Illinois Law
Illinois Employment Law: Management
- Employment Law: Management
Employment Law: Management
The Employment Relationship
Employee versus Independent Contractor
When a worker is paid to do a task or provide a service for another person, the worker is either an independent contractor or an employee. The distinction is not always clear, but it is important for both the business and the worker. The classification determines whether a business must withhold taxes and what records it must keep, whether it should have workers' compensation and unemployment insurance, and whether it is subject to federal and state wage and hour regulations. For example, an employer who hires someone as an independent contractor does not have to pay certain taxes on the worker's income.
Whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee is based on the work performed, not the worker's title. The more control an employer has over a worker, the more likely it is the worker is an employee. On the other hand, the more a worker acts like an independent business enterprise, the more likely the worker is an independent contractor. In some cases, the status is clear: a worker who arrives at a set time every day, is trained by the employer, uses the boss's tools or equipment, and is paid by the hour, week, or month, most likely is an employee. Someone who works for more than one company at a time, sets his or her own hours, and realizes a profit or risks a loss probably is an independent contractor.
An employer could be subject to fines if the Internal Revenue Service, the Illinois Department of Labor, the Illinois Department of Revenue, or the Illinois Department of Employment Security finds a worker has been an employee when the employer treated him or her as an independent contractor. An employer who is unsure about a worker's status should ask a federal or state agency for an opinion based on the agency's guidelines. Guidelines vary from agency to agency, and one agency may classify someone as an employee even though another considers the same worker an independent contractor.
Employment at Will
The state of Illinois recognizes the traditional rule of employment at will. This means that all workers in Illinois are at-will employees unless the employer takes some action to create a different relationship. There are several ways an employer can alter the relationship. An employer might enter into an oral or written contract guaranteeing to employ someone for a specific period of time or promising to terminate the employee only for specified reasons. An employee handbook or collective bargaining agreement may limit the employer's right to terminate employees. Sometimes employers inadvertently limit their right to fire employees if, by their actions, the employers give the employees reason to believe their jobs will continue. For example, if an employer promises a job to someone from out of state and that person moves to Illinois specifically to take the job, the employer probably has changed the employment relationship. The employment is not at will because the employee has gone to the trouble and expense of moving after reasonably relying on the promise of new employment.
The implications of the at will relationship are far-reaching. Unless there is an agreement to the contrary, an employer may discharge an employee at any time for any legal reason. As long as an employee is not fired for an illegal reason--such as racial or gender discrimination--an employer does not need a good reason to fire someone. Even a silly reason is enough. It also means that an employee may resign at any time, for any reason, with or without giving notice. The employee is free to leave for any reason at all, even if by doing so he or she greatly inconveniences the employer.
Government Administered Benefits
Unemployment Insurance
Unemployment insurance provides benefits to employees who are laid off, fired, or otherwise forced to leave their jobs. Most employees are covered by unemployment insurance, a program administered by the state and funded by employer contributions. The Business Tax Law Chapter discusses the unemployment tax more fully.
Unemployment benefits are not automatic; the worker must apply for them from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. After gathering information about an applicant, the Department makes an initial determination whether the person is eligible to receive benefits. If the Department's decision is that the individual is eligible, it informs the former employer. Because the former employer makes contributions to pay the benefits, the employer has the right to some of the information given by the former employee to the Department and has an opportunity to present information.
An applicant will not receive benefits if the applicant:
- Is an independent contractor or a commission-only salesperson
- Is a student hired by the educational institution in which he or she was enrolled
- Is fired for misconduct
- Quits for any reason other than an illegal or intolerable work environment
- Participates in a labor strike
- Refuses an offer to work again for the former employer
- Fails to seek, apply for, or accept suitable work
- Sexual harassment by an employer or inaction by an employer who was informed of instances of sexual harassment
- A substantial cut in pay or benefits
- Drastic changes in working conditions or hours without an employee's consent
- Requiring an employee to break the law or work under obviously unsafe conditions
Workers' Compensation
Workers' compensation provides benefits to employees injured in the workplace. All employers subject to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act either must carry workers' compensation insurance or demonstrate they have the financial resources to cover any reasonably anticipated claims.
In Illinois the workers' compensation program is administered by the Illinois Industrial Commission. The benefits available to workers include death benefits, permanent or temporary total disability, permanent or temporary partial disability, and medical and related expenses. The benefit amounts are determined by state guidelines and can be as high as two-thirds of a worker's salary at the time of the injury.
Any insurance broker should be able to help a business obtain workers' compensation insurance. An employer also may seek help by contacting the Illinois Industrial Commission. The cost of premiums for compensation insurance is determined by factors such as the number of employees a business has, how safe the record of the workplace proves to be, and how much employees are paid. Generally, the greater the payroll or the higher the risk, the higher the premium. However, an employer may be able to lower premiums by establishing programs to provide for a safer workplace and by working with injured employees to minimize lost work time.
Employers are required to post notices in workplaces informing workers of their rights to workers' compensation. If an employee is injured, the employer must report the injury immediately to the insurance carrier. A "First Report of Injury" form must be sent out as soon as possible, but it does not mean that the employer is admitting that the injury is covered by workers' compensation or that the injury even occurred. It is illegal for an employer to refuse to hire an individual because he or she has a disabling condition from a prior injury. However, if an employee suffers an injury that is made greater because of a pre-existing condition at the time of hiring, the employer's liability is limited. The purpose of this law is to encourage employers to hire people who may have disabilities resulting from a previous injury.
Social Security
Social Security provides workers and their dependents with retirement and other benefits. Social Security benefits are financed through taxes on wages paid by both employers and workers. Under the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA), an employer is responsible for withholding the appropriate taxes from an employee's pay, in addition to submitting its own share of FICA taxes. Withholding requirements are discussed in more detail in the Corporate Tax Law Chapter.
Civil Rights in the Workplace
In General
Most employment discrimination is outlawed by the two major civil rights acts passed by Congress in 1964 and 1991, and by the Illinois Human Rights Act. Through a combination of these laws, Illinois workers are protected against discrimination based on age, ancestry, arrest record, citizenship, color, creed, disability, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, or unfavorable military discharge.
People frequently refer to "Title VII" rights when they are talking about a particular section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits discrimination in a wide number of employment areas including advertisements for jobs, apprenticeship programs, benefits, firing, hiring, layoffs, promotions, recalls, recruitment, testing, training and transfers. Title VII also prohibits retaliation against a person who files a charge of discrimination, participates in an investigation of discrimination, or opposes an unlawful employment practice.
Under certain extremely limited circumstances employers are allowed to base their employment decisions or practices on a person's marital status, race, sex, etc., if the employer can demonstrate a truly legitimate need. For example, it is legal to hire only women to be attendants in women's locker rooms. Religious institutions may refuse to hire individuals based on their religious beliefs, but only for positions that are directly related to the performance of religious duties; they generally are not allowed to discriminate when hiring individuals for secular tasks such as secretarial or janitorial work.
Certain employers, such as police departments, may base some employment decisions on applicants' physical abilities. Other types of hiring criteria are allowed if the criteria measure skills that are truly essential for an applicant to have in order to perform a particular job, and if they are not applied in a selective or discriminatory way. For example, an employer may require applicants for administrative jobs to pass typing or computer skills examinations.
A person who feels that he or she has been unfairly discriminated against or harassed in the workplace may file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The Illinois Department of Human Rights enforces the Illinois Human Rights Act, and the EEOC enforces the federal civil rights acts that apply to the workplace. When a person files a complaint with one agency, that agency cross-files with the other agency. Both agencies are required to notify the employer of the charge of discrimination, and the employer is given the opportunity to present information as part of any investigation.
Age Discrimination
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) expands Title VII prohibitions against age discrimination. Most employers may not enforce mandatory retirement policies, except under a few very specific circumstances in which age is a valid qualification for doing a particular job, such as firefighting, police work, or flying airplanes. Anyone age 40 or over who works for an employer with 20 or more employees is protected by the ADEA and may not be retired against his or her will, regardless of age, as long as he or she can do the job. The Illinois Human Rights Act contains similar provisions that apply to Illinois employers with 15 or more employees. Other federal and state laws prevent discrimination based on age with some exceptions allowing employers to force an employee age 70 or older to retire.
Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on a person's physical or mental ability. The ADA makes it illegal to fire or to refuse to hire someone because that person lacks physical or mental abilities that are not essential to the job; the ADA does not change an employer's right to employ only people who have the skills to perform the "essential duties" of a job. For example, an employer may not refuse to hire as a daycare provider a person with epilepsy, simply because the employer thinks the employee should be able to drive to a hospital in an emergency. In this example, driving is not an essential duty of the job, so it is not a valid reason to discriminate against the epileptic applicant who is prevented from having a driver's license by his or her epilepsy.
The ADA requires employers to make "reasonable accommodations" for applicants or employees with disabilities. The employer must do whatever is reasonable to accommodate a person's disability, including modifying work schedules, providing special training, changing the work environment, buying or modifying special equipment, or reassigning to another position an employee who no longer is able to do the "essential duties" of a job. A reasonable accommodation is one that does not place an undue burden on the employer. Using pre-employment tests that identify and exclude applicants with disabilities is permissible only if the tests are unequivocally job-related.
The ADA only protects from discrimination people with permanent conditions that limit a major life activity. Thus, the ADA does not cover an employee who has a sprained ankle that is expected to heal fully, even though that employee is disabled for a period of time. A person with a permanent disabling condition that is controlled by drugs, physical therapy, or by some other treatment is covered by the ADA, such as an epileptic whose seizures are controlled by medication. The ADA also prohibits discriminating against individuals with AIDS or HIV, or people who have completed or are still participating in drug rehabilitation programs. However, an applicant or employee currently using illegal drugs is not protected by the ADA.
The ADA is administered by the EEOC. Discrimination against persons with disabilities also is prohibited by the Illinois Human Rights Act.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited by the Illinois Human Rights Act and is punishable as an illegal form of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Sexual harassment can take many forms:
- Sexual or sexist comments about a coworker's appearance
- A mandatory dress code that provokes others to make sexually explicit comments
- Unwanted sexual contact or touching
- Sexual suggestions or pressure to have sexual contact
- Sexual jokes or explicit sexual comments that embarrass a coworker
- Sexual or pornographic pictures displayed or passed around the workplace
Determining what kind of behavior constitutes sexual harassment may depend on the circumstances. However, some general descriptions of sexual harassment can be made. A single, or occasional, sexual joke or sexual comment is not sexual harassment unless the comment unequivocally offers workplace advancement in return for sexual favors. Unwanted touching of someone else's body is sexual harassment. Someone who repeatedly tells lewd or obscene jokes that make other employees uncomfortable may be guilty of sexual harassment, especially if the person has been told that he or she makes the workplace uncomfortable. A case for sexual harassment in this example would be weakened if the person claiming harassment participates in the joke-telling.
In addition to civil laws designed to prohibit workplace sexual harassment, criminal laws provide remedies against the most serious forms of unwanted sexual contact. Anyone fired or forced to leave a job because of sexual harassment may be entitled to receive unemployment insurance benefits while searching for a new job.
Pregnancy Discrimination
Title VII protects pregnant workers and job applicants from discrimination. Employers may not refuse to hire a woman because she is pregnant, fire a woman because she is pregnant, take away benefits or accrued seniority because a woman takes maternity leave, take away benefits from a single woman who has a baby, or fire or refuse to hire a woman who has an abortion.
Generally, an employer must treat pregnant women the same as other workers who cannot perform their jobs for short periods of time. Thus, if an employer allows employees to take leave for a broken leg or short-term illness, the employer must allow pregnant women to take leave under the same terms and conditions. Employers also are required to transfer a pregnant employee to a less hazardous or strenuous job during the pregnancy, if the employer makes such provisions for other workers with temporary disabilities. Pregnancy leave is also protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act (discussed below).
Other Workplace Rights and Responsibilities
Wages and Hours
The federal minimum wage for adult workers age 18 and over is $4.25 per hour. Employers must pay at least the minimum wage, even to employees who earn tips, and employers may not force employees to share their tips with other workers or managers, although employees may do so voluntarily. There are some exceptions to the minimum wage law. For example, workers under 18 years of age must be paid a minimum wage of $3.75 per hour. Generally, employers also must pay hourly employees one-and-a-half times their regular rate for every hour over 40 hours worked in a week.
Certain salaried workers are exempt from minimum wage standards and overtime regulations. To be exempt, an employee must be in an executive, administrative, or professional position and receive at least $250 each week in salary or fee. The employee must supervise at least two other workers, manage an office or a business operation, be a skilled artistic performer or a teacher, or work in a profession requiring advanced knowledge, such as engineering.
Employment laws also regulate child labor. For example, no child under the age of 12 is allowed to work, except for children who are members of farm families and who live and work on farms. Students who are 14 or 15 years old may work only three hours per day during the school year, and only eight hours per day during school vacations. All child workers under the age of 16 must have employment certificates.
Workplace Safety and Health
Workplace safety issues in Illinois are governed by federal standards under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) in combination with the Illinois Health and Safety Act and the Illinois Safety Inspection and Education Act. Under these laws, an employer is responsible for ensuring that working conditions are safe and healthful. More specifically, an employer must provide working conditions free from recognized hazards that cause, or are likely to cause, death or serious injury. All places of employment are subject to inspection for compliance with Illinois safety and health standards, and monetary penalties may be assessed for noncompliance.
Employers must alert employees to their OSHA rights by displaying an "Occupational Safety and Health Protection on the Job" poster. In addition, employers may not charge employees for protective equipment required under OSHA standards.
Employers also have certain rights under OSHA. For example, employers may request a variance from an OSHA standard in some situations, may participate in the process of developing or revising standards, or may go before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Board to request that a citation or penalty be reviewed and changed. In addition, under the Act trade secrets or privileged communications are protected.
Parenting, Family, and Medical Leave
The federal government requires certain employers to provide parenting, family, and medical leave to qualified employees. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) allows qualified employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to attend to family matters, including health emergencies. Under the Act, a qualified employee may take an unpaid leave following the birth or adoption of a child, after acquiring a foster child, to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, or to care for his or her own serious health condition.
Men and women are entitled equally to this leave, but not every worker is qualified. A person must be a full-time government employee, or employee of a company with 50 or more employees who has worked for the company at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months immediately prior to taking leave.
When the leave is foreseeable, an employee must provide the employer with at least 30 days' notice of the need for the leave. If the leave is not foreseeable, the notice must be given as soon as it is practical. Under most circumstances, an employee may elect or the employer may require the use of any accrued paid leave for periods of unpaid leave under the FMLA. An employer may require medical certification of a serious health condition from the employee and may require periodic reports during the period of leave of the employee's status and intent to return to work. In addition, an employer may require a fitness for duty certification upon return to work in appropriate situations.
The employee is not entitled to accrue benefits such as vacation time or sick leave during a leave under the FMLA. Any benefits accrued by the employee at the time of the leave, however, stay with the employee. During the leave, the employer must maintain the health benefits the employee was receiving at the time leave begins, at the same level and in the same manner as if the employee had continued to work.
When an employee returns from leave under the FMLA, the employee is entitled to be restored to the same job the employee left when the leave began. If the same job is not available, the employer must place the employee in an equivalent job with equivalent pay, benefits, duties, and responsibilities. Under the Act, employers are prohibited from discriminating against or interfering with employees who take FMLA leaves.
Substance Abuse in the Workplace
Under certain circumstances, employers in Illinois may compel employees to pass drug and alcohol tests as a condition of employment. These tests must not be given in a discriminatory way, and if passing a drug or alcohol test is a job requirement, then all employees performing that job must be subject to the testing requirement.
An employer may test an employee for drugs and alcohol only if the test is part of a reasonable policy that seeks to prohibit the use of alcohol or illegal drugs in the workplace. For example, an individual who has undergone treatment for the illegal use of drugs may be tested subsequently under reasonable circumstances to ensure that he or she remains rehabilitated. A reasonable policy also may include testing of all employees in safety-sensitive positions. Federal law governs and allows workplace testing for use of alcohol and illegal use of drugs in the defense, nuclear, and transportation industries.
Privacy
Employees' right to privacy at work is a hotly debated issue today as increasing numbers of employers are using searches, surveillance, and eavesdropping in an attempt to better monitor their employees' activities. The law in this area is evolving and is largely unsettled, but it is fair to say that an employee surrenders some of his or her right to privacy at the workplace door. Employers have more of a legal right to monitor employees than governments have to monitor citizens. However, the number of employees who are challenging employer practices is growing.
When a court must determine whether an employee's right to privacy was violated, it looks to whether the employee's expectation of privacy in a particular situation was reasonable. For example, the expectation of privacy is more reasonable for items in a locked desk drawer than for items left out on a desk. Similarly, it is more reasonable for an employee to expect privacy during a personal phone call made on a pay phone than for a work-related call on the employer's phone.
The reasonable expectation standard is not a very strong guarantor of employee privacy. An employer can expand his or her right to search or monitor simply by giving notice to employees. Once an employee receives notice that the employer reserves the right to monitor calls, search offices, read electronic mail, or film the workplace, there is very little reasonable expectation of privacy.
In addition to surveillance and search activities, areas in which the right to privacy is an issue include lie detector tests, smoking in the workplace, free speech, dress and personal appearance, and disclosure of employee records.
Whistleblowing
It is illegal for an employer to fire a worker in retaliation for reporting a violation of a law or for refusing to participate in activity the employee believes to be illegal. If an employee acts in good faith and reports suspected illegal activities to the employer, a governmental agency, or law enforcement officer, the employee may not be fired or be treated adversely. This workplace right is covered by a statute that makes an employer who violates the law guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment and/or a fine of no more than $1,000 if the employer is an individual, or by a fine of no more than $5,000 against a corporation. In addition, employees who are terminated for whistleblowing may sue the employer for retaliatory discharge.
Veterans' Reemployment Rights
Some veterans returning from active duty are entitled to be reemployed in their pre-service jobs. A veteran must meet the following five requirements to be covered by the Veterans' Reemployment Rights Act:
- The veteran held an "other than temporary" (not necessarily "permanent") civilian job
- The veteran left the civilian job for the purpose of going on active duty
- The veteran was on active duty for no longer than four years, unless the period beyond four years (up to an additional year) was "at the request and for the convenience of the federal government"
- The veteran was discharged or released from active duty "under honorable conditions"
- The veteran applied for reemployment with the pre-service employer within 90 days after separation from active duty
Employee Access to Personnel Records
Illinois law gives employees the right to inspect personnel records. The right to inspection means each employee may review records kept about him or her regarding employment qualifications, promotions, transfers, compensation, discharge, and disciplinary actions. Employees are allowed to obtain the final score of any examinations required for employment. They may not access reference letters or specific portions of employment examinations. Employers are not required to keep personnel records, so the right to inspect records only applies if the records exist.
Non-Compete Agreements and Trade Secrets
A non-compete agreement is a type of restrictive covenant that limits an employee's right to work in a particular industry after he or she leaves a company. The former employee may be prevented from doing one or all of the following:
- Working for a competitor of the former employer
- Starting a business that competes with the former employer
- Contacting former or current customers or employees of the former employer
Another type of restrictive covenant prevents an employee from using trade secrets and other confidential or privileged information learned on the job after termination. Factors in the enforceability of confidentiality agreements include the ability of the former employer to prove that the information truly is confidential, the precautions that were taken to guard the information, and the reasonableness of the time and geographic limitations imposed.
Termination
Recognizing whether an employee was hired at will is critical to proceeding properly with termination. As stated earlier, if a worker has been employed at will, he or she may be discharged at any time for any reason other than an illegal one. If the employment relationship is not at will, such as when an employer has promised to employ the worker for a specific period of time, termination must be "for cause." Causes that justify job termination include habitual lateness or absence, theft of the company's or a co-worker's property, and falsifying records.
When a written employment contract exists, it may include requirements that relate to termination. A common requirement is that an employee be notified at least 30 days in advance of the termination. If an employee belongs to a union, the negotiated contract governs the process for involuntary termination.
Rights and protections given to employees through an employee manual may be enforceable against employers in post-termination lawsuits as "implied contracts." For example, some courts have found that company retirement, sick leave, and fringe-benefits plans described in employee manuals were enforceable promises of compensation. Oral promises made at the hiring interview also may be recognized as implied contracts.
As stated earlier, fired employees usually are eligible for unemployment benefits. Because the unemployment tax for some businesses is based on their experience with unemployment claims, it can be important to know how and when to contest claims. Unemployment claims may have ramifications for any discharge-related lawsuits a former employee may file. For example, if a company chooses not to oppose a former employee's claim for unemployment benefits, the company could be found to have waived a legitimate reason for the firing or to be tacitly admitting wrongdoing. A former employee who wins an unemployment case may find it easier to file a lawsuit for wrongful discharge.
Prohibitions to Firing
As noted, dismissals are illegal when based on age, ancestry, arrest record, citizenship, color, creed, disability, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, or unfavorable military discharge. In addition, an employer is prohibited from firing an employee for other reasons, such as the employee:
- Reporting alleged violations of the law
- Participating in union activity, such as a strike
- Joining with others to protest unsafe working conditions
- Refusing to commit an unlawful act on the employer's behalf, such as committing perjury or fixing prices
- Reporting to jury duty
- Reporting railroad accidents
- Engaging in legal activities off-premises and after working hours
Defamation Related to Termination
Fired employees sometimes sue former employers for libel (defamation in written form) or slander (defamation in oral form). A defamatory statement is one that harms a person's reputation by lowering his or her standing in the community or deterring others from associating with him or her. Defamation occurs when the statement is false, communicated to a third party, and no special privilege exists.
Discussing a decision to terminate or criticizing a fired employee in front of non-essential third parties are actions that can increase an employer's vulnerability to defamation charges. Successful lawsuits have been based on statements in discharge letters if it was not clear that the letters went to proper parties only.
Generally, statements made in employment settings are said to be absolutely privileged. In practice, such statements have a qualified privilege, because the privilege can be overcome with proof that the statements were false and said with malice. Truth is an absolute defense in any defamation lawsuit. An Illinois employer who terminates an employee, therefore, simply should provide the truthful reason for termination. Similarly, truthful statements about the nature of the termination or the former employee's performance made to certain third parties--such as clients who inquire about the change in personnel, or workers at a placement agency--generally are qualifiedly or conditionally privileged.
Resources
Illinois Department of Human Rights, 222 South College, #101, Springfield, IL 62704, phone: (217) 785-5100, TDD: (217) 785-5125; 100 West Randolph Street, #10-100, Chicago, IL 60601, phone: (312) 814-6201, TDD: (312) 263-1579. Call for information or to order the free pamphlet, Illinois Law Prohibits Sexual Harassment.
Illinois Department of Labor, State of Illinois Building, 160 North LaSalle Street, #C1300, Chicago, IL 60601-3150, phone: (312) 793-2800, toll-free: 1-800-654-4620; 1 Old State Capitol Plaza West, #300, Springfield, IL 62701; 2209 Main Street West, Marion, IL 62959. For information on wages, hours and overtime or occupational safety and health, and to order the free poster, Notice to Employers and Employees.
Illinois Department of Revenue, 101 Jefferson West, Springfield, IL 62708, phone: (217) 785-7100; State of Illinois Center, #7-100, 100 West Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601, toll-free phone: 1-800-732-8866.
Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, 833 South Spring Street, P.O. Box 19432, Springfield, IL 62794-9432, phone: (217) 782-6641; 100 West Randolph Street, Suite #4-650 Chicago, IL 60601-3219, phone: (312) 814-2460.
Illinois Employment Security Department, 401 South State Street, Sixth Floor, Chicago, IL 60605, phone: (312) 793-5280, TTY: 1-800-662-3943. Contact this department for information, forms, and to order the free publications, Summary of Services and Guide to the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act.
Illinois Human Rights Commission, 100 West Randolph Street, #5-100, Chicago, IL 60601, phone: (312) 814-6269; 404 William G. Stratton Office Building, Springfield, IL 62706, phone: (217) 785-4350. Contact this commission for public hearing or appeal rights information.
Illinois Industrial Commission, 100 West Randolph Street, Eighth Floor, Room 200, Chicago, IL 60601, phone: (312) 814-6611. This commission has information on workers' compensation.
Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20224, toll-free phone: 1-800-829-3676.
National Organization on Disability (NOD), 910 16th Street NW, #600, Washington, D.C. 20006, phone: (202) 293-5960, TDD: (202) 293-5968.
Secretary of State, 474 Howlett Building, Springfield, IL 62756, phone: (217) 782-5763. Call for the free pamphlet, Sexual Harassment Is Against the Law: An Explanation of the Secretary of State's Office Policy to Prevent Sexual Harassment.
To receive the free pamphlets, Family & Medical Leave: Know Your Rights; Pregnancy Discrimination: Know Your Rights; and Sexual Harassment: Know Your Rights, contact the United States Department of Labor, Women's Bureau Region IX, 71 Stevenson Street, #927, San Francisco, CA 94105, phone: (415) 975-4750.
United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Chicago District Office, 500 West Madison Street, Suite 2800, Chicago, IL 60605, phone: (312) 353-2713; Region IV Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center, phone: (404) 888-0022, TDD: (404) 888-9098; 1801 L Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20507, phone: (202) 663-4900, TDD: 1-800-872-3302. For information or to order the free pamphlets, Information for the Private Sector and State and Local Governments; The Americans with Disabilities Act: Questions and Answers; and The Americans with Disabilities Act: Your Responsibilities as an Employer.