093_SB0889

 
                                     LRB093 06805 AMC 06947 b

 1        AN ACT concerning health care.

 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    Healthcare Worker Whistleblower Protection Act.

 6        Section  5.  Definitions.  As  used  in  this  Act,   the
 7    following terms shall have the following meanings:
 8        "Employee"  means  a  person  who  performs  health  care
 9    services  for  and  under  the  control  and direction of any
10    public or private employer that provides health care services
11    for wages or other remuneration.
12        "Employer" means a partnership, association, corporation,
13    the State, or any political subdivision of the State that (i)
14    provides health care services in a facility licensed pursuant
15    to State law; (ii) provides health  care  services  within  a
16    primary  or  secondary  public or private school or public or
17    private university setting; or (iii)  operates  and  provides
18    health care services under the correction law.
19        "Agent"  means  an  individual, partnership, association,
20    corporation, or group of  persons  acting  on  behalf  of  an
21    employer.
22        "Improper quality of patient care" means, with respect to
23    patient  care, any practice, procedure, action, or failure to
24    act of an employer that violates any law,  rule,  regulation,
25    or  declaratory  ruling  adopted  pursuant to law, where such
26    violation relates to matters that may present  a  substantial
27    danger  to public health or safety or a significant threat to
28    the health of a specific patient.
29        "Public body" means an elected body or public  regulatory
30    body.
31        "Retaliatory  action"  means  the  discharge, suspension,
 
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 1    demotion, penalization, or discrimination against an employee
 2    or other adverse employment action taken against an  employee
 3    in the terms and conditions of employment.
 4        "Supervisor"   means   a   person  within  an  employer`s
 5    organization who has the authority to direct and control  the
 6    work  performance  of an employee or who has the authority to
 7    take corrective action regarding  the  violation  of  a  law,
 8    rule, or regulation to which an employee submits a complaint.

 9        Section     15.     Retaliatory     action    prohibited.
10    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no employer shall
11    take retaliatory action  against  any  employee  because  the
12    employee does any of the following:
13             (1)  Discloses   or   threatens  to  disclose  to  a
14        supervisor, a  collective  bargaining  agent,  a  private
15        accreditation body, or a public body an activity, policy,
16        or  practice  of the employer or agent that the employee,
17        in good faith, reasonably believes  constitutes  improper
18        quality of patient care.
19             (2)  Objects  to  or  refuses  to participate in any
20        activity, policy, or practice of the  employer  or  agent
21        that  the  employee,  in  good faith, reasonably believes
22        constitutes improper quality of patient care.

23        Section 20.  Violation; remedy.
24        (a)  An  employee  who  has  been  the   subject   of   a
25    retaliatory  personnel  action  in  violation of this Act may
26    institute a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction
27    for relief. The Attorney General of the State of Illinois may
28    also bring civil action against an employer  for  retaliatory
29    personnel actions in violation of this Act and may also order
30    reinstatement of an employee pending the court's ruling.
31        (b)  An  action authorized by this Section may be brought
32    in the county in  which  the  alleged  retaliatory  personnel
 
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 1    action  occurred,  in  the  county  in  which the complainant
 2    resides, or in the county  in  which  the  employer  has  its
 3    principal place of business.
 4        (c)  Notwithstanding  the  provisions of paragraph (a) of
 5    this Section, a health care employee who has been the subject
 6    of  a  retaliatory  action  by  a  health  care  employer  in
 7    violation of this Act and the Attorney General of  the  State
 8    of  Illinois  may  institute  a  civil  action  in a court of
 9    competent jurisdiction for relief within 2  years  after  the
10    alleged  retaliatory  personnel action was taken. In addition
11    to the relief set forth in Section  25,  the  court,  in  its
12    discretion,  based  upon a finding that the employer acted in
13    bad faith in the retaliatory action, may assess the  employer
14    a civil penalty based on the severity of the retaliation.

15        Section  25.  Relief.  In  any action brought pursuant to
16    Section 20, the court may order any of the following types of
17    relief:
18        (a)  An injunction to  restrain  continued  violation  of
19    this Act.
20        (b)  Reinstatement  of  the employee to the same position
21    held  before  the  retaliatory  personnel  action  or  to  an
22    equivalent position.
23        (c)  Reinstatement of full fringe benefits and  seniority
24    rights.
25        (d)  Compensation  for  lost  wages,  benefits, and other
26    remuneration.
27        (e)  Payment  by  the  employer  of   reasonable   costs,
28    disbursements, and attorney's fees.
29        (f)  A civil penalty of $20,000 per violation.

30        Section 30. Existing rights. Nothing in this Act shall be
31    deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies of any
32    employee  under  any  other  law  or  regulation or under any
 
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 1    collective  bargaining  agreement  or  employment   contract,
 2    except  that  the institution of an action in accordance with
 3    this Act shall be deemed a waiver of the rights and  remedies
 4    available  under  any  other  contract, collective bargaining
 5    agreement, law, rule, or regulation or under the common law.