A. The Village prohibits retaliation against any individual who reports sexual harassment. Specifically, no Village official, Village agent, Village employee or Village agency or office shall take any retaliatory action against any Village employee due to a Village employee's:
1. Disclosure or threatened disclosure of any violation of this chapter;
2. Participation in any investigation, hearing or inquiry into any violation of this chapter before any public body; or
3. Assistance or participation in a proceeding to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
B. For the purposes of this chapter, retaliatory action means the reprimand, discharge, suspension, demotion, denial of promotion or transfer, or change in the terms or conditions of employment of any Village employee that is taken in retaliation for a Village employee's involvement in protected activity pursuant to this chapter.
C. No individual making a report will be retaliated against even if a report is not substantiated, as long as it was made in good faith. In addition, any witness will be protected from retaliation.
D. The State Officials and Employees Ethics Act 1 similarly provides whistleblower protection from retaliatory action such as reprimand, discharge, suspension, demotion, or denial of promotion or transfer that occurs in retaliation for an employee who does any of the following:
1. Discloses or threatens to disclose to a supervisor or to a public body an activity, policy, or practice of any officer, member, State agency, or other State employee that the State employee reasonably believes is in violation of a law, rule, or regulation; or
2. Provides information to or testifies before any public body conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry into any violation of a law, rule, or regulation by any officer, member, State agency or other State employee; or
3. Assists or participates in a proceeding to enforce the provisions of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.
E. Pursuant to the Whistleblower Act 1 , an employer may not retaliate against an employee who discloses information in a court, an administrative hearing, or before a legislative commission or committee, or in any other proceeding, where the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of a State or Federal law, rule, or regulation. In addition, an employer may not retaliate against an employee for disclosing information to a government or law enforcement agency, where the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of a State or Federal law, rule, or regulation 2 .
F. According to the Illinois Human Rights Act 3 , it is a civil rights violation for a person, or for two (2) or more people to conspire, to retaliate against a person because they have opposed that which they reasonably and in good faith believes to be sexual harassment in employment or because they have made a charge, filed a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under the Illinois Human Rights Act.
G. Any employee who feels they have been unlawfully retaliated against should register a complaint with their immediate supervisor, department head, Ethics Officer, or an appropriate member of management. (Ord. 2018-01, 1-3-2018)
Notes
| 1 | 1. 5 ILCS 430/15-10. |
| 1 | 1. 740 ILCS 174/15(a). |
| 2 | 2. 740 ILCS 174/15(b). |
| 3 | 3. 775 ILCS 5/6-101. |