820 ILCS 35

in effect

820 ILCS 35/0.01

(820 ILCS 35/0.01) (from Ch. 10, par. 18.9) Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Employee Arbitration Act. (Source: P.A. 86-1324.)

(820 ILCS 35/2) (from Ch. 10, par. 20) Sec. 2. When any controversy or difference not involving questions which may be the subject of a civil action, exists between an employer, whether an individual, copartnership or corporation, employing not less than 25 persons, and his employees in this State, the Department of Labor shall upon application as herein provided, and as soon as practicable thereafter, visit the locality of the dispute and make a careful inquiry into the cause thereof, hear all persons interested therein who may come before it, advise the respective parties what, if anything ought to be done or submitted to by both to adjust the dispute, and make a written decision thereof. This decision shall at once be made public, shall be recorded upon proper books of record kept by the Department of Labor, and a short statement thereof published in the annual report hereinafter provided for, and the Department shall cause a copy thereof to be filed with the clerk of the city, town or village where said business is carried on. (Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)

820 ILCS 35/3

(820 ILCS 35/3) (from Ch. 10, par. 21) Sec. 3. The application shall be signed by the employer or by a majority of his or her employees in the department of the business in which the controversy or difference exists, or by both parties, and shall contain a concise statement of the grievances complained of, and a promise to continue on in business or at work without any lockout or strike until the decision of said Department, if it shall be made within 3 weeks of the date of filing said application. As soon as may be after the receipt of the application the Department shall cause public notice to be given of the time and place of the hearing thereon; but public notice need not be given when both parties to the controversy join in the application and present therewith a written request that no public notice be given. When such request is made, notice shall be given to the parties interested in such manner as the Department may order, and the Department may, at any stage of the proceedings, cause public notice to be given, notwithstanding such request. The Department may in all cases summon as witnesses any operative or expert in the department of business affected, and any person who keeps the records of wages earned in those departments, or any other person, and examine them under oath, and require the production of books containing the records of wages paid, and such other books and papers as may be deemed necessary to a full and fair investigation of the matter in controversy. The Department may issue subpoenas, and oath may be administered by the Director of the Department or by any authorized officer or employee thereof. If any person, having been served with a subpoena or other process issued by the Department, shall willfully fail or refuse to obey the same, or to answer such questions as may be propounded touching the subject-matter of the inquiry or investigation, the circuit court of the county in which the hearing is being conducted, upon application by the Department, duly attested by the Director thereof, shall issue an attachment for such witness and compel him to appear before the Department and give his or her testimony, or to produce such books and papers as may be lawfully required by the Department; and the court may punish for contempt, as in other cases of refusal to obey the process and order of such court. (Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)

820 ILCS 35/4

(820 ILCS 35/4) (from Ch. 10, par. 22) Sec. 4. Upon receipt of the application, and after such notice, the Department shall proceed as before provided. The decision, in the discretion of the Director of Labor, may be published in the annual report to be made to the Governor on or before the first day of December of each year, as required by Section 5-650 of the Departments of State Government Law (20 ILCS 5/5-650). (Source: P.A. 91-239, eff. 1-1-00.)

820 ILCS 35/5

(820 ILCS 35/5) (from Ch. 10, par. 23) Sec. 5. Said decision shall be binding upon the parties who join in said application for six months or until either party has given the other notice in writing of his or their intention not to be bound by the same at the expiration of sixty days therefrom. Said notice may be given to said employees by posting in three conspicuous places in the shop or factory where they work. (Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)

820 ILCS 35/5a

(820 ILCS 35/5a) (from Ch. 10, par. 24) Sec. 5a. In the event of a failure to abide by the decisions of the Department of Labor in any case in which both employer and employees shall have joined in the application, any person or persons aggrieved thereby may file with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the offending party resides, or in the case of an employer in the county in which the place of employment is located, a duly authenticated copy of such decision, accompanied by a verified petition reciting the fact that such decision has not been complied with and stating by whom and in what respects it has been disregarded. Thereupon the circuit court shall grant a rule against the party or parties so charged to show cause within 10 days why such decision has not been complied with, which shall be served by the sheriff as other process. Upon return made to the rule, the court shall hear and determine the questions presented, and to secure a compliance with such decision, may punish the offending party or parties for contempt, but such punishment shall in no case extend to imprisonment. (Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)

820 ILCS 35/5b

(820 ILCS 35/5b) (from Ch. 10, par. 25) Sec. 5b. Whenever two or more employers engaged in the same general line of business, employing in the aggregate not less than twenty-five persons, and having a common difference with their employees, shall, co-operating together, make application for arbitration, or whenever such application shall be made by the employees of two or more employers engaged in the same general line of business, such employees being not less than twenty-five in number, and having a common difference with their employers, or whenever the application shall be made jointly by the employers and employees in such case, the Department of Labor shall have the same powers and proceed in the same manner as if the application had been made by one employer, or by the employees of one employer, or by both. (Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)

820 ILCS 35/6

(820 ILCS 35/6) (from Ch. 10, par. 26) Sec. 6. Whenever it shall come to the knowledge of the Department of Labor that a strike or lockout is seriously threatened in the State involving an employer and his employees, if he is employing not less than twenty-five persons, the Department shall communicate as soon as may be with such employer or employees, and endeavor by mediation to effect an amicable settlement, or persuade them to submit the matters in dispute to the Department. (Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)

820 ILCS 35/6a

(820 ILCS 35/6a) (from Ch. 10, par. 27) Sec. 6a. The mayor of every city, and the president of every incorporated town or village, whenever a strike or lockout involving more than twenty-five employees shall be threatened or has actually occurred within or near such city, incorporated town or village shall immediately communicate the fact to the Department of Labor, stating the name or names of the employer or employers and of one or more employees, with their post-office addresses, the nature of the controversy or difference existing, the number of employees involved and such other information as may be required by the Department. The president or chief executive officer of every labor organization, in case of a strike or lockout, actual or threatened, involving the members of the organization of which he is an officer, shall immediately communicate the fact of such strike or lockout to the Department, with such information as he may possess, touching the difference or controversy, and the number of employees involved. (Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)

820 ILCS 35/6b

(820 ILCS 35/6b) (from Ch. 10, par. 28) Sec. 6b. Whenever there shall exist a strike or a lockout, wherein, in the judgment of the Department of Labor, the general public shall appear likely to suffer injury or inconvenience with respect to food, fuel or light, or the means of communication or transportation, or in any other respect, and neither party to such strike or lockout consents to the submission of the controversy to the Department, the Department, after first having made due effort to effect a settlement thereof by conciliatory means, and such effort having failed, may proceed of its own motion to make an investigation of all facts bearing upon such strike or lockout and make public its findings, with such recommendations to the parties involved as in its judgment will contribute to a fair and equitable settlement of the differences. In the prosecution of such inquiry the Department may issue subpoenas and compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses as in other cases. (Source: Laws 1943, vol. 1, p. 207.)

820 ILCS 35/8

(820 ILCS 35/8) (from Ch. 10, par. 30) Sec. 8. Any notice or process issued by the Department of Labor shall be served by any sheriff or coroner to whom it is directed or in whose hands it is placed for service. (Source: Laws 1967, p. 3673.)

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs.aspFetched: 10/17/2026