093_SB1872eng

 
SB1872 Engrossed                     LRB093 10700 WGH 11076 b

 1        AN ACT concerning employment.

 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    Whistleblower Act.

 6        Section 5.  Definitions. As used in this Act:
 7        "Employer"  means:  an  individual,  sole proprietorship,
 8    partnership, firm, corporation, association,  and  any  other
 9    entity  that  has one or more employees in this State, except
10    that "employer" does not include any governmental entity.
11        "Employee" means any individual  who  is  employed  on  a
12    full-time, part-time, or contractual basis by an employer.

13        Section 10.  Certain policies prohibited. An employer may
14    not  make,  adopt, or enforce any rule, regulation, or policy
15    preventing an  employee  from  disclosing  information  to  a
16    government  or  law  enforcement  agency  if the employee has
17    reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses  a
18    violation of a State or federal law, rule, or regulation.

19        Section    15.  Retaliation   for   certain   disclosures
20    prohibited. An employer may not retaliate against an employee
21    for disclosing information to a government or law enforcement
22    agency, where the employee has reasonable  cause  to  believe
23    that  the  information  discloses  a  violation of a State or
24    federal law, rule, or regulation.

25        Section 20.  Retaliation for certain refusals prohibited.
26    An  employer  may  not  retaliate  against  an  employee  for
27    refusing to participate in an activity that would result in a
28    violation of a State or federal law, rule, or regulation.
 
SB1872 Engrossed            -2-      LRB093 10700 WGH 11076 b
 1        Section 25.  Civil penalty. Violation of this  Act  is  a
 2    Class A misdemeanor.

 3        Section  30.  Damages.  If  an  employer takes any action
 4    against an employee in violation of Section  15  or  20,  the
 5    employee  may  bring  a civil action against the employer for
 6    all relief necessary to make the  employee  whole,  including
 7    but not limited to the following, as appropriate:
 8             (1)  reinstatement  with  the  same seniority status
 9        that the employee would have had, but for the violation;
10             (2)  back pay, with interest; and
11             (3)  compensation for any  damages  sustained  as  a
12        result  of  the  violation,  including  litigation costs,
13        expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney's fees.

14        Section  35.  Exception.  This  Act  does  not  apply  to
15    disclosures  that  would  constitute  a  violation   of   the
16    attorney-client privilege.