Illinois Sexual Harassment Attorney Blog

So your boss keeps sending you sexual type text messages. He tells you how sexy you look and what he would like to do to you after work. Is this a hostile work environment in Chicago? The answer is yes. In fact this would be considered sexual harassment and you would have a claim against both the supervisor and the company. Under state law, there is strict liability against the company if a supervisor engages in sexual harassment. That means there is no requirement that the employee report the conduct before liability attaches.

What this means for employers is a good amount of training on sexual harassment should be taking place. If a company chooses not to properly supervise or train its workforce, it runs the risk of paying monetary damages in court or through settlement. And what this means for employees is that if you are the victim of sexual harassment by the supervisor, you should contact an experienced employment lawyer to seek what rights and remedies you have. Remember if you go to human resources, their obligation is to the company not you.

So there is a supervisor who is engaging in sexual harassment in Illinois and you are the one that he is harassing. What are the consequences regarding your legal rights and what are the consequences on the company. Under the Illinois Human Rights Act ("Act"), there is strict liability on the company and the supervisor if the supervisor engages in sexual harassment of an employee. That means the employee does not have to report the sexual harassment first and can file a complaint directly with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR"). The IDHR will automatically cross-file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC").

What can you expect from the IDHR? They will conduct a thorough investigation and must complete the investigation within one-year. As long as you are alleging the conduct and it rises to the level of sexual harassment, the investigator cannot find a lack of substantial evidence because of the Cooper v. Salazar case. In that case the federal court held that the IDHR cannot make credibility of witnesses and therefore must find in favor of the person complaining if what they complain about rises to the level of sexual harassment under the Act.

National Food Corporation ("NFC") pays $650,000 to five workers to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. The sexual harassment lawsuit was first filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") after initial settlement talks failed. According to published accounts a supervisor for NFC repeatedly demanded sexual favors from a female laborer, who worked alone in a henhouse, in order to keep her job. This type of behavior happens all too often in the workplace. Even though there are laws in place to stop this type of activity, management still allows this to continue.

Taking advantage of her isolated workplace, the supervisor would physically grab the barn worker and demand sex from her on a weekly basis for seven years. That is really a remarkable amount of time for this type of nasty activity to take place. To make matters worse, when her co-workers raised complaints about sexual harassment to company management, they were fired or forced out of their jobs. This is called retaliation. You may not take a negative job action against an employee for complaining about discrimination.

"For almost seven years, I tried to just survive these demands from my boss, because I needed to support my mother and my daughter," "I hope my case will help other workers to speak out against sexual harassment." said the worker.

So what happens if you are the victim of sexual harassment in Illinois as far as first steps? Well, sometimes it makes sense to first send out a demand letter and try to settle the case as quick as possible. There are a few good reasons for this. It allows you to get guaranteed money now instead of maybe money later. Second, it allows you to get some closure. And lastly, there won't be a record of you ever filing a discrimination complaint, which could cost you a job down the road.

A good and experienced employment lawyer can help you with this and help you negotiate a good settlement. It is my experience that most companies want to settle legitimate sexual harassment cases. If the demand letter is drafted properly and in an organized fashion stating facts, most companies can see the light and liability they have. It is very important to not go it alone because the company will have an attorney and legal advice.

A jury awarded $1.5 million to four employees who worked for New Breed Logistics. The lawsuit was based on sexual harassment and retaliation and was first filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's ("EEOC"). According to published accounts New Breed Logistics subjected three female employees to sexual harassment and retaliated against the three female employees and one male employee for opposing the sexual harassment.

The workers were subjected to unwelcome sexual touching and lewd, obscene and vulgar sexual remarks. Additionally a New Breed supervisor fired the three temp workers because they complained about the harassment. The supervisor also retaliated against a male employee by terminating him because he opposed the harassment and agreed to serve as a witness for several claimants during the company's investigation.

"When we are unable to do so, as we have demonstrated yet again, we will try the case to verdict to ensure that employers will be held accountable for discriminatory practices, including sexual harassment, and retaliation against individuals who oppose such misconduct. The EEOC has successfully tried eight cases during this fiscal year prevailing in all but one." said EEOC General Counsel David Lopez.

America's largest onion grower will pay $150,000 to a female worker to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit. River Points Farms agreed to the settlement prior to trial. The sexual harassment lawsuit was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). According to published accounts a seasonal farm worker for River Point Farms faced relentless verbal abuse from her male supervisor from 2005 to 2010. In is hard to believe that this activity took place over such a long period of time. In addition to unwanted sexual comments and requests for sexual favors, the supervisor constantly told the female employee that women are inferior to men and that she should submit to beatings by her husband.

In what is a remarkable series of events the supervisor publicly encouraged the woman's husband to kill her. What kind of nut case is this? After her spouse attempted to kill her in September 2010, the supervisor blamed her for causing her husband's arrest and fired her. Although River Point later allowed her to return to work, the company nonetheless laid her off much sooner than others and did not rehire her for several months while others were hired in her stead, a retaliatory act for her complaints about the supervisor's abusive and discriminatory treatment.

"My supervisor told me I was less than a man, that my husband should be allowed to beat me, and that I should put up with it because I am a woman," said the worker.

There are many confusing terms related to employment law. There is probably not a more confusing or misunderstood term than a hostile work environment. My Chicago office gets more calls about hostile work environments than any other type of discrimination, except sexual harassment. Why so many calls? Well it is a confusing issue. To give a very short and concise explanation, in order to be in a hostile work environment there must be some underlying form of discrimination. It is not enough that the boss just yells or throws things. If the boss is just a jerk, too bad, there is nothing you can do in Illinois. There is no general harassment law in Illinois. There is no bullying law in Illinois.

However, if the boss is making sexual comments to people and it creates an atmosphere that is not conducive to work, that could be an example of a hostile work environment. This will be a fact specific determination and an experienced and skilled employment lawyer who handles discrimination cases can explain this to you. It is very important that you don't wait too long to discuss what is happening to you. There are very short and strict time limits involved in filing a complaint. Don't be a victim--protect your employment rights.

The number of cases from students in colleges and universities in Chicago is increasing. There seems to be a large number of college professors who think the students are in their class to be preyed upon for sex. The professor has a great deal of power over the student. Even what seems like consensual relationships are not really consensual. It is sexual harassment under the law if this is occurring. As long as the student comes forward and says she felt pressure to have the relationship, it will be considered sexual harassment.

So what if anything can you do if this is happening to you? Contact a discrimination lawyer as soon as possible to protect your rights. Your college transcripts and college life can follow you throughout the rest of your life and can affect your earning potential. Additionally, if you have to drop out of college because of the shame, it can have a real negative impact on your life. Don't let college professors get away with treating you like this while you are enrolled and paying for an education.

So you are the victim of sexual orientation discrimination at work in Chicago and don't know what to do. Well after speaking with an attorney who has experience in discrimination and employment matters I suggest filing a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR"). The IDHR will as a matter of law investigate the claim and make a determination of substantial evidence or lack thereof. This is an important step but because of a change to the law a few years ago, it is not as important as it once was. At one time if you had a finding of lack of substantial evidence you case ended, that isn't the case now.

Now you can file directly in the local circuit court for either a jury trial or one in front of a judge after getting a lack of substantial evidence ruling. This gives a person more flexibility and gives the IDHR investigator less power. An experienced lawyer can give you the pros and cons on filing in the local circuit court. It is very important for you to save any evidence you may have. This will of course include text massages and emails. You should not wait too long to complain about the sexual orientation discrimination either. There are strict time limits in place for filing a complaint with the IDHR.

In Illinois if you are the victim of age discrimination, what should you do? You should seek out an experienced employment lawyer. The lawyer can discuss the various options with you and then file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR"). The IDHR will investigate the issues and make a determination if there is substantial evidence or not. In order to prove age discrimination you need to first be over 40 years of age. You then have to establish that but for your age, there would not have been a negative job action taken against you or that you would have received a promotion or job offer.

It is not enough that you just allege it, you must prove it. These types of cases are very difficult to prove and you must have a good strategy in place before you start. An experienced lawyer can give you the pros and cons. It is very important that you save any written evidence like emails and text messages. Many times these issues come down to documents in the control of the company and their full impact will not be known until discovery or the investigation takes place. It is very important that you take action right away and don't wait too long.

So you are the victim of sexual harassment in Illinois and don't know what to do next. Well if you decide to file a complaint you can file with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). If you file with the IDHR they will automatically cross-file with the EEOC. So why is it important to file with one agency or the other? The IDHR is basically the state system and allows you to file a lawsuit with the local circuit court. The EEOC on the other hand is the federal version and will allow you to file a lawsuit in federal court. Additionally, many times a person who is being sexually harassed is also the victim of retaliation. An experienced attorney can explain all of this with you.

It is important to discuss both options with an experienced employment attorney and weigh your options. There are pluses and minuses of each option. You and your attorney must decide first if your case can survive a motion for summary judgment or summary decision in both state and federal court. You also must decide what your damages are and if one venue is better for achieving your goals. The most important thing to do is something. Doing nothing will not solve the problem and if you wait too long, you will have missed the short statute of limitations time period. Take action and protect your legal rights.

There are many times my Chicago office gets calls from employees who are getting sexual comments from the boss. Sometimes the comments are made in private and sometimes the comments are in front of other employees. What is anything can you do to stop it? Under the law in Illinois those types of comments probably rise to the level of sexual harassment. You should seek out an employment lawyer and file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR"). The IDHR is mandated by law to complete an investigation within one-year. The investigation will be comprised of the investigator talking to witnesses, asking for documents and having a fact-finding conference.

You can also speak to human resources about what the boss is doing, however, you should remember that human resources has the companies best interest in mind not your best interests. There are strict time limits involved in filing a complaint with the IDHR and you should not hesitate to take action. Don't fall victim to sexual harassment in Illinois and make sure you protect your legal rights.