ILLINOIS NURSING HOME CARE ACT – WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION, 210 ILCS 45/3-810.
Brian J Graber LLC is a nursing home whistleblower lawyer representing Illinois employees retaliated against in violation of nursing home whistleblower law. The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act’s Whistleblower Protections, 210 ILCS 45/3-810 offers the best available protections and remedies to employees suffering retaliation for certain protected activities. The Nursing Home Care Act defines “retaliation” very broadly as including reprimand, discharge, suspension, demotion, denial of promotion or transfer, or change in the terms and conditions of employment of any employee of a facility taken in retaliation for the employee’s involvement in certain protected activities as defined by the Act.
The Whistleblower Protection Provisions of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, 210 ILCS 45/3-810(b) make it unlawful for a facility to take any retaliatory action against an employee of the facility, including a nursing home administrator because the employee did any of the following:
- Discloses or threatens to disclose to a supervisor or to a public body (i.e., Illinois Department of Public Health) an activity, inaction, policy, or practice implemented by the facility that the employee reasonably believes is in violation of a law, rule, or regulation.
- Provides information to or testifies before a public body (i.e., Illinois Department of Public Health) conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry into any violation of a law, rule, or regulation by a nursing home administrator.
- Assists or participates in a proceeding to enforce the provisions of the Nursing Home Care Act.
A violation of the Whistleblower Protection provisions of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act is established if the employee proves any of the three protected activities described above was a “contributing factor” in the retaliatory action taken by the employer.
The most common violation of the Nursing Home Care Act’s Whistleblower Protections occurs when a nursing home retaliates against its employees for reporting neglect or abuse of nursing home residents either internally to management or the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) or for cooperating with an IDPH inspection or investigation into abuse or neglect of a nursing home resident. The Nursing Home Care Act may provide nursing home employees with coronavirus anti-retaliation protections.
How to Report Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect to the Illinois Department of Public Health
If you are an employee of an Illinois nursing home and become aware of any abuse or neglect of a nursing home resident and you report it to the Illinois Department of Public Health, you have engaged in a protected activity for the purposes of the Whistleblower Protection provisions of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. The Illinois Department of Public Health’s toll-free hotline number is (800) 252-4343. You can learn more here about how to file a health care complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The remedies available under the Whistleblower Protection provisions of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act for employees who have suffered retaliation are the broadest and best available in the State of Illinois.
Brian J Graber LLC is a nursing home whistleblower attorney practicing nursing home whistleblower law representing nursing home employees in retaliation claims in the Chicagoland area. If you believe that you suffered retaliation from your nursing home employer for your protected activity in violation of the Whistleblower Protection provisions of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, contact Brian J Graber LLC, a nursing home whistleblower lawyer at (312) 291-4648 for a free consultation to see if we can help you. In addition to an Illinois Nursing Home Act Whistleblower claim, you may have claims for wrongful discharge under the tort of retaliatory discharge and the Illinois Whistleblower Act.