Author: msaawe

If you are being discriminated based on your age and/or gender, your first move should be to inform the management of your organization about it and try to resolve the matter internally. Most companies have a systematic procedure described in their employee handbook for filing such complaints. However, if you think that the company’s response was not satisfactory or the management ignored your complaint, you should turn to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for help.

The EEOC has a very well-defined system for handling complaints regarding discrimination at workplace than other government agencies. However, it has strict guidelines for filing complaints, as well as time limits that span from a few to months to a year. The EEOC offices are spread across the country, and if you want to search for the nearest office to you, visit the agency’s official website.

You can file the charge against age and sex discrimination with the EEOC in the following way:

Filing in Person

When you file a charge, an EEOC investigator or lawyer interviews you and evaluate whether your complaint is valid. Each field office has slightly different procedures for walk-ins or appointments. You are required to bring documents or any other source of information that may help the investigator to understand your case. You can give names and contact information of people who can support your complaint.

The EEOC allows people to bring anyone, who may be able to assist you in anyway, to the meeting. You may also bring your attorney to talk with the investigator and explain the case.

Via Mail

You can send a letter to the EEOC office to file a charge, which must include the following information:

• Your complete contact information including your name, telephone number, and address

• The name, telephone number, and address of the employer

• A brief description of discriminatory act

• The number of employees currently working at the organization (if known)

• The details of why you think you were discriminated like age, sex, national origin, etc.

• When the discriminatory events happened

• Your signature

It is very important that you sign the letter, or otherwise your application will not be entertained.

Online Assessment System

While the EEOC doesn’t accept charge applications online, they do have an online assessment tool. The tool is designed to help individuals determine whether the agency is the right option for resolving their case. You will have to complete an Intake Questionnaire and either mail or bring it to the nearest EEOC field office to start the filing process.

By Telephone

The EEOC doesn’t file charges over the phone, but it can help you start the process. You can submit basic information about your discrimination charge, which will be forwarded to an investigator in the EEOC field office closest to your location. The office will contact you to discuss the situation and possible outcomes after evaluating your case.

It is essential to have an employment discrimination attorney by your side to assist in filing a complaint with the EEOC and make sure that the agency accepts your case. Talk to an experienced Roselle employment discrimination attorney to discuss your case today and evaluate your legal options. Contact the Law Office of Michael T. Smith today for a consultation.

Discrimination is not limited to a particular gender or people of a specific age bracket – it comes in all shapes and sizes. Here are some commonly asked questions clients ask about age and sex discrimination before moving on to file a case against their employer:

FAQs on Sex Discrimination

Q: Will I be punished for reporting sex discrimination against my employer?

A: No. If your employer punishes, harasses, or treats you differently for reporting their discriminatory behavior or actions to the EEOC or an authority in your workplace, it will be illegal. You will be safe in case the misconduct you reported isn’t found to be discrimination at the end.

Q: What comes under sexual harassment?

A: Typically, sexual harassment refers to any misconduct of a sexual nature by a harasser in the workplace. It includes sexual jokes, comments, or favors, pressure for going on dates, unwanted touching, sexual graffiti, gestures, pictures, or cartoons. It may also include comments based on gender, such as something being only a men’s or women’s work. A harasser can be your co-worker, supervisor, or a client/customer.

Q: Are there any laws that protect men against sexual harassment and discrimination?

A: Yes. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 protects both men and women against unethical behavior in the workplace on the basis of gender.

Q: Is it legal for an employer to label certain types of tasks as female or male jobs?

A: No. An employer cannot label tasks to be handled by only men or women. For example, it will be unlawful for an employer of a company to consider only a male or a female for a receptionist job.

Age and sex discrimination are quite common in workplaces, and most people think that reporting such misconducts and unethical behavior can cost them their jobs. But, you shouldn’t be worried as you are protected by the law. Talk to an experienced Roselle employment discrimination attorney to discuss your case today and seek legal assistance. Contact the Law Office of Michael T. Smith today at (847) 450-1103 for a consultation.

Federal laws, including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibit organizations, governments, and private persons from discriminating against their employees throughout 50 states. However, some employees are not sure whether they have been discriminated or what actions they should take to cope with their situation.

Here are some of the frequently asked questions regarding employment discrimination that may be helpful to understanding your case.

1. What is a protected trait or class?

It refers to characteristics that keep an employer from firing, laying off, or not hiring you based on that particular trait or class. They include age, sex, religion, national origin, race, sexual orientation, pregnancy, and disability.

2. What are the elements for proving an employment discrimination case?

If you have been discriminated, you need to show that:

• You were qualified in all respects to perform the job

• You belong to a protected class

• Someone else was hired in your place who was outside the protected class

• Your employer terminated you for unlikely reasons, which were just a cover up for their real intention

You may have to seek legal help of a reliable employment discrimination attorney to prove your claim.

3. The employer terminated me for my religious beliefs. Does this count in employment discrimination?

Since religion is a protected trait, your employer, in most cases, cannot terminate you for your religious beliefs. However, there are a few exceptions. Courts opt for a two-step process for assessing a religious discrimination case, where an employee is first required to establish the foundation of their case and then the employer is given a chance to defend their decision.

4. Is it discrimination if my employer forces me to take vacations during a religious event?

As long as your employer treats others in the same manner, it doesn’t count as discrimination. However, it should be left on choice whether an employee wants to take the holiday, as forcing them would plainly be against their will.

5. If I file an age discrimination case, what type of damages can I expect to recover?

The type of damages varies from situation to situation, but most commonly, employees are awarded monetary compensation. You may also be placed in a different position, promoted, or reinstated. In some cases, compensation for punitive damages is also given to employees. However, they must produce solid evidence indicating the ill intent of the employer. For supporting this requirement, you must be able to show that the employer’s conduct was flagrant and outrageous.

6. My employer has a habit of yelling at me for no particular reason. Does this count in discrimination?

It will be discrimination only if the employer is yelling at you in particular because you belong to a protected class. However, if they are in general that way and yell at everyone, this conduct is not discriminatory because the law doesn’t require your employer to be nice.

If you have any other questions regarding employment discrimination, it is essential that you clear all your doubts before moving on to file a claim against your employer. You should talk to an experienced Roselle employment discrimination attorney to discuss your case and evaluate your legal options. Contact the Law Office of Michael T. Smith today for a consultation.

Young and elderly employees often experience age discrimination at workplace, creating difficulty for them to progress in their career and efficiently perform their job. There are several laws in place that prohibit employers from firing, promoting, hiring, or deciding the compensation of an employee based on their age. However, many employers commit age discrimination in a way that is quite difficult to determine whether their actions were based on a genuine reason or motivated by age discrimination.

Every state has enforced extensive complaint filing and fact finding procedures to allow employees evaluate when they have been discriminated based on their age. Let’s have a detailed look at how the ADEA protects employees from age discrimination and secure their rights.

Understanding the ADEA

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) was introduced in 1967 and protects job applicants and employees of 40 years of age and above from age discrimination across the spectrum of employment. This federal law applies to:

• Employment agencies

• Employers with at least 20 workers

• Labor organizations with 25 members or more

• Local and state government

• The federal government

However, it doesn’t apply to military personnel, independent contractors, or elected officials. Every state has a law for age discrimination in employment other than federal laws. These laws differ from state to state and may cover employers with fewer than 20 employees. Moreover, they may offer more robust protection for older employees than federal law.

The statute of limitations for filing complaints against employers also varies among states. In Illinois, you can file your discrimination claim with two agencies: the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is the federal administrative agency or the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR), which is the state administrative agency. The time limit for filing with the IDHR and EEOC is 180 days.

How the ADEA Safeguards Employees

It forbids employers from age discriminations in decisions regarding firing, hiring, pay, layoffs, demotions, promotions, benefits, performance reviews, appraisals, or any other aspect of employment.

Under the ADEA rules and regulations, employers cannot:

• Set or specify age limits for any training programs.

• Mention verbally or in writing that individuals of a certain age are preferred for a position in recruiting materials and job ads. It is plausible, but asking for date of birth on a job application is illegal.

• Ask you to retire after reaching a certain age.

• Retaliate if you file complaint for age discrimination or help government with investigative purposes.

In addition, the ADEA also interdicts practices and policies that may have a disparate impact on aged employees. While these policies may appear to be age-neutral, they are somewhat harsh on older employees.

If you think you are a victim of age discrimination, you should consider getting the legal counsel of an experienced employment discrimination attorney to effectively represent your case. Talk to an experienced Roselle employment discrimination attorney today to discuss your case and evaluate your legal options. Contact the Law Office of Michael T. Smith today for a consultation.

A recent decision by the Illinois Court of Appeals has clarified the rights of disabled employees, granting them the ability to pursue lawsuits in cases where they have been harassed and discriminated against because a disability.

The Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) prohibits discriminating against an employee on the basis of a disability, but the law does not specifically prohibit harassment because of a disability or command an employer to accommodate a disability.

But in an April 27, 2016 opinion, the Court of Appeals for the Second District held in Rozsavolgyi v. City of Aurora held that those protections can indeed be read into the IHRA.

Rozsavolgyi v. City of Aurora

In Rozsavolgyi, the plaintiff had worked for the city for 20 years. She was known to suffer from depression, anxiety and panic attacks, and also had difficulties with her hearing. The plaintiff complained to the both the union and the city she was harassed by coworkers because of these conditions, which also caused her further mental health problems.

In July 2014, the plaintiff was fired for calling some individuals “idiots,” though it’s unclear who those people were exactly. The city had also previously expressed concerns about her mental health problems and that she may become violent.

However, no violent activity on the part of the plaintiff was ever actually documented at work, and she sued the city under the IHRA for creating a hostile work environment, retaliatory discharge and failing to accommodate her disabilities.

From Sexual Harassment, Disability Harassment in Illinois

One of the more unique aspects about the Rozsavolgyi case is that the text of the law in Illinois is quite far from protecting disabled workers from harassment. Section 2-102(D) of the IHRA specifically states that “that an employer shall be held responsible for sexual harassment” if the employer is aware of it and fails to take action to address it. It does not mention anything about harassment of the disabled.

In a divided opinion, the court held that because the IHRA explicitly disallows sexual harassment, it is intended to also bar other types of harassment of protected classes, including the disabled. The court noted that employers have been put on notice for decades now that state law does not allow for any sort of harassment of protected classes. However, the lone dissenting judge pointed out that if the legislature had intended to outlaw harassment of the disabled, then it could have been explicitly included in the law.

Contact an Employment Discrimination Lawyer Today

Federal law has long protected the rights of disabled workers, but this latest case also makes it clear that state law guarantees workers an environment free of harassment. If you’ve been victimized by harassment in your workplace because of a disability, there’s no reason to put up with it for a moment longer. A dedicated Roselle employment discrimination attorney can help you pursue your case. Contact the Law Office of Michael T. Smith today to discuss your case.

When it comes to sex discrimination, it is well established law that harassment based on gender is illegal. But what about harassment based on a person’s age? While there is extensive law regarding sexual harassment, age harassment is a relatively new subject for the courts, as illustrated by a recent case from here in Illinois.

Cook County Sheriff’s Office v. Cook County Commission on Human Rights

This case involves a 54-year-old woman who worked in the information systems department of the Cook County Department of Corrections, which is part of the Cook County sheriff’s office. Over a period of several years, the woman claimed she was subject to sexual and age harassment by a coworker who later became her supervisor. With respect to the age harassment, she detailed a number of occasions where the supervisor made derogatory and vulgar jokes in front of coworkers based on her purportedly being “old.”

The woman eventually filed a complaint with the Cook County Human Rights Commission, which enforces the county’s Human Rights Ordinance. Similar to state and federal civil rights laws, the county ordinance bans all employees from engaging in sexual harassment or “unlawful discrimination” based on age. Following an investigation and formal hearing, the Commission ruled in favor of the woman and ordered the sheriff’s office to pay her $75,000 in damages related to emotional distress. The Commission further ordered the Department of Corrections to “adopt a policy making age harassment as defined under the Ordinance a violation of the DOC’s employment policies.”

The sheriff appealed the Commission’s order to an Illinois circuit court judge, who upheld the decision. The sheriff then appealed that decision to the Illinois First District Appellate Court. On May 20, a three-judge panel unanimously affirmed both the circuit court and Commission’s decision in favor of the employee. This decision applies to both the sexual harassment and age harassment suffered by the employee.

A key issue for the appellate court was determining whether the county ordinance’s blanket prohibition on “age discrimination” also covered age-based harassment. The sheriff argued the law should be read strictly to exclude harassment. The court disagreed with that interpretation. Noting there was no prior case law in Illinois addressing this subject, the appellate court here looked to a 1996 decision by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. In that case, the Sixth Circuit said that federal civil rights law-on which the Cook County ordinance here is modeled-clearly included “requiring people to work in a discriminatorily hostile or abusive environment” as a form of illegal employment discrimination. Applying that same principle here, the appellate court held, “Where an employee can prove that her age was used as a basis to create such a hostile work environment, she proves unlawful discrimination under the Ordinance.”

Get Help From an Illinois Employment Discrimination Lawyer

The First District’s decision is a landmark victory for workers who have been harassed or bullied by coworkers based on their age. If you have been a victim of age harassment, or any other type of hostile workplace conduct, you should speak with a qualified Roselle employment discrimination attorney who can help you fight for your rights. Contact the Law Office of Michael T. Smith if you would like to speak with a lawyer right away.

Retaliation is a form of discrimination that refers to a negative action by an employer against an employee for filing a complaint about an illegal conduct. This may include discrimination, failure to pay overtime, harassment, workplace safety violations, and others. A variety of state and federal statutes, along with Illinois common law, keeps an employee safe from retaliatory discharge when they engage in a certain conduct or deny being a part of any unlawful conduct.

State and Federal Laws for Retaliatory Discharge

The employment laws that protect workers from retaliation include:

• The Equal Pay Act

• The Fair Labor Standards Act

• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act

• The Family and Medical Leave Act

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

• The Americans with Disabilities Act

• The Occupational Safety and Health Act

These laws are applicable in the following situations:

1. Workplace Discrimination and Harassment

An employer may not fire a worker for exercising their rights under the above laws, or for participating in an authorized investigation for any issues in the workplace, or for making a complaint about discrimination or harassment to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or their own HR department.

2. Taking Leaves

An employer may not fire a worker for exercising their right to apply and take workers’ compensation leaves, take paid sick leaves, take time off to serve on a jury, take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, or take any other protected time off from work in a legal manner.

3. Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim

An employer may not penalize or fire a worker for filing a claim to get workers’ compensation benefits for a workplace injury.

4. Health and Safety Violations

An employer may not fire a worker for making a complaint for violations pertaining to workplace health and safety standards to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or to a concerned department within the company.

5. Wage and Working Hours

An employer may not fire a worker for making a complaint about failure to pay the minimum wage or overtime, illegally keep the rightful portion of commission, or deny legally required breaks to the Department of Labor or to a concerned department within the company.

Compensation for Retaliatory Discharge Claims

If you are successfully about to establish your claim for retaliation, you will be able to recover several damages, including:

• Back pay, such as wages and benefits for the period you were fired

• Out of pocket losses, such as the cost of searching for work

• Court costs and attorney’s fees

• Reinstatement or front pay

• Compensation for pain and suffering

It is essential for every employee to know about their rights and how they can protect themselves from adverse and unfair actions of employers. If you have faced retaliation, you should file a case against your employer and get back what’s rightfully yours. Talk to an experienced Roselle retaliatory discharge attorney to discuss your case and evaluate your legal options. Contact the Law Office of Michael T. Smith today for a consultation.

It’s hard to believe, but in 2016 there is no law at the federal level explicitly protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people from workplace discrimination. However, there is some indication that this may be beginning to change at the federal level, complementing an Illinois law that has protected employment rights of the LGBT community for the past decade.

New EEOC Cases Highlight LGBT Rights

With no federal protections in place for LGBT employees, the EEOC has been working with the laws already on the books to bring employment discrimination actions against employers who discriminate based on sexual orientation. In March 2016, the EEOC brought its first two actions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, alleging sexual discrimination based on sexual orientation.

While Title VII was implemented to protect employees from discrimination based on their sex, the EEOC’s new interpretation of the law is that it is a violation of Title VII’s protections to discriminate based on sexual orientation because it does not conform with an employer’s expectations of how members of a certain gender should act. In the two new EEOC cases, one brought by a gay man in Pennsylvania, and the other brought be a lesbian woman in Maryland, the plaintiffs allege they were forced from their jobs after numerous anti-gay comments were made by supervisors. Whether or not this theory put forth by the EEOC holds up as a proper use of Title VII will need to be determined by the courts.

LGBT Protections Under Illinois Law

While the EEOC works to determine whether sexual orientation is a protected class under Title VII, Illinois residents enjoy protection from LGBT discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights Act. This law explicitly bans employment discrimination within the state based on either sexual orientation or gender identity. The EEOC’s efforts to now enforce protections for LGBT people in the workplace may actually have an unforeseen yet positive effect on lawsuits brought under the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Under Illinois law, a state lawsuit alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation must be brought within 180 days of the adverse employment action. But the time to bring an employment discrimination action under state law also depends on the statute of limitations under federal law. With the EEOC now bringing actions alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation, this means that state claims now have 300 days to be filed, the same as under federal law. And bringing a Title VII action for sexual discrimination with the state action now also means that an employee can recover punitive damages, which can significantly increase the amount of any award recovered in the case.

Contact an Employment Discrimination Lawyer Today

No one should lose their job because of who they are. If you believe you’ve been discriminated at your job because of your sexual orientation or gender identity, then you should speak with an experienced Roselle employment discrimination attorney. Contact the Law Office of Michael T. Smith today for a consultation.

There has long been an idea under Illinois law that doing the right thing should be protected. If you notice your employer is doing something illegal and report it to law enforcement, you should be rewarded for this good deed, or at the very least protected from retaliation at your job. Illinois has long had what’s known as the Whistleblower Act on the books to protect employees from retaliatory discharge if they report wrongdoing on the part of their employer. But a recent decision by the Illinois Supreme Court has now made it harder to prove retaliatory discharge cases.

Michael v. Precision Alliance Group

The three plaintiffs in the 2014 case Michael v. Precision Alliance Group, LLCworked for a company that sold bags of soybeans. State law required this company to fill bags of soybeans with the weight printed on each bag, but the three men became aware that their employer was under-filling bags, and reported this information to a former employee who passed it along to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Weights and Measures. The involvement of the department caused soybean production at the plant to shut down for ten days.

The plaintiffs’ employer reportedly threatened to terminate anyone involved in reporting the company’s under-weighing of bags to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Weights and Measures. The first plaintiff was terminated shortly thereafter for improper use of a forklift, and the two other men lost their jobs due to downsizing at the plant. None of the men were explicitly fired for their whistleblowing, but of course they had their doubts and pursued a lawsuit for retaliatory discharge.

The Illinois Supreme Court Requires More Than a Causal Nexus for Retaliatory Discharge Cases

The plaintiffs lost their case at the trial level, but won before the court of appeals. However, when the case went before the Illinois Supreme Court, the original judgment in favor of the defendant employer was reinstated.

The Court’s decision instituted a federal rule in retaliatory discharge cases that had previously been rejected by Illinois courts. Under this standard, to prevail for retaliatory discharge, a plaintiff must show:

• Discharge by the employer;

• That the discharge was actually in retaliation for conduct of the employee; and

• That the discharge was in violation of public policy.

The problem with the Michael case is that while the Court found that there might have been a “causal nexus” between the discharge of the men and their whistleblowing conduct, without a smoking gun showing that their actions were the direct cause of the loss of their jobs, the Court refused to hold their former employer accountable.

Contact an Employment Discrimination Lawyer Today

No one should have to worry about losing their job for doing the right thing. If you’ve been fired because you reported an illegal activity by your employer to the authorities, you should speak with an experienced Roselle employment discrimination attorney. Contact the Law Office of Michael T. Smith today for a consultation.

Many employees think that they can sue a former employer for retaliatory discharge just because they were unfairly fired. Illinois law is not this clear cut, however. Just because an employer’s actions were unfair doesn’t mean they were necessarily illegal and you’re entitled to compensation.

In Illinois, retaliatory discharge is a common law tort, meaning that it is not codified in any statute. Illinois courts have repeatedly held that to prevail on a claim of retaliatory discharge, a plaintiff must prove three elements: 1. That he was discharged; 2. That the discharge was in retaliation for his activities; and 3. That the discharge violates a clear mandate of public policy.

The Many Definitions of Public Policy in Illinois Case Law

Usually the first element is not in dispute. Many employers do dispute whether a discharge was in fact in response to specific activities, but even more disputed than that is whether the discharge violated public policy.

In the 1978 case Kelsay v. Motorola, the first Illinois case to recognize retaliatory discharge, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, finding that despite Illinois’ status as an at-will state, the plaintiff’s former employer had violated public policy by firing him for filing a workers’ compensation claim. This was a fairly straightforward case, as few people could make the argument that an employee should be filed on these grounds alone. In 2016, such an argument would not go very far at all in Illinois courts.

In the following years, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in favor of former employees in cases where plaintiffs were fired for reporting suspected crimes or refusing to handle nuclear waste in violation of federal law.

However, Illinois courts have also narrowed what constitutes a violation of public policy in recent years. Following Kelsay, appellate courts have upheld discharges of employees who were dismissed for reporting that a coworker committed suicide because of work-related stress, or for complaining about non-compete clauses. In the case of non-compete clauses, the court of appeals found there was no violation of public policy because such contracts do not affect the welfare of all citizens.

And most recently in Lucas v. Cook County, the Court of Appeals for the First District in 2013 upheld the discharge of a physician who refused to treat male patients for STDs after spending her entire career only treating female patients. The doctor claimed she was simply not competent to treat male patients and was fired by the county. The court held that the doctor had not identified a clearly mandated public policy that amounted to a retaliatory discharge.

Contact an Employment Discrimination Lawyer Today

Retaliatory discharge cases can be tough to prove in Illinois because a plaintiff has to show that the discharge was against a public policy, and exactly what constitutes a valid public policy can vary widely between cases. But an experienced Roselle employment discrimination attorney can help you build your retaliatory discharge case. Contact the Law Office of Michael T. Smith today for a consultation.