ndilTwo courts in the Northern District of Illinois recently ruled that the Illinois Whistleblower Act (IWA) (740 ILCS § 174/5) provides for individual liability.  Bello v. Village of Skokie, No. 14-cv-1718 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 2, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2015); Hower v. Cook County Sheriff’s Office, No. 15-cv-6404 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 16, 2016).

 

Bello

In Bello, the Plaintiff, a police officer, claimed to have been retaliated against after lodging complaints that a personnel policy violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act and the state law counterpart.  He filed suit under the IWA against Defendant Village of Skokie and several individuals within the police department and the Village’s administration.  The individual defendants moved to dismiss on the grounds that they were not an “employer” as defined under the IWA.  Denying the motion dismiss, the court ruled that the IWA expansively defined employer to include individuals “acting on behalf of an entity that one might colloquially understand to be a person’s ‘employer.’”  Defendants subsequently moved for summary judgment, arguing that the claims against the individual defendants should be dismissed because the IWA does not impose individual liability.  The court rejected this position once again.

Hower

In Hower, the Plaintiff, a correctional officer, alleged that he was subjected to false investigations, passed over for promotions and denied special assignments after he complained that the promotional process of his employer, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, violated the Sheriff’s Employment Action Manual and Illinois statutes.  He filed suit against Sheriff’s Office and several individual defendants under the IWA.  The individual defendants moved to dismiss, arguing that they were not subject to individual liability under the IWA.  Citing to Bello, the court acknowledged that the individual defendants were not the entity that employs the Plaintiff, but ruled that they could nevertheless be liable under the IWA because the “Individual Defendants were acting within the scope of their authority when dealing with [Plaintiff] as an employee.”  Accordingly, the court declined to dismiss the IWA claims against the individuals.

Implications

These decisions stray from a prior decision, which ruled that the IWA did not provide for individual liability.  Hernandez v. Cook County Sheriff’s Office, No. 13-cv-7949 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 3, 2014).  Until there is further guidance from the Illinois Supreme Court (or perhaps the Seventh Circuit) regarding the parameters of the IWA with respect to whether it provides for individual liability, Illinois employers and individual supervisors should be mindful of the new, significant risks that these decisions create.

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Photo of Steven J. Pearlman Steven J. Pearlman

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and Co-Head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group and the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group.

Steven’s practice covers the full spectrum of employment law, with a particular…

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and Co-Head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group and the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group.

Steven’s practice covers the full spectrum of employment law, with a particular focus on defending companies against claims of employment discrimination, retaliation and harassment; whistleblower retaliation; restrictive covenant violations; theft of trade secrets; and wage-and-hour violations. He has successfully tried cases in multiple jurisdictions, and defended one of the largest Illinois-only class actions in the history of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He also secured one of only a few ex parte seizures orders that have been issued under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and obtained a world-wide injunction in federal litigation against a high-level executive who jumped ship to a competitor.

Reporting to boards of directors, their audit committees, CEOs and in-house counsel, Steven conducts sensitive investigations and has testified in federal court. His investigations have involved complaints of sexual harassment involving C-suite officers; systemic violations of employment laws and company policies; and fraud, compliance failures and unethical conduct.

Steven was recognized as Lawyer of the Year for Chicago Labor & Employment Litigation in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  Chambers describes Steven as an “outstanding lawyer” who is “very sharp and very responsive,” a “strong advocate,” and an “expert in his field.” Steven was 1 of 12 individuals selected by Compliance Week as a “Top Mind.” Earlier in his career, he was 1 of 5 U.S. lawyers selected by Law360 as a “Rising Star Under 40” in the area of employment law and 1 of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” selected by Law Bulletin Publishing Company. Steven is a Burton Award Winner (U.S. Library of Congress) for “Distinguished Legal Writing.”

Steven has served on Law360’s Employment Editorial Advisory Board and is a Contributor to Forbes.com. He has appeared on Bloomberg News (television and radio) and Yahoo! Finance, and is regularly quoted in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has engaged Steven to serve as lead counsel on amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit courts of appeal. He was appointed to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois in employment litigation matters. He has presented with the Solicitor of the DOL, the Acting Chair of the EEOC, an EEOC Commissioner, Legal Counsel to the EEOC and heads of the SEC, CFTC and OSHA whistleblower programs. He is also a member of the Sedona Conference, focusing on trade secret matters.

Photo of Allison Martin Allison Martin

Allison Martin is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. Allison represents employers in a wide range of employment litigation matters, including employment discrimination and harassment lawsuits arising under Title VII and similar state and local statutes, retaliation claims, and…

Allison Martin is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department. Allison represents employers in a wide range of employment litigation matters, including employment discrimination and harassment lawsuits arising under Title VII and similar state and local statutes, retaliation claims, and wage-and-hour claims. She represents employers in federal and state courts, arbitration tribunals, and before the EEOC and the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Allison has extensive experience litigating both single plaintiff and class action lawsuits.

Allison also counsels clients on a broad range of employment law matters, including investigations, employment policies and procedures, and employee terminations and discipline. She also has experience conducting high-profile internal investigations on behalf of employers.

Allison previously served as a federal law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

At Seton Hall University School of Law, Allison was an Articles Editor for the Seton Hall Law Review. Allison also  interned for Chief Judge Garrett E. Brown (Ret.) of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey while in law school.