15 ILCS 205/6.3: Worker Protection Unit.

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 104-676)

(a) The General Assembly finds that the welfare and prosperity of all Illinois citizens and businesses requires the establishment of a Unit within the Attorney General's Office dedicated to combatting businesses that underpay their employees, force their employees to work in unsafe conditions, and gain an unfair economic advantage by avoiding their tax and labor responsibilities. The Worker Protection Unit shall be focused on protecting the State's workforce to ensure workers are paid properly, guarantee safe workplaces, and allow law-abiding business owners to thrive through healthy and fair competition. Businesses that violate the State's worker protection laws put a greater burden on taxpayers by hurting the State's ability to provide critical services; compliant businesses cannot compete against those who gain an unfair advantage by evading their responsibilities.

(b) There is created within the Office of the Attorney General a Worker Protection Unit, consisting of Assistant Attorneys General appointed by the Attorney General, who, together with other staff as deemed necessary by the Attorney General, shall have the power and duty on behalf of persons within this State, to intervene in, initiate, and enforce all legal proceedings on matters related to the payment of wages, the safety of the workplace, and fair employment practices, including, without limitation, the provisions of the Prevailing Wage Act, the Employee Classification Act, the Minimum Wage Law, the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, or the Wage Payment and Collection Act, whenever the Attorney General determines that such action is necessary to protect the rights and interests of Illinois workers and Illinois businesses.

(c) Prior to initiating an action, the Attorney General shall conduct an investigation and may: (1) require an individual or entity to file a statement or report in writing under oath or otherwise, as to all information the Attorney General may consider necessary; (2) examine under oath any person alleged to have participated in or with knowledge of the alleged violation; or (3) issue subpoenas or conduct hearings in aid of any investigation.

(d) In an action brought under this Section, the Attorney General may obtain, as a remedy, monetary damages to the State, restitution, and equitable relief, including any permanent or preliminary injunction, temporary restraining order, or other order, including an order enjoining the defendant from engaging in a violation, or order any action as may be appropriate. In addition, the Attorney General may request and the court may impose a civil penalty against any person or entity found by the court to have violated the Prevailing Wage Act, the Employee Classification Act, the Minimum Wage Law, the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, the Wage Payment and Collection Act, or any other law related to the payment of wages, the safety of the workplace, or fair employment practices, in a sum not to exceed the maximum amount of any civil penalty prescribed by law. Neither the State nor an aggrieved individual may recover monetary relief, including civil penalties, in more than one proceeding related to the same violation.

(e) Upon the Attorney General's request, the Illinois Department of Labor shall provide any materials or documents already in the Department's possession pertaining to the enforcement of this Section. The Office of the Attorney General may use information obtained under this Section, including information that is designated as and that qualifies for confidential treatment, which information the Attorney General's Office shall maintain as confidential, for law enforcement purposes only, which information may be shared with other law enforcement officials. Nothing in this Section is intended to take away or limit any powers of the Attorney General under common law or other statutory law.

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 104-676)

Worker Protection Unit.

(a) The General Assembly finds that the welfare and prosperity of all Illinois citizens and businesses requires the establishment of a Unit within the Attorney General's Office dedicated to combatting businesses that underpay their employees, force their employees to work in unsafe conditions, and gain an unfair economic advantage by avoiding their tax and labor responsibilities. The Worker Protection Unit shall be focused on protecting the State's workforce to ensure workers are paid properly, guarantee safe workplaces, and allow law-abiding business owners to thrive through healthy and fair competition. Businesses that violate the State's worker protection laws put a greater burden on taxpayers by hurting the State's ability to provide critical services; compliant businesses cannot compete against those who gain an unfair advantage by evading their responsibilities.

(b) There is created within the Office of the Attorney General a Worker Protection Unit, consisting of Assistant Attorneys General appointed by the Attorney General, who, together with other staff as deemed necessary by the Attorney General, shall have the power and duty on behalf of persons within this State, to intervene in, initiate, and enforce all legal proceedings on matters related to the payment of wages, the safety of the workplace, and fair employment practices, including, without limitation, the provisions of the Prevailing Wage Act, the Employee Classification Act, the Minimum Wage Law, the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, the Wage Payment and Collection Act, and any other law regarding labor or employment in this State, whenever the Attorney General determines that such action is necessary to protect the rights and interests of Illinois workers and Illinois businesses.

(c) Prior to initiating an action, the Attorney General shall conduct an investigation and may: (1) require an individual or entity to file a statement or report in writing under oath or otherwise, as to all information the Attorney General may consider necessary; (2) examine under oath any person alleged to have participated in or with knowledge of the alleged violation; (3) issue subpoenas for documents; (4) require written answers under oath to written interrogatories; (5) conduct hearings in aid of any investigation; (6) inspect the premises of an employer and inspect and make copies of employment-related records kept at the premises during normal business or working hours or at other reasonable times; and (7) conduct interviews with employees at an employer's premises during normal business or working hours or at other reasonable times. The Attorney General may, at the Attorney General's discretion, resolve an investigation by mutual agreement prior to or after initiating an action.

(c-5) An employer, or an agent of the employer, who is subject to an investigation by the Attorney General shall make all reasonable efforts to cooperate with the investigation, including, without limitation, by making the employer's premises and records available for inspection and by permitting the employer's employees to participate in confidential interviews conducted by the Attorney General. An employer who is subject to an investigation by the Attorney General under this Section has the right to be assisted by counsel. An employer may refuse to grant the Attorney General access to non-publicly accessible areas of the employer's premises unless the Attorney General obtains an administrative inspection warrant for the inspection of the premises under subsection (c-35).

(c-10) Any individual, including an employee, who voluntarily participates in an interview conducted by the Attorney General or otherwise provides information to the Attorney General related to an investigation conducted by the Worker Protection Unit is a confidential government informer for purposes of asserting the government informer's privilege.

(c-15) The production of documentary material in response to a subpoena served in accordance with this Section shall be made under a sworn certificate, in such form as the subpoena designates, by the person, if a natural person, to whom the demand is directed or, if not a natural person, by a person or persons having knowledge of the facts and circumstances relating to the production, to the effect that all of the documentary material required by the demand and in the possession, custody, or control of the person to whom the demand is directed has been produced and made available to the custodian. All answers to interrogatories and statements or reports produced in writing shall be accompanied by a statement under oath attesting to the accuracy of the answers.

(c-20) Any person who has been served a subpoena issued under this Section may file, in the Circuit Court of Sangamon or Cook County or the circuit court of the county in which the witness resides, is found, or transacts business, a petition for an order to modify or set aside the subpoena. A petition filed with the circuit court under this subsection shall be filed with the court and served on the Attorney General within 20 days after the date of service of the subpoena, at any time before the return date specified in the subpoena, or within a longer period as may be prescribed in writing by the Attorney General. The petition shall specify the grounds upon which the petitioner relies in seeking relief.

(c-25) If a witness served with a subpoena by the Attorney General under this Act fails or refuses to attend a proceeding and provide testimony, produce documentary materials or interrogatory answers, grant access to the premises, records, or employees of the witness, or otherwise comply with the subpoena, the Attorney General may petition the Circuit Court of Sangamon or Cook County, or the circuit court in the county in which the witness resides, for an order requiring the witness to comply with the subpoena. The court's order shall require the witness to comply with the subpoena by a specified date and provide a date on which the witness shall show cause in court as to why the witness should not be held in contempt of court if the witness fails to comply with the order. The Attorney General may recover reasonable fees and expenses incurred in obtaining the order. If the witness is held in contempt of court, the Attorney General may seek a writ of attachment or an equivalent court order.

(c-30) An individual, including an employer, an agent of the employer, or the officer or agent of any private employer, who, with the intent to avoid, evade, prevent, or obstruct compliance in whole or in part by any person who has been served a subpoena by the Attorney General under this Section, knowingly removes from any place, conceals, withholds, destroys, mutilates, alters, or by any other means falsifies any documentary material that is the subject of the subpoena is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

(c-35) If, in the course of an investigation conducted in accordance with subsection (c), the Attorney General believes that relevant evidence of a violation of a law enforced by the Worker Protection Unit as set forth in subsection (b) is located at the premises of an employer or in an employer's records and if the employer has refused to allow the Attorney General to inspect the premises or the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that an immediate inspection of the premises is necessary to carry out its investigation, then the Attorney General may file or cause to be filed an application for an administrative inspection warrant. The issuance and execution of an administrative inspection warrant shall be as follows:

(1) A judge of a circuit court, upon proper oath or affirmation showing an inspection is reasonable, may issue warrants for the purpose of conducting administrative inspections and seizures of property appropriate to the inspections. For the purposes of the issuance of an administrative inspection warrant, an inspection is reasonable if a valid public interest in the effective enforcement of any statute enforced by the Worker Protection Unit sufficiently justifies administrative inspection of the employer's premises or records.

(2) An administrative inspection warrant shall be issued only after receipt of an affidavit of a person having knowledge of the facts alleged that establishes the grounds for issuing the administrative inspection warrant. If the circuit judge is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for issuance of an administrative inspection warrant, the judge shall issue an administrative inspection warrant. The administrative inspection warrant shall:

(A) state the grounds for its issuance and the name of each person whose affidavit has been taken in support of the warrant;

(B) be directed to an Assistant Attorney General appointed by the Attorney General or to other staff of the Office of the Attorney General who will execute the warrant;

(C) command the person to whom it is directed to inspect the identified premises or records for the purposes specified in the warrant and, if appropriate, direct the seizure of the identified records or other property;

(D) identify the item or types of property to be seized, if any; and

(E) direct that the warrant may be served at any time of the day or night and designate the circuit court judge to whom it shall be returned.

(3) An administrative inspection warrant issued under this subsection must be executed and returned within 10 days after the date of its issuance, unless, upon a showing of a need for additional time, the court that issued the inspection warrant orders otherwise. If property is seized in accordance with an administrative inspection warrant, a copy of the inventory of the seized property shall be given to the person from whom or from whose controlled premises the property is taken. If no person is available, the inspection warrant and a copy of the inventory shall be left at the controlled premises. The inventory shall be made under oath by the person executing the warrant.

(4) An administrative inspection warrant shall be returnable before the judge of the circuit court who issued the inspection warrant or any judge named in the inspection warrant or before the circuit court. The judge before whom the return is made shall attach to the administrative inspection warrant a copy of the return and all papers returnable in connection with the warrant and file them with the clerk of the circuit court in which the inspection warrant is executed.

(5) No warrant shall be quashed or evidence suppressed because of technical irregularities not affecting the substantial rights of the person responsible for the employer's premises or property.

(6) This subsection does not prevent the inspection without a warrant of books and records produced in accordance with a subpoena issued under subsection (c).

(7) No administrative inspection warrant shall be issued under this subsection with the intent of obtaining evidence for an ongoing criminal investigation.

(d) In an action brought under this Section, the Attorney General may obtain, as a remedy, monetary damages to the State, restitution, and equitable relief, including any permanent or preliminary injunction, temporary restraining order, or other order, including an order enjoining the defendant from engaging in a violation, or order any action as may be appropriate. In addition, the Attorney General may request and the court may impose a civil penalty against any person or entity found by the court to have violated any law regarding labor or employment in this State, including the Prevailing Wage Act, the Employee Classification Act, the Minimum Wage Law, the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, the Wage Payment and Collection Act, or any other law related to the payment of wages, the safety of the workplace, or fair employment practices, in a sum not to exceed the maximum amount of any civil penalty prescribed by law. Neither the State nor an aggrieved individual may recover monetary relief, including civil penalties, in more than one proceeding related to the same violation.

(e) Upon the Attorney General's request, the Illinois Department of Labor shall provide any materials or documents already in the Department's possession pertaining to the enforcement of this Section. The Office of the Attorney General may use information obtained under this Section, including information that is designated as and that qualifies for confidential treatment, which information the Attorney General's Office shall maintain as confidential, for law enforcement purposes only, which information may be shared with other law enforcement officials. Nothing in this Section is intended to take away or limit any powers of the Attorney General under common law or other statutory law.

(f) All information and documentary materials that are obtained by the Attorney General under this Section are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. This exemption applies to all information and documentary materials the Attorney General obtains through an investigation under this Act.

Except as otherwise provided in this Section, no documentary materials, transcripts of oral testimony, or answers to interrogatories, or copies of those items, in the possession of the Attorney General shall be available for examination by any individual other than an authorized employee or agent of the Attorney General or a federal, State, or local law enforcement official without the consent of the person who produced the documentary materials, oral testimony, or answers. The Attorney General may provide copies of the documentary materials, transcripts of oral testimony, or answers to interrogatories to an official of this State, the federal government, or another state, who is charged with the enforcement of federal or State employment, antitrust, or consumer protection laws, if the receiving official agrees in writing, before the disclosure, that the information may not be disclosed to anyone other than the official or the official's authorized employees.

The Attorney General may, in the Attorney General's discretion, use information and documentary materials obtained in the course of an investigation pursuant to this Act for law enforcement purposes, including, but not limited to, interviewing or questioning potential witnesses and consultants, in a complaint or other pleading, and in court proceedings.