UPDATE !!

Unions like AFSCME and SEIU-Healthcare, and dozens of other groups support people with disabilities and seniors in seeking an end to illegal retaliation for those that speak up.

Responding to exposure ( Sun-Times) , letters and calls, Senate President Harmon asked a top advisor to convene a negotiation between the sides (one side is the multi-BILLION dollar industry; the other side is grassroots coalition led by people with disabilities)

This is a good step, but union members know getting to the bargaining table does not automatically mean a good agreement.

Use this form TODAY to sign on to a letter to Senate President Harmon, and your own senator.

- - background - - - - - - - - - - -

People with disabilities and seniors in nursing facilities are afraid to speak up about problems or abuse due to a well-founded fear of retaliation. For-profit owners of for-profit nursing homes are spending big in lobbying the Senate to let them continue getting away with allowing illegal retaliation.

In exchange for getting BILLIONS of Medicaid and Medicare dollars, facility owners and top administrators already have a legal and moral obligation to provide proper care, hire and train enough staff, supervise employees, see to it that regulations are followed in facilities they own. Allowing illegal retaliation silences residents, allows problems to fester ... and keeps the revenue flowing.

Facility owners want to put all the blame on individual workers, claiming they have no liability for what happens in businesses they own.

Fear of retaliation for speaking up about abuse or violations silences residents, allows problems to fester, and helps owners skimp on care and maximize profits.

This proposed reform is based on proven anti-retaliation laws in rental housing that have been on the books in several Illinois cities and counties for many years.  

Facility residents are asking for your voice, to send a message that is too loud to ignore.

Many Senate leaders are standing with the people. Harmon says he agrees illegal retaliation against facility residents is a problem that should not be tolerated, but owners should not be held accountable (disregarding 'respondeat superior,' a core principle behind much civil rights and environmental justice law)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

See here for some of the groups calling for ending illegal retaliation, and holding owners accountable.