Illinois ushers in enhanced Whistleblower Protection Act Jan. 1 2008
Illinois has strengthened their whistleblower protection laws as of January 1, 2008. The Illinois legislators expanded existing whistle-blower laws and increased the protections and rewards earned by people reporting fraud. According to Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, in a Chicago Tribune article, the new Illinois Whistleblower Protection Act protects people from getting fired if they report fraud and gives them up to 30 percent of the amount recovered. The government can also collect treble damages for the fraud in restitution and levy fines up to $10,000.
The Illinois (740 ILCS 175/) Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act was introduced by Rep. John A. Fritchey, former Illinois Assistant Attorney General.
States that have “State False Claims” statutes include: New Jersey, Florida, Georgia, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and the District of Columbia. As mentioned in a previous post on the Whistleblower Law Blog last year, we included State False Claims Acts for our readers. Another resourceful consumer advocate website is Tax Payers Against Fraud.
A few states that have made proposals to enact a State False Claims Act, include: North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, Minnesota, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.
CIVIL LIABILITIES(740 ILCS 175/) Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act.
(740 ILCS 175/1) (from Ch. 127, par. 4101) Sec. 1. This Act may be cited as the Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act. (Source: P.A. 87?662.)
(740 ILCS 175/2) (from Ch. 127, par. 4102) Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
(a) "State" means the State of Illinois; any agency of State government; the system of State colleges and universities, any school district, community college district, county, municipality, municipal corporation, unit of local government, and any combination of the above under an intergovernmental agreement that includes provisions for a governing body of the agency created by the agreement.
(b) "Guard" means the Illinois National Guard.
(c) "Investigation" means any inquiry conducted by any investigator for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is or has been engaged in any violation of this Act.
(d) "Investigator" means a person who is charged by the Department of State Police with the duty of conducting any investigation under this Act, or any officer or employee of the State acting under the direction and supervision of the Department of State Police, through the Division of Operations or the Division of Internal Investigation, in the course of an investigation.
(e) "Documentary material" includes the original or any copy of any book, record, report, memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation, chart, or other document, or data compilations stored in or accessible through computer or other information retrieval systems, together with instructions and all other materials necessary to use or interpret such data compilations, and any product of discovery.
(f) "Custodian" means the custodian, or any deputy custodian, designated by the Attorney General under subsection (i)(1) of Section 6.
(g) "Product of discovery" includes:
(1) the original or duplicate of any deposition, interrogatory, document, thing, result of the inspection of land or other property, examination, or admission, which is obtained by any method of discovery in any judicial or administrative proceeding of an adversarial nature;
(2) any digest, analysis, selection, compilation, or derivation of any item listed in paragraph (1); and (3) any index or other manner of access to any item listed in paragraph (1).
(Source: P.A. 95?128, eff. 1?1?08.)
(740 ILCS 175/3) (from Ch. 127, par. 4103)
Sec. 3. False claims.
(a) Liability for certain acts. Any person who:
(1) knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, to an officer or employee of the State or a member of the Guard a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval;
(2) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement to get a false or fraudulent claim paid or approved by the State;
(3) conspires to defraud the State by getting a false or fraudulent claim allowed or paid;
(4) has possession, custody, or control of property or money used, or to be used, by the State and, intending to defraud the State or willfully to conceal the property, delivers, or causes to be delivered, less property than the amount for which the person receives a certificate or receipt;
(5) authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of property used, or to be used, by the State and, intending to defraud the State, makes or delivers the receipt without completely knowing that the information on the receipt is true;
(6) knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an obligation or debt, public property from an officer or employee of the State, or a member of the Guard, who lawfully may not sell or pledge the property;
(7) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement to conceal, avoid or decrease an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the State;
(8) knowingly takes adverse employment action against an employee for disclosing information to a government or law enforcement agency, if the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of State or federal law, rule, or regulation; or
(9) knowingly retaliates against an employee who has disclosed information in a court, an administrative hearing, before a legislative commission or committee, or in another proceeding and discloses information, if the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of State or federal law, rule, or regulation, is liable to the State for a civil penalty of not less than $5,500 and not more than $11,000, plus 3 times the amount of damages which the State sustains because of the act of that person. A person violating this subsection (a) shall also be liable to the State for the costs of a civil action brought to recover any such penalty or damages.
(b) Knowing and knowingly defined. As used in this Section, the terms "knowing" and "knowingly" mean that a person, with respect to information:
(1) has actual knowledge of the information;
(2) acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information; or
(3) acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information, and no proof of specific intent to defraud is required.
(c) Claim defined. As used in this Section, "claim" includes any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property which is made to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient if the State provides any portion of the money or property which is requested or demanded, or if the State will reimburse such contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money or property which is requested or demanded. A claim also includes a request or demand for money damages or injunctive relief on behalf of an employee who has suffered an adverse employment action taken in violation of paragraphs (8) or (9) of subsection (a).
(d) Exclusion. This Section does not apply to claims, records, or statements made under the Illinois Income Tax Act.
(Source: P.A. 94?1059, eff. 7?31?06; 95?128, eff. 1?1?08)
Click Here to read the entire Illinois Whistleblower Protection Reward Act
