to report the information required by this Section or who knowingly conspires with the newly hired employee to cause the employer to file a false or incomplete report shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor with a fine not to exceed $500 with respect to each employee with whom the individual so conspires.

D. As used in this Section, "newly hired employee" means an individual who (i) is an employee within the meaning of Chapter 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and (ii) either has not previously been employed by the employer or was previously employed by the employer but has been separated from that prior employment for at least 60 consecutive days; however, "newly hired employee" does not include an employee of a federal or State agency performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions, if the head of that agency has determined that the filing of the report required by this Section with respect to the employee could endanger the safety of the employee or compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission.

Notwithstanding Section 205, and for the purposes of this Section only, the term "employer" has the meaning given by Section 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and includes any governmental entity and labor organization as defined by Section 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act, and includes any entity (also known as a hiring hall) which is used by the organization and an employer to carry out the requirements described in Section 8(f)(3) of that Act of an agreement between the organization and the employer.

(Source: P.A. 97-621, eff. 11-18-11; 97-689, eff. 6-14-12; 97-791, eff. 1-1-13; revised 7-23-12.)

(820 ILCS 405/2208.1 new)

Sec. 2208.1. Return receipts. Whenever any provision of this Act requires service by certified or registered mail, either a paper return receipt issued by the United States Postal Service or an electronic return receipt issued by the United States Postal Service shall constitute proof of service.

(820 ILCS 405/2401) (from Ch. 48, par. 721)

Sec. 2401. Recording and release of lien. A. The lien created by Section 2400 shall be invalid only as to any innocent purchaser for value of stock in trade of any employer in the usual course of such employer's business, and shall be invalid as to any innocent purchaser for value of any of the other assets to which such lien has attached, unless notice thereof has been filed by the Director in the office of the recorder of the county within which the property subject to the lien is situated. The Director may, in his discretion, for good cause shown and upon the reimbursement of any recording fees paid by the Director with respect to the lien, issue a certificate of withdrawal of notice of lien filed against any employer, which certificate shall be recorded in the same manner as herein provided for the recording of notice of liens. Such withdrawal of notice of lien shall invalidate such lien as against any person acquiring any of such employer's property or any interest therein, subsequent to the recordation of the withdrawal of notice of lien, but shall not otherwise affect the validity of such lien, nor shall it prevent the Director from re-recording notice of such lien. In the event notice of such lien is re-recorded, such notice shall be effective as against third persons only as of the date of such re-recordation.

B. The recorder of each county shall procure at the expense of the county a file labeled "Unemployment Compensation Contribution Lien Notice" and an index book labeled "Unemployment Compensation Contribution Lien Index." When a notice of any such lien is presented to him for filing, he shall file it in numerical order in the file and shall enter it alphabetically in the index. The entry shall show the name and last known business address of the employer named in the notice, the serial number of the notice, the date and hour of filing, and the amount of contribution, interest and penalty thereon due and unpaid. When a certificate of complete or partial release of such lien issued by the Director is presented for filing in the office of the recorder where a notice of lien was filed, the recorder shall permanently attach the certificate of release to the notice of lien and shall enter the certificate of release and the date in the Unemployment Compensation Contribution Lien Index on the line where the notice of lien is entered. In case title to land to be affected by the Notice of Lien is registered under the provisions of "An Act Concerning Land Titles", approved May 1, 1897, as amended, such notice shall be filed in the office of the Registrar of Titles of the county within which the property subject to the lien is situated and shall be entered upon the register of titles as a memorial or charge upon each folium of the register of title affected by such notice, and the Director shall not have a preference over the rights of any bona fide purchaser, mortgagee, judgment creditor or other lien holder arising prior to the registration of such notice.

C. The Director shall have the power to issue a certificate of partial release of any part of the property subject to the lien, upon the reimbursement of any recording fees paid by the Director with respect to the lien, if he shall find that the fair market value of that part of such property remaining subject to the lien is at least equal to the amount of all prior liens upon such property plus double the amount of the liability for contributions, interest and penalties thereon remaining unsatisfied.

D. Where the amount of or the liability for the payment of any contribution, interest or penalty is contested by any employing unit against whose property a lien has attached, and the determination of the Director with reference to such contribution has not become final, the Director may issue a certificate of release of lien upon the reimbursement of any recording fees paid by the Director with respect to the lien and the furnishing of bond by such employing unit in 125% the amount of the sum of such contribution, interest and penalty, for which lien is claimed, with good and sufficient surety to be approved by the Director conditioned upon the prompt payment of such contribution, together with interest and penalty thereon, by such employing unit to the Director immediately upon the decision of the Director in respect to the liability for such contribution, interest and penalty becoming final.

E. When a lien obtained pursuant to this Act has been satisfied and upon the reimbursement of any recording fees paid by the Director with respect to the lien, the Department shall issue a release to the person, or his agent, against whom the lien was obtained and such release shall contain in legible letters a statement as follows:

FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE OWNER, THIS RELEASE SHALL

BE FILED WITH THE RECORDER OR THE REGISTRAR

OF TITLES, IN WHOSE OFFICE, THE LIEN WAS FILED.

(Source: P.A. 83-358.)

(820 ILCS 405/2800) (from Ch. 48, par. 780)

Sec. 2800. Violations and penalties.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person or employing unit to--

1. Make a false statement or representation or fail to disclose a material fact:

a. To obtain, or increase, or prevent, or reduce any benefit or payment under the provisions of this Act, or under the unemployment compensation law of any State or the Federal Government, either for himself or for any other person; or

b. To avoid or reduce any contribution or other payment required from an employing unit under this Act.

2. Fail to pay a contribution due under the provisions of this Act.

3. Fail to furnish any report, audit, or information duly required by the Director under this Act.

4. Refuse to allow the Director or his duly authorized representative to inspect or copy the pay roll or other records or documents relative to the enforcement of this Act or required by this Act.

5. Make any deduction from the wages of any individual in its employ because of its liability for the payment of contributions required by this Act.

6. Knowingly fail to furnish to any individual in its employ any notice, report, or information duly required under the provisions of this Act or the rules or regulations of the Director.

7. Attempt to induce any individual, directly or indirectly (by promise of re-employment or by threat not to employ or not to re-employ or by any other means), to refrain from claiming or accepting benefits or to waive any other rights under this Act; or to maintain a rehiring policy which discriminates against former individuals in its employ by reason of their having claimed benefits.

8. Pay contributions upon wages for services not rendered for such employing unit if the purpose of such payment is either to reduce the amount of contributions due or to become due from any employing unit or to affect the benefit rights of any individual.

9. Solicit, or aid or abet the solicitation of, information from any individual concerning his place of employment, residence, assets or earnings, by any means which are intended to mislead such individual to believe that the person or employing unit seeking such information is the Department or one of its Divisions or branches, or a representative thereof.

B. Any employing unit or person who willfully violates any provision of this Section or any other provision of this Act or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, or does any act prohibited by this Act, or who fails, neglects, or refuses to perform any duty required by any provision of this Act or rule or regulation of the Director, within the time prescribed by the Director, for which no penalty has been specifically provided, or who fails, neglects, or refuses to obey any lawful order given or made by the Director, shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor, and each such act, failure, neglect, or refusal shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. An employing unit's or person's willful filing of a fraudulent quarterly wage report shall constitute a Class 4 felony if the amount of contributions owed with respect to the quarter is less than $300 and a Class 3 felony if the amount of contributions owed with respect to the quarter is $300 or more. An employing unit's or person's willful failure to honor a subpoena issued by the Department shall constitute a Class 4 felony. If a such person or employing unit described in this Section is a corporation, the president, the secretary, and the treasurer, and any other officer exercising corresponding functions, shall each be subject to the aforesaid penalties for the violation of any provisions of this Section of which he or they had or, in the exercise of his or their duties, ought to have had knowledge, not including the provisions regarding the filing of a fraudulent quarterly wage report or the willful failure to honor a subpoena.

(Source: P.A. 77-2439.)

(820 ILCS 405/1704 rep.)

(820 ILCS 405/2105 rep.)

Section 20. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by repealing Sections 1704 and 2105.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law, except that the provisions amending Section 2401 of the Unemployment Insurance Act take effect July 1, 2014.