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, reproductive health decision (effective January 1, 2025), family responsibilities (effective January 1, 2025), and unfavorable discharge from military service. The Act also prohibits discrimination based on arrest record and conviction record in employment.

Reproductive health decision is expressly listed as a new protected class effective January 1, 2025. "Reproductive health decision" is defined as a decision regarding the use of contraception, fertility or sterilization care, assisted reproductive technologies, miscarriage management care, healthcare related to the continuation or termination of pregnancy, or prenatal, intranatal, or postnatal care (775 ILCS 5/1-103(Q-2), as added by Public Act 103-0906). This protection is distinct from pregnancy, which has been a separate protected class under the IHRA since prior amendments.

Illinois also added family responsibilities as a protected class effective January 1, 2025 (775 ILCS 5/1-103(Q-1)), under Public Act 103-0797.

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, reproductive health decision, 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) Source: 775 ILCS 5/1-103(Q-2) Source: 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

Under the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA), the remedies available for employment discrimination depend on who brings the action and the forum.

Individual complainant actions in circuit court: When an individual files a civil action in Illinois circuit court under 775 ILCS 5/7A-102, the statute cross-references Section 8A-104 for available remedies. Section 8A-104 authorizes courts to award a range of relief, including cease and desist orders, actual damages (covering lost wages, benefits, and emotional harm), hiring/reinstatement or promotion, backpay, make-whole relief, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs. The statute does not expressly authorize punitive damages for individual complainants. The Illinois Supreme Court has held that the statutory cross-references for circuit court cases brought by individuals incorporate the remedial provisions of Section 8A-104, but not the broader, punitive remedies available to the Attorney General under Section 10-104. (See Board of Trustees of Community College District No. 508 v. Human Rights Comm'n, 159 Ill. 2d 206, 210-213 (1994)).

Attorney General actions: When the Illinois Attorney General brings a civil action under 775 ILCS 5/10-104, that section expressly authorizes the court to award both actual and punitive damages. Section 10-104(B)(1) permits punitive damages "in an action brought by the Attorney General pursuant to this Section."

Summary:

• Individual complainants who sue in circuit court under 7A-102 can recover all remedies listed in Section 8A-104 (actual damages, backpay, reinstatement, attorney's fees, injunctive relief), but not punitive damages.
• Punitive damages are limited to actions filed by the Illinois Attorney General under Section 10-104.
• Administrative actions before the Illinois Human Rights Commission do not permit punitive damages (see guidance in the existing "Remedies" section).

Source: 775 ILCS 5/7A-102 Source: 775 ILCS 5/8A-104 Source: 775 ILCS 5/10-104 Source: Board of Trustees of Community College District No. 508 v. Human Rights Comm'n, 159 Ill. 2d 206

Update June 2024: The prior statute links have been replaced with updated URLs from the Illinois General Assembly's current statutory hosting. No material amendment to the cited remedies or punitive damages provisions was detected in the enacted text as of June 2024.

Family responsibilities as a protected class (effective Jan. 1, 2025): Illinois amended its Human Rights Act (IHRA) to prohibit employment discrimination based on "family responsibilities," a term defined as an employee’s actual or perceived provision of ongoing care for a child, parent, spouse, in-law, grandparent, or grandchild (by blood, legal relationship, or adoption). This protection takes effect Jan. 1, 2025 (775 ILCS 5/1-103(Q-1); Public Act 103-0797).

No accommodation requirement: Unlike the IHRA’s accommodation obligations for pregnancy, disability (including temporary conditions), or religion, the statute contains an express carveout for family responsibilities. The new Section 2-104(E) provides: "Nothing contained in this Act may be construed to obligate an employer to make accommodations or modifications for an employee because of the employee’s family responsibilities…" (775 ILCS 5/2-104(E); see source note, P.A. 103-0797). That means employers are barred from firing or refusing to hire a qualified worker due to family care status, but are not required to provide a flexible schedule, part-time role, telework, or breaks for caretaking—not even as an “undue hardship” standard. This puts family responsibilities in a materially different legal posture from pregnancy (see 775 ILCS 5/2-102(J)), reasonable accommodations for disability (775 ILCS 5/2-102(A)), or religious practice (775 ILCS 5/2-102(E)).

For anti-discrimination coverage of family responsibilities, see the current protected classes guide section. For true accommodation duties, refer to the IHRA's separate sections on pregnancy and disability accommodations.

Source: 775 ILCS 5/2-104(E) Source: Public Act 103-0797 (Printer-Friendly Text)

Public Act 103-0973 extends the charge-filing deadline for employment discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) from 300 days to two years, effective January 1, 2025 (775 ILCS 5/7A-102). However, the statute does not expressly address how the new two-year deadline applies to alleged continuing violations that span both before and after this date.

What is clear:

• Acts that occur entirely before January 1, 2025 remain subject to the prior 300-day deadline. The IHRA does not retroactively reopen cases that were already time-barred under the old rule.
• For discrete acts of discrimination that occur on or after January 1, 2025, the new two-year deadline applies.

Ongoing or continuing violations:

• The Illinois Human Rights Commission (IHRC) recognizes the continuing violation doctrine: where acts are “sufficiently closely related,” a claimant may treat them as a single violation extending from the first related act to the last. (IHRC Decision No. 20-0233, McDaniel v. State).
• As of June 2026, there is no published IHRC, Illinois appellate, or Supreme Court authority directly stating whether the new two-year limitation period applies to all acts within a continuing violation that straddles January 1, 2025. The text of the statute and official IDHR guidance do not resolve this gap.

Practical implication:

• If at least one related act occurs on or after January 1, 2025, it is likely that the two-year window applies at least to that act. Whether acts before that date, as part of the same continuing violation, are all swept into the two-year window remains unresolved in primary authority as of this writing.
• Practitioners should examine the timing of each alleged act and closely monitor further administrative or judicial developments clarifying the reach of the new statute.

Source: Public Act 103-0973 (amending 775 ILCS 5/7A-102) Source: IDHR Legislative Updates Source: IHRC Decision No. 20-0233, McDaniel v. State