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91_HB1815
LRB9104284WHdv
1 AN ACT in relation to apprentice programs.
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 Apprentice Equity Act.
6 Section 5. Statement of policy. It is the policy of the
7 State of Illinois to ensure full and equitable employment
8 opportunities for minorities and females in the building
9 trades on all State construction contracts. Lack of
10 employment opportunities for minorities and females in the
11 building trades impedes economic development and contributes
12 to the social ills of Illinois residents. Federal and State
13 regulations prohibit discrimination because of race, color,
14 religion, sex, or national origin in employment and training
15 programs. The State is committed to ensuring that
16 minorities and females are provided apprenticeship and
17 self-improvement opportunities in the building trades on
18 State construction contracts to assist in their increased
19 employment in the building trades.
20 Section 10. Definition. As used in this Act:
21 "Minority" has the definition contained in Section 10 of
22 the State Employment Records Act.
23 "Apprentice program" means an apprentice program in the
24 building trades that is authorized by the Bureau of
25 Apprenticeship Training of the U.S. Department of Labor.
26 "Apprentice" means a participant in an apprentice
27 program.
28 "Apprentice plan" means a written description of the
29 manner in which each minority or female apprentice shall be
30 used on a project.
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1 Section 15. Plan.
2 (a) To facilitate the provision of apprenticeship
3 opportunities for minorities and women in the building
4 trades, the Director of the Capital Development Board and the
5 Secretary of Transportation shall designate specific
6 contracts let by the respective agencies as subject to an
7 apprentice plan promoting employment opportunities for
8 minorities and women.
9 (b) In selecting contracts for participation in the
10 apprentice plan approved under this Act and in establishing
11 the applicable goals for each selected contract, the Director
12 of the Capital Development Board and the Secretary of
13 Transportation shall consider the following criteria:
14 (1) The nature of a project to ensure that it has
15 the potential for providing effective training
16 opportunities within the applicable apprentice program.
17 (2) The duration of the contract, work schedules
18 for project completion, and labor intensiveness of work
19 areas.
20 (3) The magnitude or dollar amount of the contract.
21 (4) The scope of work to be performed.
22 (5) The total normal building trade work force that
23 the average low bidder could be expected to use.
24 (6) The ratio of apprentices to journeymen that it
25 would be feasible for the average low bidder to use as
26 part of the contractor's work force during normal
27 operations, including the consideration of the relevant
28 provisions of any applicable collective bargaining
29 agreement.
30 (c) For each designated contract subject to the
31 apprentice plan approved under this Act, the Director of the
32 Capital Development Board or the Secretary of Transportation
33 shall establish goals for the number of minority and female
34 apprentices in the building trades to be assigned work on the
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1 contract, expressed in terms of hours of assigned work, 1,000
2 hours being equivalent to approximately 6 months of full-time
3 employment. The bidder shall commit to the employment of
4 minority and female apprentices on the contract equal to or
5 greater than each of the applicable goals. In employing
6 minority and female apprentices, the bidder shall give
7 preference to minority and female apprentices who are already
8 participants in an apprentice program.
9 (d) If the bidder finds it impossible to meet the
10 established goals after consulting with the appropriate labor
11 organization or joint apprenticeship training committee, the
12 bidder may seek a waiver from the Director of the Capital
13 Development Board or the Secretary of Transportation
14 accompanied by such documentation as requested by the
15 Director of the Capital Development Board or the Secretary of
16 Transportation, as applicable, that sufficient qualified
17 minorities and females to meet the goals were unavailable in
18 the county in which the work is to be performed, despite the
19 bidder's making all reasonable good faith efforts in hiring
20 minorities and females for the apprentice positions. The
21 Director of the Capital Development Board or the Secretary of
22 Transportation, as applicable, may grant the waiver request
23 upon the determination that sufficient qualified minorities
24 and females are not available for employment in the
25 applicable apprentice plans to meet the established goals
26 despite the good faith efforts of the bidder to recruit
27 minorities and females or that applicable collective
28 bargaining agreement provisions would prohibit the employment
29 of apprentices on the project to the extent required by the
30 established goals.
31 (e) Whenever a bidder's contractor subcontracts a
32 portion of the work involving any construction trade, the
33 subcontractor shall be subject, with subcontracts in excess
34 of $10,000, to the same goals for hiring minority and women
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1 apprentices applicable to the contractor, unless the Director
2 of the Capital Development Board or the Secretary of
3 Transportation, as applicable, grants the subcontractor a
4 partial or total waiver of the established goals.
5 (f) Within 10 days following the approval of the
6 contractor's required bond, the contractor shall submit to
7 the Director of the Capital Development Board or the
8 Secretary of Transportation, as applicable, a copy of the
9 plan for using minority and female apprentices on the
10 project, including the number of apprentices to be trained in
11 each selected classification and the corresponding apprentice
12 programs to be used. If a subcontract is let for a portion
13 of the work, the contractor may determine the extent to which
14 apprentices are to be trained by the subcontractor, but the
15 contractor shall retain responsibility for meeting the
16 applicable goals or shall submit with its bid a request for a
17 partial or total waiver of the established goals.
18 (g) A contractor's plan for using minority and female
19 apprentices shall be approved only if it meets the standards
20 set forth with regard to:
21 (1) The primary objectives of training and
22 upgrading minority and female workers within applicable
23 apprentice programs.
24 (2) Whether the classifications proposed are
25 appropriate for the specific project. The character,
26 duration, and nature of the project operations shall
27 readily support the proposed apprentice plan.
28 (h) If the contractor's submission is not acceptable, or
29 if, in the opinion of the Director of the Capital Development
30 Board of the Secretary of Transportation, as applicable, the
31 character, duration, or nature of the project operations
32 cannot support the proposed apprentice classification, the
33 apprentice plan shall not be approved. The contractor's
34 submission shall be returned for correction and resubmission.
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1 (i) The contractor shall submit to the Director of the
2 Capital Development Board or the Secretary of Transportation,
3 as applicable, a monthly report, as specified by the Director
4 or Secretary, detailing the use of apprentices during the
5 prior month.
6 (j) When the Director of the Capital Development Board
7 or the Secretary of Transportation, as applicable, has
8 determined that the contractor has failed to comply with any
9 of the apprentice plan requirements, the Director or
10 Secretary may notify the contractor of any non-compliance and
11 withhold up to 50% of the current progress or final payment
12 due the contractor until it is determined that the contractor
13 is in compliance or that, despite the contractor's making all
14 reasonable good faith efforts, it is unable to meet the
15 established goals.
16 (k) The contractor shall include all costs of compliance
17 for the apprentice plan in its bid. The contractor shall not
18 be entitled to any additional compensation from the State for
19 additional costs, delays, or expenses of any kind arising out
20 of or resulting from the implementation of this plan in the
21 contract.
22 (l) Nothing in this Act shall be construed or enforced
23 to permit discrimination against any individual on the basis
24 of race, color, sex, or national origin with respect to
25 employment or apprenticeship opportunities on State
26 contracts.
27 (m) The Director of the Capital Development Board and
28 the Secretary of Transportation shall submit, at least once
29 each calendar quarter, a report to the Governor and General
30 Assembly detailing their implementation of the apprentice
31 plan established by this Act, and the compliance of
32 contractors with this Act.
33 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
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1 January 1, 2000.