(820 ILCS 40/0.01) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2000)
Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act
may be cited as the Personnel Record Review Act.
(Source: P.A. 86-1324.)
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(820 ILCS 40/1) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2001)
Sec. 1. Definitions. As used in
this Act:
(a) "Employee" means
a person currently employed or subject to recall after layoff
or leave of absence with a right to return at a position with
an employer or a former employee who has terminated service within
the preceding year.
(b) "Employer" means
an individual, corporation, partnership, labor organization,
unincorporated association, the State, an agency or a political
subdivision of the State, or any other legal, business, or commercial
entity which has 5 employees or more than 5 employees exclusive
of the employer's parent, spouse or child or other members of
his immediate family and includes an agent of the employer.
(Source: P.A. 83-1339.)
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(820 ILCS 40/2) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2002)
Sec. 2. Open Records. Every employer
shall, upon an employee's request which the employer may
require be in writing on a form supplied by the employer,
permit the employee to inspect any personnel documents
which are, have been or are intended to be used in determining
that employee's qualifications for employment, promotion,
transfer, additional compensation, discharge or other disciplinary
action, except as provided in Section 10. The inspection
right encompasses personnel documents in the possession
of a person, corporation, partnership, or other association
having a contractual agreement with the employer to keep
or supply a personnel record. An employee may request all
or any part of his or her records, except as provided in
Section 10. The employer shall grant at least 2 inspection
requests by an employee in a calendar year when requests
are made at reasonable intervals, unless otherwise provided
in a collective bargaining agreement. The employer shall
provide the employee with the inspection opportunity within
7 working days after the employee makes the request or
if the employer can reasonably show that such deadline
cannot be met, the employer shall have an additional 7
days to comply. The inspection shall take place at a location
reasonably near the employee's place of employment and
during normal working hours. The employer may allow the
inspection to take place at a time other than working hours
or at a place other than where the records are maintained
if that time or place would be more convenient for the
employee. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as a requirement
that an employee be permitted to remove any part of such
personnel records or any part of such records from the
place on the employer's premises where it is made available
for inspection. Each employer shall retain the right to
protect his records from loss, damage, or alteration to
insure the integrity of the records. If an employee demonstrates
that he or she is unable to review his or her personnel
record at the employing unit, the employer shall, upon
the employee's written request, mail a copy of the requested
record to the employee.
(Source: P.A. 83-1362.)
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(820 ILCS 40/3) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2003)
Sec. 3. Copies. After the review
time provided in Section 2, an employee may obtain a copy
of the information or part of the information contained
in the employee's personnel record. An employer may charge
a fee for providing a copy of such information. The fee
shall be limited to the actual cost of duplicating the
information.
(Source: P.A. 83-1104.)
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(820 ILCS 40/4) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2004)
Sec. 4. Personnel record information
which was not included in the personnel record but should
have been as required by this Act shall not be used by
an employer in a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding.
However, personnel record information which, in the opinion
of the judge in a judicial proceeding or the hearing officer
in a quasi-judicial proceeding, was not intentionally
excluded from the personnel record may be used by the employer
in the proceeding if the employee agrees or has been given
a reasonable time to review the information. Material which
should have been included in the personnel record shall
be used at the request of the employee.
(Source: P.A. 83-1104.)
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(820 ILCS 40/5) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2005)
Sec. 5. Personnel Record Inspection
by Representative. An employee who is involved in a current
grievance against the employer may designate in writing
a representative of the employee's union or collective
bargaining unit or other representative to inspect the
employee's personnel record which may have a bearing on
the resolution of the grievance, except as provided in
Section 10. The employer shall allow such a designated
representative to inspect that employee's personnel record
in the same manner as provided under Section 2.
(Source: P.A. 83-1362.)
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(820 ILCS 40/6) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2006)
Sec. 6. Personnel Record Correction.
If the employee disagrees with any information contained
in the personnel record, a removal or correction of that
information may be mutually agreed upon by the employer
and the employee. If an agreement cannot be reached, the
employee may submit a written statement explaining the
employee's position. The employer shall attach the employee's
statement to the disputed portion of the personnel record.
The employee's statement shall be included whenever that
disputed portion of the personnel record is released to
a third party as long as the disputed record is a part
of the file. The inclusion of any written statement attached
in the record without further comment or action by the
employer, shall not imply or create any presumption of
employer agreement with its contents. If either the employer
or the employee knowingly places in the personnel record
information which is false, the employer or employee, whichever
is appropriate, shall have remedy through legal action
to have that information expunged.
(Source: P.A. 83-1104.)
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(820 ILCS 40/7) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2007)
Sec. 7. (1) An employer or former
employer shall not divulge a disciplinary report, letter
of reprimand, or other disciplinary action to a third party,
to a party who is not a part of the employer's organization,
or to a party who is not a part of a labor organization
representing the employee, without written notice as provided
in this Section.
(2) The written notice to the employee
shall be by first-class mail to the employee's last known
address and shall be mailed on or before the day the information
is divulged.
(3) This Section shall not apply
if:
(a) the employee has specifically
waived written notice as part of a written, signed employment
application with another employer;
(b) the disclosure is ordered to
a party in a legal action or arbitration; or
(c) information is requested by
a government agency as a result of a claim or complaint by an
employee, or as a result of a criminal investigation by such
agency.
(Source: P.A. 83-1104.)
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(820 ILCS 40/8) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2008)
Sec. 8. An employer shall review
a personnel record before releasing information to a third
party and, except when the release is ordered to a party
in a legal action or arbitration, delete disciplinary reports,
letters of reprimand, or other records of disciplinary
action which are more than 4 years old.
(Source: P.A. 83-1104.)
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(820 ILCS 40/9) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2009)
Sec. 9. An employer shall not gather
or keep a record of an employee's associations, political
activities, publications, communications or nonemployment
activities, unless the employee submits the information
in writing or authorizes the employer in writing to keep
or gather the information. This prohibition shall not apply
to the activities that occur on the employer's premises
or during the employee's working hours with that employer
which interfere with the performance of the employee's
duties or the duties of other employees or activities,
regardless of when and where occurring, which constitute
criminal conduct or may reasonably be expected to harm
the employer's property, operations or business, or could
by the employee's action cause the employer financial liability.
A record which is kept by the employer as permitted under
this Section shall be part of the personnel record.
(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
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(820 ILCS 40/10) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2010)
Sec. 10. Exceptions. The right
of the employee or the employee's designated representative
to inspect his or her personnel records does not apply
to:
(a) Letters of reference for that
employee or external peer review documents for academic employees
of institutions of higher education.
(b) Any portion of a test document,
except that the employee may see a cumulative total test score
for either a section of or the entire test document.
(c) Materials relating to the employer's
staff planning, such as matters relating to the business' development,
expansion, closing or operational goals, where the materials
relate to or affect more than one employee, provided, however,
that this exception does not apply if such materials are, have
been or are intended to be used by the employer in determining
an individual employee's qualifications for employment, promotion,
transfer, or additional compensation, or in determining an individual
employee's discharge or discipline.
(d) Information of a personal nature
about a person other than the employee if disclosure of the information
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the other
person's privacy.
(e) An employer who does not maintain
any personnel records.
(f) Records relevant to any other
pending claim between the employer and employee which may be
discovered in a judicial proceeding.
(g) Investigatory or security records
maintained by an employer to investigate criminal conduct by
an employee or other activity by the employee which could reasonably
be expected to harm the employer's property, operations, or business
or could by the employee's activity cause the employer financial
liability, unless and until the employer takes adverse personnel
action based on information in such records.
(Source: P.A. 85-1440.)
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(820 ILCS 40/11) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2011)
Sec. 11. This Act shall not be
construed to diminish a right of access to records already
otherwise provided by law.
(Source: P.A. 83-1104.)
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(820 ILCS 40/12) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2012)
Sec. 12. (a) The Director of Labor
or his authorized representative shall administer and enforce
the provisions of this Act. The Director of Labor may issue
rules and regulations necessary to administer and enforce
the provisions of this Act.
(b) If an employee alleges that
he or she has been denied his or her rights under this Act, he
or she may file a complaint with the Department of Labor. The
Department shall investigate the complaint and shall have authority
to request the issuance of a search warrant or subpoena to inspect
the files of the employer, if necessary. The Department shall
attempt to resolve the complaint by conference, conciliation,
or persuasion. If the complaint is not so resolved and the Department
finds the employer has violated the Act, the Department may commence
an action in the circuit court to enforce the provisions of this
Act including an action to compel compliance. The circuit court
for the county in which the complainant resides, in which the
complainant is employed, or in which the personnel record is
maintained shall have jurisdiction in such actions.
(c) If an employer violates this
Act, an employee may commence an action in the circuit court
to enforce the provisions of this Act, including actions to compel
compliance, where efforts to resolve the employee's complaint
concerning such violation by conference, conciliation or persuasion
pursuant to subsection (b) have failed and the Department has
not commenced an action in circuit court to redress such violation.
The circuit court for the county in which the complainant resides,
in which the complainant is employed, or in which the personnel
record is maintained shall have jurisdiction in such actions.
(d) Failure to comply with an order
of the court may be punished as contempt. In addition, the court
shall award an employee prevailing in an action pursuant to this
Act the following damages:
(1) Actual damages plus costs.
(2) For a willful and knowing violation
of this Act, $200 plus costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and
actual damages.
(e) Any employer or his agent who
violates the provisions of this Act is guilty of a petty offense.
(f) Any employer or his agent,
or the officer or agent of any private employer, who discharges
or in any other manner discriminates against any employee because
that employee has made a complaint to his employer, or to the
Director or his authorized representative, or because that employee
has caused to be instituted or is about to cause to be instituted
any proceeding under or related to this Act, or because that
employee has testified or is about to testify in an investigation
or proceeding under this Act, is guilty of a petty offense.
(Source: P.A. 84-525.)
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(820 ILCS 40/13) (from Ch. 48,
par. 2013)
Sec. 13. An employer shall not
gather or keep a record identifying an employee as the
subject of an investigation by the Department of Children
and Family Services if the investigation by the Department
of Children and Family Services resulted in an unfounded
report as specified in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
Act.
An employee upon receiving written
notification from the Department of Children and Family Services
that an investigation has resulted in an unfounded report shall
take the written notification to his or her employer and have
any record of the investigation expunged from his or her employee
record.
(Source: P.A. 87-400.)
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