How to File an Employee Discrimination Claim
April 5, 2018
The practice of employment discrimination involves the practice of treating an individual or a group of people in a different way from other employees. According to the employment law, the discrimination could be based on an employee’s affiliation within a category protected by law, as gender, age, religious affiliation, and race. If you face any type of discrimination from anyone at the workplace, then it’s best to consult an employment discrimination lawyer to protect your rights.
Sex-Based Employment Discrimination
Every state has its own employment discrimination laws, the Illinois Human Rights Act forbids all employers to discriminate in terms of gender including pregnancy, childbirth, paid leaves, and gender-related medical conditions.
Just like other states in the US, Illinois has strict sex-based discrimination laws to protect employees from unfavorable workplace harassment. Consultation with a sex discrimination lawyer will highlight that discrimination against any person or harassment of an individual based on their sexual orientation, transgender status and gender identity is unlawful.
The discrimination covers all the employment decisions including hiring, termination, remuneration, job assignment, job titles, training, benefits and alterations in terms and condition of employment.
Age-Based Employment Discrimination
If you feel that you have been unlawfully terminated based on your age, consult with an experienced Age Discrimination lawyer to learn about your options. Our attorney can help determine if the candidates’ age was a factor in deciding to hire, terminate, promote, assign benefits, and arrange training and job assignment.
By law, it is unlawful to include a preferred age for a job, employers must forbid from favoring a particular age group while hiring. Companies are allowed to limit the age only in rare circumstances where the inclusion of age is a “bona fide occupational qualification” (BFOQ).
In the state of Illinois, a “private right of action” does not exist by law. Hence, any employment discrimination case will be claimed under the Illinois Human Rights Act that indicates individuals won’t be able to file a discrimination lawsuit in a court under Illinois law.
Similarly, the anti-discrimination statue of Illinois covers that small company employers are not covered by the federal law for retaliation, sexual harassment and age discrimination. Any such case will be filed with IDHR.
Instead, the case will be forwarded to the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the agency will pursue the discrimination claim under the Human Rights Acts when substantial evidence is available.