Expanded Employee Whistleblower Protections Are in Effect in Illinois
Changes to the Illinois Whistleblower Act (“IWA”), 740 ILCS 174/1 et seq., took effect on January 1, 2025. The amended IWA broadens the scope of protected employee activity to include an employee’s internal report of (threat to report) legal violations and substantial risks to employees, public health, or safety.
The amended law prohibits employers from taking “retaliatory action” against employees who disclose or threaten to disclose information related to an employer’s activity, policy, or practice, which the employee believes in good faith to violate a law, rule, or regulation, or pose a substantial and specific danger to employees, public health, or safety. Importantly, IWA protection now attaches when the disclosure is made or threatened to be made internally to a supervisor, principal officer, or board member, as well as externally to a public investigatory body, or in a court, administrative hearing, or any other proceeding initiated by a public body; to a government or law enforcement agency; or to a supervisor in an organization that has a contractual relationship with the employer who makes the employer aware of the disclosure.
“Retaliatory action” is defined broadly to include not only actual or threatened adverse employment actions but also non-employment actions that would dissuade a reasonable worker from disclosing information, such as taking or threatening to take action that would interfere with an employee’s ability to obtain future employment or contacting or threatening to contact immigration authorities regarding an employee’s citizenship or immigration status.
Finally, the amended IWA implements heightened penalties for retaliation. Aggrieved employees can file a civil lawsuit and, in addition to reinstatement, back pay, and attorneys’ fees and costs, employees can seek injunctive relief, recover back pay with interest, front pay, liquidated damages and receive a civil penalty of up to $10,000. The law also allows the Illinois Attorney General to investigate alleged violations and to initiate or intervene in civil actions to obtain appropriate relief.
Employers are encouraged to review their reporting and investigation procedures to ensure potential whistleblowers are promptly identified and protected. This includes establishing clear channels for employee whistleblowing, reviewing anti-retaliation policies and procedures, and training supervisors and others in management on how to effectively respond to actual and threatened employee complaints.
For more information, please contact Michelle T. Olson at molson@vedderprice.com, Michael D. Considine at mconsidine@vedderprice.com, or any Vedder Price attorney with whom you have worked.
Vedder Thinking | Articles Expanded Employee Whistleblower Protections Are in Effect in Illinois
Newsletter/Bulletin
January 15, 2025
Changes to the Illinois Whistleblower Act (“IWA”), 740 ILCS 174/1 et seq., took effect on January 1, 2025. The amended IWA broadens the scope of protected employee activity to include an employee’s internal report of (threat to report) legal violations and substantial risks to employees, public health, or safety.
The amended law prohibits employers from taking “retaliatory action” against employees who disclose or threaten to disclose information related to an employer’s activity, policy, or practice, which the employee believes in good faith to violate a law, rule, or regulation, or pose a substantial and specific danger to employees, public health, or safety. Importantly, IWA protection now attaches when the disclosure is made or threatened to be made internally to a supervisor, principal officer, or board member, as well as externally to a public investigatory body, or in a court, administrative hearing, or any other proceeding initiated by a public body; to a government or law enforcement agency; or to a supervisor in an organization that has a contractual relationship with the employer who makes the employer aware of the disclosure.
“Retaliatory action” is defined broadly to include not only actual or threatened adverse employment actions but also non-employment actions that would dissuade a reasonable worker from disclosing information, such as taking or threatening to take action that would interfere with an employee’s ability to obtain future employment or contacting or threatening to contact immigration authorities regarding an employee’s citizenship or immigration status.
Finally, the amended IWA implements heightened penalties for retaliation. Aggrieved employees can file a civil lawsuit and, in addition to reinstatement, back pay, and attorneys’ fees and costs, employees can seek injunctive relief, recover back pay with interest, front pay, liquidated damages and receive a civil penalty of up to $10,000. The law also allows the Illinois Attorney General to investigate alleged violations and to initiate or intervene in civil actions to obtain appropriate relief.
Employers are encouraged to review their reporting and investigation procedures to ensure potential whistleblowers are promptly identified and protected. This includes establishing clear channels for employee whistleblowing, reviewing anti-retaliation policies and procedures, and training supervisors and others in management on how to effectively respond to actual and threatened employee complaints.
For more information, please contact Michelle T. Olson at molson@vedderprice.com, Michael D. Considine at mconsidine@vedderprice.com, or any Vedder Price attorney with whom you have worked.
