Illinois has long limited employers from considering the criminal history of an applicant or employee in making employment decisions. The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits employers.
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In 2015, Illinois became one of the first states to enact a “ban the box” law, preventing employers from inquiring about criminal histories on employment applications. The “ban the box” law followed a general prohibition in Illinois under the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) on basing any employment decisions on an applicant’s or employee’s arrest history. Now, Illinois is set to go one step further and ban the use of criminal convictions in employment actions, with limited exceptions.
On January 13, 2021, the last day before the previous General Assembly adjourned, the Illinois legislature passed Senate Bill 1480 as part of an ambitious lame duck legislative agenda. The bill amends the IHRA to make it a civil rights violation to use a conviction record in any employment-related decision, unless (1) there is a “substantial relationship” between the criminal offense and the position or (2) it would involv
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Last year, several major employment laws were enacted in the State of Illinois, and specifically in the City of Chicago. Employers in Illinois and/or Chicago should be reminded of these laws for 2021. Here are just a few of the highlights:
The Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) was amended to cover “single-employee” employers and to require employers to report to the Illinois Department of Human Rights (“IDHR”) all adverse judgements and rulings relating to harassment and discrimination;
Employees covered by the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance now have a private right of action against employers for violations of the law;
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The beginning of 2021 saw the advent of new employment laws for employers with operations and employees located in the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago. Here are some of the new state and local laws that employers in Illinois and/or Chicago need to be aware of. Developments involving the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, the Chicago Anti-Retaliation Ordinance, and the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance are discussed.
Illinois Law Expands Coverage of Employers and Reporting of Discrimination Judgments in 2021
Effective July 1, 2020, Illinois employers with one or more employees were covered by the Illinois Human Rights Act. Previously, only employers with 15 or more employees were subject to state discrimination/retaliation claims under the Illinois Human Rights Act. Illinois employers should keep this important change in mind in 2021 and moving forward.
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As of January 1, 2020, all Illinois employers are required to provide sexual harassment training to all employees on an annual basis. The initial deadline for compliance is December 31, 2020. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Illinois Legislature has not extended this deadline. Therefore, employers who have not yet provided the mandated training to employees only have a few weeks left to comply. For more information on best practices for implementation of training, including defining who outside of Illinois must receive this training, please see our previous Alert.
It is not too late to provide this training, and we can certainly assist with compliance, even in these last few weeks of 2020. But, what happens if an employer misses the December 31, 2020 deadline? Only time will tell, but for now, the law is written to be employee complaint-driven. This means that, in theory, the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) i