ILCS » Chapter 740 · Act 174
Illinois Compiled Statutes

740 ILCS 174/5 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026
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(740 ILCS 174/5)
    Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    "Adverse employment action" means an action that a reasonable employee would find materially adverse. An action is materially adverse when it could dissuade a reasonable worker from disclosing or threatening to disclose information protected by Section 15 or from refusing under Section 20.
    "Employer" means: an individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, firm, corporation, association, and any other entity that has one or more employees in this State, including a political subdivision of the State; a unit of local government; a school district, combination of school districts, or governing body of a joint agreement of any type formed by two or more school districts; a community college district, State college or university, or any State agency whose major function is providing educational services; any authority including a department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other agency of these entities; and any person acting within the scope of his or her authority, express or implied, on behalf of those entities in dealing with its employees.
    "Employee" means any individual permitted to work by an employer unless:
        (1) the individual has been and will continue to be
    
free from control and direction over the performance of his or her work, both under his or her contract of service with his or her employer and in fact;
        (2) the individual performs work which is either
    
outside the usual course of business or is performed outside all of the places of business of the employer unless the employer is in the business of contracting with parties for the placement of employees; and
        (3) the individual is in an independently established
    
trade, occupation, profession, or business.
    "Employee" also includes, but is not limited to, a licensed physician who practices his or her profession, in whole or in part, at a hospital, nursing home, clinic, or any medical facility that is a health care facility funded, in whole or in part, by the State.
    "Public body" means any of the following: the State; any officer, board, political subdivision, or commission of the State; any institution supported in whole or in part by public funds; units of local government; and school districts.
    "Retaliatory action" means an adverse employment action or the threat of an adverse employment action by an employer or his or her agent to penalize or any non-employment action that would dissuade a reasonable worker from disclosing information under this Act. "Retaliatory action" includes, but is not limited to:
        (1) taking, or threatening to take, any action that
    
would intentionally interfere with an employee's ability to obtain future employment or post-termination retaliation to intentionally interfere with a former employee's employment;
        (2) taking, or threatening to take, any action
    
prohibited by subsection (G) of Section 2-102 of the Illinois Human Rights Act; or
        (3) contacting, or threatening to contact, United
    
States immigration authorities, or otherwise reporting, or threatening to report, an employee's suspected or actual citizenship or immigration status or the suspected or actual citizenship or immigration status of an employee's family or household member to a federal, State, or local agency.
    "Retaliatory action" does not include:
        (1) conduct undertaken at the express and specific
    
direction or request of the federal government unless it involves a violation of the Illinois Bivens Act;
        (2) truthful, performance-related information about
    
an employee or former employee provided in good faith to a prospective employer at the request of the prospective employer; or
        (3) conduct undertaken if specifically required by
    
State or federal law. "Employee" also includes, but is not limited to, a licensed physician who practices his or her profession, in whole or in part, at a hospital, nursing home, clinic, or any medical facility that is a health care facility funded, in whole or in part, by the State.
    "Supervisor" means any individual who has the authority to direct and control the work performance of the affected employee; or any individual who has managerial authority to take corrective action regarding a violation of the law, rule, or regulation disclosed by an employee in accordance with Section 15.
(Source: P.A. 103-867, eff. 1-1-25; 104-440, eff. 12-9-25.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 22 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 2011–2026 · leading case: Brame v. City of North Chicago, 955 N.E.2d 1269 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011).
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Brame v. City of North Chicago, 955 N.E.2d 1269 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). “Noting that section 5 of the Act defines "employer" as "a political subdivision of the State; a unit of local government; * * * [and] any authority including a department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other agency of these entities" (740 ILCS 174/5 (West 2008)), the…”
Larsen v. Provena Hospitals, 2015 IL App (4th) 140255 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 3× “” 740 ILCS 174/5 (West 2010). ¶ 44 Section 30 of the Whistleblower Act, entitled, “Damages,” outlines the following remedies available to an aggrieved employee: “If an employer takes any action against an employee in violation of Section 15 ***, the employee may bring a civil…”
Brame v. The City of North Chicago, 2011 IL App (2d) 100760 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). “Noting that section 5 of the Act defines “employer” as “a political subdivision of the State; a unit of local government; *** [and] any authority including a department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other agency of these entities” (740 ILCS 174/5 (West 2008)), the…”
Bello v. Vill. of Skokie, 151 F. Supp. 3d 849 (N.D. Ill. 2015). “§ 4311 (counts 1 and 2); breach of the Illinois Whistleblower Act (IWA), 740 ILCS 174/5 (count 3); and violation of the Illinois Military Leave of Absence Act (IMLOAA), 5 ILCS 325/1 (count 4).”
Oommen v. Glen Health & Home Mgmt. Inc., 2020 IL App (1st) 190854 (Ill. App. Ct. 2020). · cites it 4× “” 740 ILCS 174/5 (West 2014). As the court acknowledged, the statutory definition was expanded in 2011 to also include licensed physicians who practice medicine in facilities “funded, in whole or in part, by the State” (Pub.”
Oommen v. Glen Health & Home Mgmt. Inc., 2020 IL App (1st) 190854 (Ill. App. Ct. 2020). · cites it 3× “” 740 ILCS 174/5 (West 2014). As the court acknowledged, the statutory definition was expanded in 2011 to also include licensed physicians who practice medicine in facilities “funded, in whole or in part, by the State” (Pub.”
Sciarrone v. Vill. of Island Lake, Illinois, 2025 IL App (2d) 240153 (Ill. App. Ct. 2025). · cites it 3× “” 740 ILCS 174/5 (West 2018). ¶ 24 This third argument is raised in the opening brief, in one short, elliptical paragraph that is devoid of any reasoning or citation to authority, even to the Whistleblower Act (which is discussed but never actually cited).”
Taylor v. The Bd. of Educ. of the City of Chicago, 2014 IL App (1st) 123744 (Ill. App. Ct. 2014). “1, 2008) (amending 740 ILCS 174/5 (West 2006)). Accordingly, the admission of that evidence was an abuse of discretion and operated to prejudice the jury’s decision.”
Larsen v. Provena Hospitals, 2015 IL App (4th) 140255 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 2× “Section 5 of the Whistleblower Act specifically notes that a physician who practices his or her profession in a health care facility funded by the state is an "employee" who "may bring a civil action against the employer for all relief necessary to make the employee whole.”
Taylor v. The Bd. of Educ. of the City of Chicago, 2014 IL App (1st) 123744 (Ill. App. Ct. 2014). “1, 2008) (amending 740 ILCS 174/5 (West 2006)). Accordingly, the admission of that evidence was an abuse of discretion and operated to prejudice the jury's decision.”
Larsen v. Provena Hospitals, 2015 IL App (4th) 140255 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 2× “Section 5 of the Whistleblower Act specifically notes that a physician who practices his or her profession in a health care facility funded by the state is an "employee" who "may bring a civil action against the employer for all relief necessary to make the employee whole.”
Bernero v. River Grove (N.D. Ill. 2018). “” 740 ILCS 174/5 (emphasis added). See also Van Pelt v.”
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