Agencies
Services
The Illinois Human Rights 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, terms and conditions of employment (working hours, vacation, and sick leave, etc.), seniority, and union representation. For more information, see Filing a Charge - Employment. 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.
Employment Rights
If you believe you have experienced discrimination at work, this page explains your rights and how to file a claim.
What you'll find here:
Real examples of discrimination, your legal protections, guidance on filing a claim, and who the law covers.
⏱ Reading time: 12 minutes
Ready to file?
Table of contents
Learn What Discrimination Looks Like
See situations that might match yours.
Do You Want to File a Claim?
See how protections apply in different scenarios.
Your Rights as an Employee
Know what protections you have
Who the Law Covers
Find out what employers need to follow the law.
What IDHR Cannot Do
Understand our limits so you know what to expect.
Employment Rights FAQs
Find answers to common questions.
Learn What Discrimination Looks Like
Discrimination at work is illegal when it is based on what’s called a “protected characteristic.”
Race · Color · Ancestry · National Origin · Disability (physical and mental) · Religion · Sex · Sexual Orientation (including gender identity) · Sexual Harassment · Age (40 and over) · Marital Status · Pregnancy (including childbirth or related medical conditions) · Family Responsibilities · Military Status · Unfavorable Military Discharge · Citizenship Status · Work Authorization Status · Order of Protection Status · Arrest Record · Conviction Record (with limitations)
Discrimination examples
While discrimination can be obvious at times, other times it is subtle or disguised. Here are real examples to help you recognize when your rights may have been violated.
Not hired or promoted
You are qualified but repeatedly passed over based on stereotypes about your age, disability, pregnancy, or another protected characteristic.
Harassment at work
Your coworker or supervisor makes repeated unwelcome comments about your religion, race, or national origin. When you complain, nothing happens.
Denied accommodations
You request reasonable accommodation for your disability or pregnancy. Your employer refuses without discussing options.
Retaliation for speaking up
After you file a complaint or participate in an investigation, your employer gives you negative reviews, reduces your hours, gives you bad assignments, or fires you.
Unequal pay or benefits
You are paid less than colleagues who do the same work with similar experience. The only real difference is your sex, race, or another protected characteristic.
Do You Want to File a Charge?
If you believe you've experienced employment discrimination, you have options. Filing a claim with IDHR starts an investigation into your complaint. Here's what you need to know.
Before you file:
- You must file within a specific timeframe
- You can usually file against both the individual harasser and the employer or institution
- Filing is free
- You do not need a lawyer
What happens when you file:
We review your claim to see if it falls under the Illinois Human Rights Act
If accepted, we investigate by gathering information from all parties
We may attempt to resolve the matter through mediation or settlement
If not resolved, your case may proceed to a hearing
We will draft a charge for your signature if:
- Your allegations are covered under the Act
- We have jurisdiction over the employer
- You file within the required timeframe
Your Rights as an Employee
Under Illinois law, your employer, potential employer, employment agency, or labor union cannot treat you unlawfully because of a protected characteristic or basis for discrimination.
When making employment decisions like these:
- Hiring and firing
- Compensation, promotion and demotion
- Performance evaluation and tenure
- Transfer
- Discipline
- Terms and conditions of employment (working hours, vacation, sick leave, etc.), seniority, and union representation
Employers cannot discriminate in how they handle:
- Job postings, applications, interviews, hiring decisions
- Pay decisions, hours, schedules, job duties, work location, employee benefits
- Performance reviews, discipline, harassment, hostile work environment
- Promotions, training opportunities, desirable assignments
- Layoffs, firings, forced retirement, constructive discharge
- Punishing employees for opposing discrimination, filing charges, or participating in investigations
Who the Law Covers
The law protects you if you work for:
- Private employers
- State and local government employers
- Employment agencies
- Labor organizations (unions)
Important note about employer size:
For most discrimination claims, the employer must have had at least 1 employee for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding year.
Exception for sexual harassment and pregnancy:
If your claim involves sexual harassment, disability, pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions, only 1 employee is needed. Every employer is covered
What IDHR Cannot Do
Some employment issues are not covered by IDHR:
Illinois Human Rights Act protections don't extend to every workplace dispute. IDHR does not handle:
Claims against the federal government – If you are a federal employee, file with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). There may be additional requirements.
Employment actions based on political affiliations – The Act does not cover discrimination based on political affiliation or beliefs (unless you work in state or local government, where limited protections exist).
General workplace practices – If the treatment is not based on a protected characteristic, you may have other options but we cannot investigate under Illinois Human Rights law.
Wage and overtime issues – Disputes over unpaid wages, overtime, minimum wage, or employee misclassification belong with the Illinois Department of Labor, not IDHR.
Cases outside our legal authority – If we cannot investigate your situation, that does not mean what happened was okay. It means your case may fall under a different law or agency. We will do our best to point you in the right direction.
Employment Rights - FAQs
One way to determine if unlawful discrimination occurred is to compare how people in different protected classes 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 the person believes that (s)he was rejected from employment because the person was a member of a protected class.
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: Disability: For a person with a qualifying vision impairment, a reasonable accommodation might be to provide company notices in large print if that will enable the employee to read the materials. Religion: For a person whose religious practice requires the person to pray at specified times throughout the day, an employer may permit more frequent breaks as a reasonable accommodation.
Guidance & Publications
- Employer's Guide to the Illinois Human Rights Act
Comprehensive overview of employer obligations and employee rights - Sexual Harassment & Discrimination Employee Poster
Required employee-facing poster on Sexual Harassment and discrimination protections - Protections for Family Responsibilities
New: Illinois now protects workers who provide personal care to family members
Related Topics
Sexual Harassment
Guidance on recognizing, preventing, and reporting unwelcome conduct or hostile treatment in work or public settings.
Pregnancy & Parental Rights
Protections for pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, and related accommodations in employment and housing situations.