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State Senator Cristina Castro led a new law strengthening Illinois’ anti-retaliation protections for workers who raise the alarm about issues like fraud, intimidation and workplace safety.

“Employees should be empowered to stand up and speak out about fraud, abuse, criminality and exploitation in the workplace – not intimidated into silence,” said Castro (D-Elgin). “I’ve fought tooth and nail against unethical practices like wage theft, and expanding protections from retaliation is one more important step in safeguarding the rights of all workers in our state.”

House Bill 5561 enhances workplace whistleblower protections by expanding what is considered protected activity, granting broader remedies to affected employees, and giving the Illinois Attorney General the ability to act on behalf of workers whose employers have retaliated against them for disclosing a dangerous or unlawful practice, including public health threats. The law broadens the definition of retaliation to include blacklisting an employee from future opportunities.

For some immigrant workers, standing up for their rights could mean risking their livelihood and that of their family. To stand up for these employees, Castro’s law grants broader protections and remedies to whistleblowers facing immigration-related retaliation, such as the threat of an employer contacting U.S. immigration authorities in response to a worker disclosing protected information.

House Bill 5561 was signed into law Friday and goes into effect Jan. 1.