ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND ILLINOIS LAWS
- What is the Illinois Department of Human Rights?
- Besides enforcing the Act, what other services does IDHR provide?
- What areas are covered by the Act?
- What is prohibited discrimination in employment?
- What is prohibited discrimination in Real Estate Transactions (Housing)?
- What is prohibited discrimination in Financial Credit activities?
- What is prohibited discrimination in places of Public Accommodations?
- What is Sexual Harassment in Education?
- How would I know if I have a case of sexual harassment?
- Is an individual protected from racial harassment under the Act?
- How do I know if a problem at work is based on unlawful discrimination?
- If a person’s request for a reasonable accommodation is denied, can it be discrimination?
What is the Illinois Department of Human Rights (“IDHR”)?
IDHR is the agency responsible for enforcing the Illinois Human Rights Act (“Act”), the state’s anti-discrimination law. The Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual harassment), national origin, ancestry, age (40 and over), order of protection status, marital status, sexual orientation (including gender-related identity), physical or mental disability, and military status or unfavorable discharge from military service. The Act also prohibits sexual harassment in education, discrimination because of citizenship status and arrest record in employment, and discrimination based on familial status in real estate transactions. These traits or characteristics are called “protected classes.” IDHR’s mission is to secure for all individuals within the State of Illinois freedom from unlawful discrimination and to establish and to promote equal opportunity and affirmative action as the policy of Illinois and its residents.
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Besides enforcing the Act, what other services does IDHR provide?
IDHR provides a number of services and programs in partnership with business, state and local government agencies, community-based organizations, and individuals, such as: training, public contract assistance, education/outreach, hate crimes prevention, technical assistance, and monitoring implementation of equal employment opportunities and affirmative action in state agencies.
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What areas are covered by the Act?
The Act prohibits discrimination in connection with employment, real estate (housing) transactions, access to financial credit, and public accommodations. It also prohibits sexual harassment in employment, sexual harassment of students in educational institutions and retaliation.
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What is prohibited discrimination in employment?
The Act protects employees from discrimination in all terms and conditions of employment, such as: hiring, firing, layoff, harassment, selection, promotion, demotion, performance evaluation, transfer, pay, tenure, discipline (suspension, written or verbal reprimand, etc.), terms and conditions of employment (working hours, vacation, and sick leave, etc.), seniority, and union representation. For more information, see Filing a Charge of Discrimination.
Note that some employment issues are not covered by IDHR. For instance, disputes about overtime pay or collecting unpaid wages, if not related to discrimination, fall under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of Labor.
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What is prohibited discrimination in Real Estate Transactions (Housing)?
The Act prohibits discrimination in the sales or rental of residential or commercial property. A few examples of housing discrimination are: misrepresenting that property is not available for rental or sale; steering to rent or purchase a housing unit in locations other than the customer’s preferred area; altering the terms, conditions or privileges of the transaction; refusing to receive or transmit a bona fide offer to rent or purchase; and refusing to negotiate. (For more information, see the Fair Housing Rights section of this FAQ and the Human Rights Act, Article).
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What is prohibited discrimination in Financial Credit activities?
The Act prohibits financial institutions doing business in Illinois from discriminating in the granting of mortgages, commercial or personal loans, and credit cards.
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What is prohibited discrimination in places of Public Accommodation?
The Act prohibits discrimination in the full and equal enjoyment of facilities and services by any place of public accommodation, such as a business, recreation, lodging, entertainment, or transportation facility that is open to the public. The public accommodations provision of the Act also covers government facilities that are open to the public. All Illinois residents have rights to equal access to the services provided by public officials (city services, police and fire department services, etc.).
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What is Sexual Harassment in Education?
The law prohibits unwelcome advances of a sexual nature or requests for sexual favors of students by an executive, faculty member, administrative staff member, or teaching assistant in an educational institution when such behavior interferes with the student’s performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.
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How would I know if I have a case of sexual harassment?
The Act defines sexual harassment in employment as any unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or any conduct of a sexual nature when:
- Submission to such conduct is either overtly expressed or subtly suggested;
- Submission or rejection of the conduct is used as a basis for employment decisions; or
- Such conduct interferes with the employee’s job performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. (For more information, see the IDHR publication on sexual harassment).
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Is an individual protected from racial harassment under the Act?
Yes, IDHR treats racial harassment as discrimination based on race. If a person is subjected to name-calling or negative comments based on a protected class, this may be unlawful discrimination.
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How do I know if a problem at work is based on unlawful discrimination?
One way to determine if unlawful discrimination occurred is to compare how people in different protected classed were treated. For example, if a person is fired for an incident but other people who did the same thing or something similar were only given a warning, it may be due to unlawful discrimination if those persons are in a different class. In a failure-to-hire situation, the person who is not hired may file a charge if (s)he believes that (s)he was rejected from employment because (s)he was a member of a protected class.
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If a person’s request for a reasonable accommodation is denied, can it be discrimination?
Another type of discrimination involves a failure to provide a reasonable accommodation where the employer or other respondent has a duty to provide it. For example, if a person has a vision impairment that qualifies as a disability, a reasonable accommodation might be to provide company notices in large print if that will enable the employee to read the materials. A reasonable accommodation may also be required by a person’s religion. An example of reasonable accommodation of a person’s religious practice may be more frequent breaks for someone who is required to pray at specified intervals throughout the day. In a housing case, a reasonable accommodation might entail a request for a designated parking spot close to the door of the unit to accommodate a disabled person using a walker.
Persons who believe they may have been discriminated against can telephone IDHR or come into IDHR’s offices to speak to an Intake representative about filing a charge. (See the next section of this FAQ, Get Help from IDHR.)
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What is sexual orientation discrimination?
Effective January 1, 2006, sexual orientation is a protected class like the other protected classes listed in the Act. Under the Act, sexual orientation is defined as “actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or gender-related identity, whether or not traditionally associated with the person’s designated sex at birth. ‘Sexual orientation’ does not include physical or sexual attraction to a minor by an adult.”
Persons who believe they may have been discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation may file a charge with IDHR. It may also be possible to file a charge with the municipality where the discrimination occurred, if the municipality has an ordinance prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination.
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