Illinois Expands Civil Rights Protections to Employees
November 12, 2024
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By: Brian Smith Champaign, IL bsmith@heylroyster.com |
Recently, Governor Pritzker signed into law several bills that amend the Illinois Human Rights Act and extend civil rights protections to employees. These amendments extend the time for filing a charge of discrimination, add new protected classes, and address the growing use of artificial intelligence in the recruiting and hiring process.
New Protected Classes
Family Responsibilities. One amendment to the Human Rights Act makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate, harass, or retaliate against an individual on the basis of their “family responsibilities.” Family responsibilities means an employee’s actual or perceived provision of personal care to a family member. The meaning of “personal care,” is borrowed from the Employee Sick Leave Act, and means: “Activities to ensure that a covered family member’s basic medical, hygiene, nutritional, or safety needs are met, or to provide transportation to medical appointments, for a covered family member who is unable to meet those needs himself or herself.” 820 ILCS 191/5. Notably, nothing in the amendment obligates an employer to make accommodations or modifications to reasonable workplace rules or policies for an employee based on family responsibilities, so long as the employer’s rules or policies are applied in accordance with the Human Rights Act. 775 ILCS 5/2-104(E).
Reproductive Health Decisions. The Illinois Human Rights Act has also been amended to include “reproductive health decisions” as a protected class. Reproductive health decisions means, “A person's decisions regarding the person’s use of: contraception; fertility or sterilization care; assisted reproductive technologies; miscarriage management care; health care related to the continuation or termination of pregnancy, prenatal, intranatal, or postnatal care.” 775 ILCS 5/1-103(O-2). These new protected classes become effective January 1, 2025.
Use of Artificial Intelligence
Illinois recently passed legislation, effective January 1, 2026, that prohibits the use of artificial intelligence with respect to recruiting, hiring, promotion, and other employment decisions and conditions when the use of AI “has the effect of subjecting employees to discrimination on the basis of protected classes” or to use zip codes as a proxy for protected classes. 775 ILCS 5/2-102(L)(1). When artificial intelligence is used by an employer, notice must be provided to the employees. It is anticipated that rules and regulations will further define the use of AI technology in the employment context prior to this Act taking effect on January 1, 2026.
Extension of Deadline for Filing Charges of Discrimination with the Illinois Department of Human Rights
Finally, the Illinois Human Rights Act has been amended to extend the deadline for an individual to file a charge of discrimination. Currently, an individual must file within 300 calendar days after the date that a civil rights violation allegedly has been committed. The amendment extends this deadline to two years. However, charges filed under Title VII with the EEOC still must be filed within 300 calendar days after the date of the alleged civil rights violation.
The likely outcome of this new legislation, which becomes effective on January 1, 2025, is that we will see an increase in Illinois Human Rights Act filings in state court.
Conclusion
Employers should review their current policies and handbooks to ensure that they are updated with the new amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act. Further, supervisors and other employees should be trained on the new protected classes and protections afforded. Also, record retention policies should be reconsidered in light of the extension of the deadline for filing charges of discrimination. Artificial intelligence technology is rapidly changing and so too are the laws regulating it. For employers using or considering the use of artificial intelligence in making employment-related decisions, they should carefully review the amendments and upcoming regulations to ensure compliance with both state and federal law.
