Illinois Sexual Harassment Attorney Blog

Jay Medicar Transportation, LLC pays $70,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed in federal court by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") on behalf of female employees who alleged they were sexually harassed by a senior manager. According to published accounts the Chicago based company had a former management employee who thought he could make women have sex with him in exchange for work related favors. This type of activity is called quid pro quo. It just means that the person is trying to get something for something. The senior manager was telling the women they could get pay raises, or scheduling changes if they had sex with him. He even went so far as to tell them they could be fired if they didn't have sex with him.

One of the discrimination victims alleged the company terminated her on pretextual grounds, rehired her, and then subjected her to adverse terms and conditions of employment as retaliation for her prior complaints of sexual harassment. This type of activity is known as retaliation and is a separate discrimination charge. This manager is no longer working for the company and hopefullly this type of activity won't take place in the future.

“This case alleged that Jay Medicar allowed a high-ranking manager to abuse his position of power by demanding sex in exchange for promotions, schedule changes, and job security,” said EEOC attorney John Hendrickson

So the initial complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") was successful and they found substantial evidence of your discrimination. You filed directly wit the Illinois Human Rights Commission ("IHRC") for trial--now what? Well now is the time you have to prove your case in front of the administrative law judge so you can get paid. The process may seem straight forward and one in which the average person can easily navigate but beware. There are many small things in your case that take an experienced and aggressive lawyer. Do you know all the nuances of the discovery process? Do you know the best question to ask in interrogatories or the best document requests to make? If you don't ask for the right information you may be missing a great opportunity to get good and useful evidence.

Experienced employment attorneys who handle these cases in front of the IHRC can make all the difference. In fact, it can mean the different in not getting any money or getting a nice settlement or award. The IHRC is not there to represent you so you must either represent yourself or hire an employment attorney. Your have been successful so far with your case, take the extra steps and make sure you get paid. Hire an experienced employment attorney once you get to the IHRC.

The numbers are in and the fact is the number of sexual orientation lawsuit being filed in Chicago is on the rise. There are a number of reasons this is taking place. First, people are feeling more comfortable about their identity and they are exerting their legal rights when they feel they are the victim of discrimination. Second, the number of people at work who are willing to come forward during investigations regarding sexual orientation seems to be increasing as well. When you combine both of these, the numbers support the increase.

The Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") is the venue I choose to file a sexual orientation claim because they are required by law to complete the investigation within one year. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") on the other hand has no such mandate and therefore the case could linger unresolved for years. Also when you file with the IDHR, the case is automatically filed with the EEOC so you get the best of both worlds.

There are many hidden facts when your case comes before the Illinois Human Rights Commission ("IHRC") and the untrained person can make big mistakes is they proceed on their own. For example did you know that it generally takes over two years from the date of your trial to actually get a ruling? That isn't two years from the date of filing but rather from the actual trial. That means from the time you first file your complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") you case may take four or five years to get to an actual decision. With those facts in mind you can see why it is so important to try and settle your case early.

An experienced employment lawyer can settle your case at the IDHR level and that is the best way to go if you desire money now rather than years from now. For example in most sexual harassment cases the company will want to settle quickly to avoid negative publicity and large legal fees in defending the claim. It is always wise to hire an experienced and aggressive employment lawyer. Most cases settle so why not settle early.

If you are the victim of discrimination in Illinois you can file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR"). The IDHR is mandated by law to complete its' investigation within 365 days of the filing date, unless both parties agree in writing to extend the time. This is a very steep order and it is only going to get worse because the IDHR is going to lay off a good number of investigators due to budget cuts. Generally speaking the IDHR does a great job and they often help case settle quickly. Hopefully these budget cuts won't last. However, the fact that they are laying workers off means you really need an experienced employment attorney to navigate these tricky waters.

My chicago office handles a great deal of discrimination cases with the IDHR especially regarding sexual harassment. There is a very intricate art to dealing with the IDHR especially now that they will be short handed. There is never a charge unless money is recovered so why go it alone? I will continue to keep readers up to date on what is going on with the IDHR and hopefully good news will soon follow.

In Illinois it is a violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act to discrimination against an employee based on their color, ancestry or national origin. Many times a person being discriminated against will not know which of the three apply. There are many nuances to how a claim should be drafted to include all three. The reason for the care in drafting is to include all three claims so that the employer can't escape liability.

It is too bad that companies still have employee that are the victims of discrimination but it will only stop when the companies spend more money on training and properly screen employees. In Illinois the number of discrimination cases seems to be rising and the employees are currently under siege. It is very important to speak with an employment attorney to protect your rights.

The city of Chicago is seeing an increase in the number of private employees who are filing sexual harassment complaints with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR"). The reason for the increase could be because of the lousy economy and because employers ,may feel as though they don't have to address the needs of workers. Additionally, employers are cutting back on training and education regarding discrimination in the workplace including sexual harassment.

There are many protections available for employees who believe they are the victims of sexual harassment or other forms of discrimination. Sexual harassment can be touching, comments and requests for sex. The biggest problem I see if for victims of sexual harassment being able to prove their case. Many times the person doing the harassment does it one on one and there are no witnesses.

American Laser Centers pays $125,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), on behalf of four female employees. Published accounts say that he landlord for American Laser Centers sexual harassed the female employees. The women, allege the sexual harassment included unwelcome touching, and sexual advances. Things got so bad one of the females actually had her brother come into work for protection.

The female employees complained to management but nothing was done to stop the harassment. In fact the female clinic manager was fired just a week and a half after reporting the misconduct. When this type of negative job action takes place it is called retaliation and it is illegal in Illinois. You can see how companies treat people who complain about sexual harassment. It is sad but look at how much money the company ended up paying.

EEOC attorney Melissa Barrios said “Workers absolutely have the legal right to report harassment or discrimination suffered at work without repercussion.”

A constructive discharge is treated in Illinois as a termination. Generally what happens is an employee is the victim of sexual harassment or another form of discrimination, complains to management about it and nothing is done. The situation at work gets so unbearable that any reasonable person would quit. The courts have held that a person does not have to continue working in a hostile work environment once management is aware of the situation and refused to remedy the situation. In Illinois I filed constructive discharge cases with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") and they are automatically cross-filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission("EEOC").

There are very strict time limits for filing such complaints and it is very important to not miss the filing deadline or else your case will be lost forever. Many times management will say they are investigating the complaint and they will drag their feet and waiting until the 180 days is past. By doing this, the company will have prevented you from filing with the IDHR because the statute of limitations will be in affect. It is very important to speak with an employment lawyer so you can learn your rights and not let the company push you around.

Chicago is seeing an increase in the number of sexual harassment cases being filed with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR"). My office in Chicago is mirroring this fact as well. There are many reasons for the increase in cases being filed. Many employers are feeling powerful because of the current job market. They believe they can get away with thing and conduct they normally wouldn't try to get away with. They also believe employee are too afraid of losing their jobs to complain if they are the victim of sexual harassment. They seem to be wrong on both counts. People are sticking up for their rights and they are not letting these companies push them around.

I believe that as long as people fight for their rights and don't let these companies push them around the workplace will become better for all employees. Every employee in Illinois has guaranteed rights which are not only granted by the Illinois Constitution but also by the Illinois Human Rights Act. Usually there are other forms of discrimination taking place along with the sexual harassment. The most common are retaliation and the creation of a hostile work environment.

Whow just when things looked like they couldn't get any worse for employees, the big bad companies and corporations are stepping up their discrimination and creating even more hostile work environments. Now in Illinois there is no such thing as general discrimination or bullying. But if the hostile work environment is created because of sexual harassment, sexual orientation discrimination or other forms of discrimination you will have a case. Even though the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") is laying off workers, a case can still be filed with them for discrimination.

It is very important to conduct an employment attorney early in the process to protect your rights. In illinois you only have 180 days from the date of the last harassment to file with the IDHR. The big companies have plenty of people working for them and making sure they don't have to pay money to you if you have been wronged. Make sure you don't let them drag out an internal investigation past the 180 days. The big companies are very sneaky and you must be vigilant in protecting your rights.

My Chicago offices gets many calls for various types of sexual harassment. Sometimes the harassment occurs at work, sometimes over the phone at home. But in what seems like a trend there are more cases of sexual harassment taking place over drink in what is pretended to be a work type meeting--in a restaurant or bar serving liquor. I know this may seem odd that the boss needs to discuss business with an employee in a bar but it happens more than you think. There are probably several reasons for this. First, the boss may believe in a bar he can get your liquored up and make you do something you would otherwise not do. Second, if you meet him for drinks, he may think he has an alibi if you were to claim sexual harassment--calling is consensual. And lastly he may believe in a bar type setting there won't be any witnesses and therefore his conduct will be unprovable.

What the boss may not realize is that just because you agree to have a drink with him, it doesn't make it consensual. The boss has a great deal of control over you and asking you to have a drink and talk about business puts you in a very tough spot. This is especially true if you are on a business trip and staying in the same hotel. It makes it easy for the boss to say meet me in the hotel bar and we can talk about the meeting tomorrow. Remember that you have rights and don't feel that the boss can do what he wants and you have no recourse. I have filed many cases with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") on similar circumstances and have been very successful. Protect yourself and make sure you understand your employment rights in Illinois.

In Illinois it is against the law to discrimination against a person because of their military status. This means that if you are in the national guard or military reserve an employer can't refuse to hire you or otherwise engage in discrimination. A person that believes he is being discriminated against in Chicago or other parts of Illinois can file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR"). You are probably wondering why a company would not want to hire a person in the military? Some employers are very money oriented and see a person who is serving his country as an employee that will be gone often and the company may have to fill the position while the person is gone--and they just don't want the hassle.

I know this is a sad reason but it happens. Can you imagine not hiring a person who is fighting and ready to die for his country? Corporations in this country are getting more crazy and hostile. It is very important that you realize you have rights and these big corporations can't get away with this behavior. If people want to play hard ball, lets get a bigger bat and play hard ball right back.

What happens if you are the victim of sexual harassment at work, but the sexual harassment consists of comments only? Do you have a legitimate sexual harassment case? The short answer is yes you do. One issue you may have is proving the comments were said to you. Of course you can testify that you heard the comments and you can expect the person saying them to deny it. There may also be circumstances where a third party overheard the comments--which would be very helpful. You may also send an email to the person making the comments asking him if you heard him correctly? If he responds, you have printed evidence, if he doesn't respond, it also looks odd that he would not deny saying the comments--so again you would have some printed evidence.

If other employees overhear the sexual harassing comments and are truthful with management or human resources about what was said and they are threatened with a negative job action, they will have a claim of retaliation. Many times, the people who are honest and truthful get fired or demoted and don't realize they have rights and protections under the law in Illinois. Don't be afraid to speak the truth and hold harassing people and the companies they work for accountable.

With the explosion of texting that is taking place throughout the country and by all age groups it is no surprise that text messages are playing an important role in sexual harassment cases. My Chicago office as well as my downstate office are seeing rising numbers of sexual harassment cases where text messages are the key piece of evidence. There are a few reasons why this is the case. First, the text messages will show the number called and the number that made the call. Because a phone is attributed to a person, this will be conclusive evidence of who sent the text message and what was said. Text messages also don't change their minds or get scared to cooperate with sexual harassment investigations. People on the other hand change their minds and refuse to cooperate sometimes.

Many times I can settle a sexual harassment or other form of discrimination case quickly at the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") by showing the other attorney a copy of the text messages along with a demand letter. By settling the case at the IDHR, it saves both parties time and money--and it allows the victim of discrimination to put the entire unpleasant matter behind her.

In Illinois if you are the victim of discrimination you can file a complaint directly with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR"). One of the great things about filing directly with the IDHR is a program they have on mediation. If both parties agree, the IDHR will assign the case to a mediator and try to get both parties together to settle the case. Many of you will wonder why should you let the case go to mediation. The fact of the matter is most cases settle at some point prior to a trial. Given that fact, why wait to settle when you can settle early. There are many risks with delay. For example the company could file for bankruptcy, you could move across the country or you could even die. Remember, a case will take four or five years before you receive any money if it isn't settled prior to trial.

My Chicago office handles a large number of sexual harassment cases and many times the company doesn't want the details coming out. You can imagine some of the steamy details that may emerge in such cases. Additionally, the company will have to spend money on a lawyer defending the case. So there are reasons why both sides will want an early resolution of the case. It helps to have an experienced employment attorney who practices before the IDHR and has many cases at that venue. Remember there are very strict time limits for filing your initial complaint with the IDHR so consult an attorney as soon as possible to protect your employment and civil rights.

In Chicago the number of hostile work environment complaints seems to be on the rise. The reason for the hostile work environments seems unclear but one reason may be the current state of the economy. There is no general hostile work environment in Illinois so the hostile environment must be based on a form of discrimination. The Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") investigates violations of the Illinois Human Rights Act which covers over 15 categories of discrimination. The most common form in Illinois seems to be sexual harassment and racial discrimination.

There must be a good understanding of your rights as an employee in Chicago. The rights you have cannot be taken away by the company and unless you understand the rights and take affirmative steps to protect them, they will be lost. There are strict time limits for filing a complaint with the IDHR so it is important to speak with an employment lawyer who is skilled in this field.

There is a dirty little secret regarding sexual harassment investigations within corporations. Let's take the following example to illustrate what I mean. Suzy the secretary gets sexually harassed by Bob the boss. The sexual harassment includes comments about how sexy she looks, and about her body. It is obvious the boss wants to have sex with her. Suzy reports this conduct to human resources under the corporations sexual harassment policy. Now here is what Suzy doesn't know but should. In Illinois she has 180 days from the date of the last sexual harassing incident to file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") or 300 days with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). Those are strict time limits also known as statutes of limitations. Miss those deadlines by even one day and Suzy's case is lost. No matter how much of a hostile work environment was created she will be unable to pursue her case once the 300 days has past.

You ask why that is important? The answer is simple, many times corporate human resource departments know about the strict time limits and use them to their advantage by dragging out investigations. The human resource department will say they have to interview witnesses, gather documents, meet with various people. They may claim people are out of the office or on vacation. All the while the clock is ticking. They may make an initial report and ask Suzy to comment on it or submit other information and before you know it the 300 days has past and Suzy is out of luck. This is why it is very important to get an employment lawyer involved early in the process. The preferred method for Suzy would be to file a complaint with the IDHR--and they will cross-file with the EEOC. The corporation can still conduct their investigation during this time, but Suzy will have protection and leverage.

This question comes up quite often in my Chicago office. I am going to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit and the client wants to know if the settlement is tax free? The short answer to that question is no. Unlike a personal injury, workers compensation or wrongful death case, an employment law case is generally subject to tax liability. The reasoning is as follows. In a personal injury case, the person is being compensated for a physical injury and the money is to make them physically whole. So if you lost your thumb, the money you get is to make up for the lost thumb because you will go the rest of your life without the thumb.

In a sexual harassment lawsuit or other case involving employment discrimination, the money is usually for lost wages and benefits. The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") has published literature available regarding the taxation of employment related cases. I always tell clients to seek the advice of a C.P.A or other financial professional regarding your tax issues. There is a caveat to the taxation of employment settlements and that is if a portion is attributed to medical bills or a physical injury that is the result of the sexual harassment.

Many corporations today employ an Internet search of prospective job applications as part of the employment process. Typically someone from human resources will do a Google search for the prospective employees name and see what is "out there" regarding the prospective employee. I believe this is a very dangerous and unwise practice and opens the corporation up to discrimination claims that would otherwise not exist. Lets take the following example. A gay man applies for a job and obviously his sexual orientation is not known at the time of his employment application. The corporation then conducts an Internet search and finds his Facebook page. Upon reviewing the Facebook page, the human resources representative sees picture of the applicant with his gay male boyfriend. Lets further say that the gay man doesn't get the job he applied for. What's the big deal you say? Well employment law may end up making the corporation wish it didn't engage in this practice.

Well, the gay man may now file a sexual orientation discrimination lawsuit based on not being hired because he is gay. If the corporation never did the Internet search this claim would not exist because the corporation could say we had no idea the man was gay. However, once they "snoop" on the Internet and find out he is gay, the corporation is now in a position where they knew the man was gay when they made their employment decision. This allows the gay man to file a discrimination charge based on sexual orientation with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR"). So I believe it is a bad idea for corporations to conduct background type checks on the Internet for prospective employees.

The U.S Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Belinda Egan vs. Freedom Bank et al., is allowing the retaliation lawsuit to go forward. In a mixed ruling for Egan she lost on two other counts but at least won on the retaliation clam. According to published accounts Ms. Egan was recruited to become Vice-President of retail banking at Freedom Bank in July 2007. In September of that year, after a bank director made an unwelcome sexual advance, she complained to the bank's vp of human resources about the sexual harassment. In what shows that she was telling the truth the company investigated and the director resigned.

Meanwhile, Egan was terminated under the guise of an elimination of her person. The negative job action came after a short period of time of complaining of sexual harassment thereby raising the inference of retaliation. Egan filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She also added two additional counts to the lawsuit, one for a hostile work environment and one for gender discrimination. The lower federal court granted the bank summary judgment dismissing the charges and the case went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

The Court said "that the company hired four other persons in the first few months of Barajas's tenure. And Egan had no performance issues.”

My Chicago offices gets many calls from people inquiring into whether they can file a discrimination complaint based on what they perceive as a hostile work environment. The facts are usually the same. The boss is always yelling and screaming at everyone including the person who contacted my office. The yelling may include profanity and humiliating words. Although this behavior should not take place in the workplace it does. The question is does this conduct rise to the level of discrimination in Illinois? The short answer is no. In the past year the Illinois legislature defeated a bill that would have created a general harassment or bullying law. Under that law this type of activity would have resulted in a discrimination complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (“IDHR”). But as I said that proposed law was defeated.

Now I said the short answer to the question was no but that can turn into a yes under certain circumstances. For example if the boss yells and screams at you and no other workers, perhaps you are being singled out because of your gender, race, national origin etc. Or if the boss only yells at females there could be a gender discrimination case. The point being there may be other facts that could turn general yelling and screaming into a valid discrimination case. Remember that in Illinois there is no general harassment law and therefore more directed type discrimination must take place before you can file a complaint with the IDHR.

Roberts Truck Centers settles a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit for $300,000 after the case was filed by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") on behalf of a class of female workers. According to published accounts Larry Leyva, subjected Katherine Abernathy and three other women to sexual harassment. When sexual harassment is against so many different women there has to be a real lack of management in this orgainization. How can all of this take place and nobody is noticing what is going on? I guess the organization just kept on trucking.

To make matters worse, Abernathy suffered retaliation for complaining about the sexual harassment and was fired after asking that the sexual harassment stop. When an employee complains about discrimination and is then fired, it is called retaliation. This company seems like it doesn't have a clue when it comes to the rights of workers. The EEOC was vigilant and made sure the company had to compensate the workers that were subjected to the sexual harassment.

“Employers must constantly remind their managers of their obligation to maintain workplaces where employees are not subjected to illegal harassment or retaliation.” said EEOC Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill.

Former City Hall secretary Fulya Metin Capanelli will get $250,000 to settle her sexual harassment lawsuit with the city of Methuen. According to published accounts Capanelli was sexually harassed by Maurice Lariviere, the former city solicitor and Capanelli's boss. When the sexual harassment started Capanelli complained to police and detectives captured Lariviere on videotape kissing and making advances toward Capanelli in his City Hall office. In what is a common ploy once there is damning evidence of sexual harassment Lariviere said his relationship with Capanelli was consensual.

One issue with settling sexual harassment cases is the cost to the other side to defend the case. In this case the city spent $364,461 in legal fees. As you can see, it would have been much smarter to settle the case early and save all of the money in legal fees. It is always in the best interest of a company to settle a case quickly and quietly. In this case all of the drama with investigators and publicity may have created a hostile work environment for other employees.

Many times in the workplace an employee will go to human resources and file a sexual harassment complaint. As part of the investigation, human resources will contact other employees and try to determine what is going on. But often human resources has an agenda. They don't want to find out what is really going on, they want to make the whole thing go away. Employees who cooperate with the investigation may be subjected to a hostile work environment by telling the truth. This happens when the employee suddenly finds herself being targeted by the company.

Any employee who cooperates in a truthful manner with management during an investigation is protected from retaliation or any negative job action. It is very important for employees to understand their rights in this regard. Remember the company is always looking out for itself, they aren't necessarily looking out for your best interests.

The explosion in the use of text messages has been good for plaintiff's in sexual harassment lawsuits for a number of reasons. First, the text message will show the numbers sent from and sent to. For the most part this leaves it clear that the message was sent by a certain person's phone. And it is an uphill battle to claim your phone sent the message but you did not. Second, the words written will speak for themselves. For example, it will be hard for a supervisor to explain why he was texting you dirty messages at eleven o'clock at night. I find text messages make it easy to settle sexual harassment lawsuits because the other side can see the evidence and they realize they are in a bad position.

It is very important that you save the text messages on your phone or print them out. Don't think that you can delete them and then have the cellular telephone company retrieve them. They can't and won't. All they can do is show a text was sent at a certain time and to what number the text message was sent or received. If you do happen to delete the text message you can still retrieve them with the proper software. My Chicago office handles these types of cases often. It is very important to seek an experienced employment lawyer early in the process to help you with your sexual harassment case. Many times an employee is the victim of retaliation when she reports sexual harassment to management. Remember, the company has people looking out for their best interest--do you?