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"I applaud the Senate for approving
House Bill 3471, and I wish to congratulate the Chicago Worker's
Collaborative and many other groups on their hard work and
leadership on this issue," Gov. Blagojevich said. "This bill is the
centerpiece of the day labor reform and will help us realize our
promise to protect day workers' rights. The Day Labor Services Act
allows us to penalize unlawful agencies that cheat workers of wages,
illegally deducting meals and transportation charges from their
paychecks, and leaving them unprotected while on the job. Along with
the new minimum wage, this bill reaches out and helps 300,000
workers across Illinois and gives them the protection they need so
they can continue providing for their families, and I'm looking
forward to signing it."
"Governor Blagojevich has heard the voices of the day laborers, and
his support will now provide Illinois' most vulnerable workers with
the strongest protections of their rights in the country," said Tim
Bell, executive director of the Chicago Workers' Collaborative. "Day
laborers worked hard on the amendments to HB 3471 to stop the abuses
leveled against them by unscrupulous employers."
Other organizations working with the
governor and legislative leaders on this issue included the Chicago
Interfaith Committee on Workers' Issues, the Chicago Federation of
Labor, the Latino Union of Chicago, the Day Laborer Collaborative,
St. Pious Church and the San Lucas Workers Center.
"This is a great example of how we
can make the legislative process work for the people in need of
redress, as is the case of day labor workers who deal with labor
agencies on a daily basis," said state Sen. Miguel del Valle,
D-Chicago. "This is a win-win situation that helps the laborers and
also helps clean up the industry." Del Valle was the creator of the
Day Labor Services Act of 2000, upon which many of the provisions of
the new legislation were built, and he was the chief sponsor for
Senate Bill 1792, the mirror bill of House Bill 3471.
"The purpose of this bill is to
punish those agencies that break the law and violate workers'
rights," said state Rep. Cynthia Soto, D-Chicago, the chief sponsor
of House Bill 3471. "I represent a large Hispanic community, which
is greatly impacted by the injustices against day laborers. It is
imperative that day labor agencies know about the consequences of
not following this law."
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The act provides a new framework for
the operation of day labor agencies and requires agencies to provide
workers with detailed employment and wage notices, which can be
inspected by the Illinois Department of Labor. The act will also
protect day laborers' paychecks from unreasonable deductions for
meals and equipment; require agencies to pay workers for lost time
when they are sent to a job, only to be returned by the agency
because of overstaffing; and require employers that contract with
day or temporary labor agencies to verify that they are registered
with the Department of Labor or else face monetary penalties.
Additionally, the legislation will
prohibit agencies from charging workers fees for transportation
between the agency and job sites; require that such transportation
meets basic safety standards; and prohibit agencies from retaliating
or discriminating against a worker who exercises his or her rights
under the act.
Although there are approximately 150
registered day and temporary labor service agencies with nearly 600
branch offices registered with the state, there are also many
unlicensed agencies in Illinois. This leaves thousands of workers
without basic protections and undercuts legitimate day labor
businesses that follow the rules and treat their workers fairly.
The legislation will allow the
Department of Labor to impose a $500 penalty against a day labor
agency for each day it is not registered. For all other violations,
the department will fine first-time violators up to $6,000 and
repeat violators up to $2,500 per violation per day. To pay for
increased enforcement of the day and temporary labor industry, the
act increases agency registration fees to $1,000 and adds a fee of
$250 per branch office.
"Passing this bill is a giant step
in a long journey toward enhancing the dignity of day and temporary
laborers, who are underrepresented in the workplace," said
Department of Labor Director Art Ludwig. "Illinois is one of only a
few states, and actually a model in the nation, in providing such
protections for laborers. We are looking forward to the signing of
this law, which further strengthens IDOL's enforcement against
violating agencies across the state."
If you are a day or temporary
laborer and are a victim of unfair working conditions, please call
(877) 314-7052 to file a complaint or get information online at
www.state.il.us/agency/idol/.
[News release from the governor's
office]
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