Illinois — Workplace Discrimination

The Illinois Human Rights Act (775 ILCS 5/) prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age (40 and over), sex, marital status, order of protection status, disability, military status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, and unfavorable discharge from military service. The Act also prohibits discrimination based on arrest record and conviction record in employment. Illinois added family responsibilities as a protected class effective January 1, 2025. The Act applies to employers with one or more employees in Illinois during 20 or more calendar weeks within the calendar year of or preceding the alleged violation. For claims involving sexual harassment, pregnancy, retaliation, or physical or mental disability discrimination, coverage applies to any employer with at least one employee, without the 20-week requirement. State government agencies and public contractors are covered regardless of employee count.

Source: 775 ILCS 5/1-103(Q); IDHR Employment

An individual alleging employment discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights Act must file a charge with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) within two years of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Public Act 103-0973, effective January 1, 2025, extended the prior 300-day filing period to two years for employment, financial credit, and public accommodations cases. Housing discrimination charges remain subject to a one-year deadline. For acts occurring before January 1, 2025, the prior 300-day deadline may apply.

Source: IDHR Charge Filing; Public Act 103-0973

The Illinois Human Rights Act authorizes a range of remedies when the Illinois Human Rights Commission or a circuit court finds an employment civil-rights violation. The remedies available depend on whether the case is resolved through the administrative process before the Commission or through a civil action in circuit court.

## Administrative proceedings before the Commission

Under 775 ILCS 5/8A-104, when a hearing officer finds a civil rights violation, the officer may recommend—and the Commission or any three-member panel may order—the following relief:

• (A) Cease and desist. An order directing the respondent to stop the unlawful practice.
• (B) Actual damages. Payment of actual damages, as reasonably determined by the Commission, for injury or loss suffered by the complainant.
• (C) Hiring, reinstatement, promotion, backpay, and fringe benefits. Orders requiring the respondent to hire, reinstate, or promote the complainant and to provide backpay and benefits.
• (J) Make the complainant whole. Any action necessary to make the complainant whole, including awards of interest on actual damages and backpay from the date of the civil rights violation. For charges in which the complaint was filed with the Commission on or after December 1, 1987, the Commission may award prejudgment interest; for complaints filed before that date, make-whole relief is awarded under the statute as it existed prior to the 1987 amendments.
• (K)(2) Attorney's fees and costs. Reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the prevailing complainant.

Punitive damages are not available through the administrative process before the Commission. Section 8A-104 does not authorize punitive-damage awards in Commission proceedings.

Illinois courts have interpreted "actual damages" under subsection (B) to include compensation for emotional harm and mental suffering, without requiring a contemporaneous physical injury. In ISS Int'l Serv. Sys. v. Human Rights Comm'n, 272 Ill. App. 3d 969, 979 (1st Dist. 1995), the First District confirmed that actual damages under the IHRA encompass emotional distress—a broader rule than the impact requirement for negligent-infliction-of-emotional-distress tort claims.

## Civil actions in circuit court

Complainants may elect to file a civil action in circuit court under 775 ILCS 5/7A-102 after receiving certain notices from the Department of Human Rights, or may proceed to circuit court via other statutory paths. When a civil action is commenced in circuit court, the remedies expand:

• Actual and punitive damages. Under 775 ILCS 5/10-104(B)(1), if the court finds that a civil rights violation has occurred, the court may award actual damages and punitive damages to the plaintiff. This applies to actions brought by the Illinois Attorney General under Section 10-104; for actions by individual complainants under 7A-102, the court or jury may award "any of the remedies set forth in Section 8A-104" (775 ILCS 5/8-111(A)(4)), which includes actual damages, backpay, reinstatement, and make-whole relief, but does not expressly enumerate punitive damages in that cross-reference.
• Injunctive relief. The court may grant permanent or preliminary injunctions, temporary restraining orders, or other orders, including affirmative action as may be appropriate (775 ILCS 5/10-104(B)(1)).
• Attorney's fees and costs. Under 775 ILCS 5/10-104(B)(2), the court may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the prevailing party (other than the State of Illinois) in its discretion. The State is liable for such fees and costs to the same extent as a private person.

The IHRA does not impose statutory caps on compensatory or punitive damages in employment cases.

Source: 775 ILCS 5/8A-104 Source: 775 ILCS 5/8-111 Source: 775 ILCS 5/10-104