The Work Without Fear Act is legislation designed to provide essential protections for immigrant workers against workplace retaliation. In an environment marked by increasing hostility towards immigrants and a rise in exploitative labor practices, this act would prohibit immigration-related threats at work.  The bill aims to establish secure and protected workplaces that effectively uphold our state’s labor laws.

Key Aspects of the Work Without Fear Act

• Protection Against Retaliation: The Work Without Fear Act ensures that immigrant workers can report violations, organize for better conditions, and seek assistance without fear of deportation from their employers.

• Safe Working Conditions: Every worker deserves to work in a safe and healthy environment. This act aims to guarantee that immigrant workers can perform their duties without facing harassment, exploitation, or unsafe conditions.

• Access to Resources: Immigrant workers often encounter barriers when accessing essential resources and support services. The Work Without Fear Act seeks to remove these barriers and ensure that all workers have equitable access to the resources to ensure a safe work environment

Why It Matters

Immigrant workers contribute to our economy and our communities. However, they are frequently subjected to exploitation, mistreatment, and violations of their rights in the workplace. The Work Without Fear Act is a crucial step towards addressing abuse and fostering more inclusive, equitable workplaces where every worker is treated with dignity and respect.

Under the Work Without Fear Act, workers will be able to exercise their rights and expose unlawful conduct without employers using threats to avoid legal obligations. Too often, employers retaliate against employees who expose labor law violations by threatening to blackball workers, threatening the use of E-Verify, or threatening to contact immigration authorities. This intimidation keeps workers in a state of fear so that dangerous and unlawful conduct goes unchecked.

Currently, state and federal law do not provide any specific penalties for certain forms of retaliation or intimidation of workers, particularly immigrant workers, who seek to enforce their rights. This bill
provides meaningful penalties to deter unscrupulous employers from violating the law, along with remedies for workers whose rights are threatened through unlawful retaliation. This bill also provides
the Illinois Department of Labor and the Attorney General essential tools to protect workers cooperating in their investigations from intimidation and retaliation by employers.

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