Illinois Opens the Door for Jury Trials in Employment Law Claims

November 16, 2007

Samantha Black, Jon Geier and Kenneth Gage

Employees in Illinois who file Illinois Human Rights Act administrative charges after January 1, 2008 will have a new forum for litigating their employment discrimination and harassment complaints: the juries in Illinois state court. Illinois House Bill 1509 amended the IHRA to provide employees who file charges with the Illinois Department of Human Rights for alleged violations of the IHRA who were previously limited to adjudicating the Illinois claims through an administrative process with the option, at various points in the Departments process, to file suit against the employer in Illinois circuit court.

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