Small Businesses Not Immune to Anti-Discrimination Laws: Employees Should Know Their Rights

In recent years, the number of small businesses has exploded.  There are an estimated 28 million small businesses currently in the U.S., increasing about 49% since 1982.[1]  Indeed, as of 2013, businesses employing less than 50 workers comprised about 96% of companies in the U.S.[2]  The obvious corollary to these figures is that the number of individuals employed by small businesses has also increased exponentially.

Many employees don’t recognize that the various laws protecting them from discrimination, retaliation, and other unlawful workplace practices apply only to businesses which employ a threshold number of workers – and that number can range anywhere from just one employee to fifty.  This may mean that employees assume, incorrectly, that certain laws protect them in the workplace when they don’t.  Unfortunately, oftentimes, small businesses lack the resources to have sophisticated human resources or legal departments, and they also may be unsure of which laws apply to their workplaces.

These realities can lead to serious mishandlings of employment laws.  When this happens, both the employee and the employer suffer as remedying unlawful discriminatory conduct after-the-fact entails a large financial, emotional, and time investment for all involved, usually requiring the formal retention of legal counsel and, at times, escalating into a full-fledged litigation of disputes.

If you are an employee working for one of these small employers, it can be especially difficult.  You may feel as though you have limited information about what your rights are and how to remedy potential unlawful conduct.  In the hopes that we can help you navigate these laws with a little more ease, we have put together a chart identifying a number of employment laws – federal, state, and local – and indicating the size of the employer to which each law applies.  Please note that each state and local region likely has its own employment laws and regulations.  This chart focuses on those laws which apply to Illinois and, more specifically Cook County and Chicago, based employers.

 

 

 

  

Statutes/ Ordinances

 

  

Major Bases of Discrimination Prohibited

 

  

Size of Employer to Whom It Applies
 

Federal

 

 

  

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

 

  

Race, Color, Religion, Sex (includes Sexual Harassment), Pregnancy, National Origin, Retaliation

 

 

  

At least 15 employees
 

Americans with Disabilities Act

  

Disability, Failure to Accommodate, Retaliation

 

  

At least 15 employees
 

Age Discrimination in Employment Act

 

  

Age, Retaliation

  

At least 20 employees
 

Fair Labor Standards Act/ Equal Pay Act

 

  

Sets minimum wage, overtime pay, record-keeping laws; prohibits sex-based wage discrimination

 

  

No minimum employee threshold
 

Family Medical Leave Act

 

 

  

Taking of leave of absence for serious health condition or to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition

 

  

At least 50 employees
 

State

(IL)

 

  

Illinois Human Rights Act

 

  

Race, Color, Religion, Sex (includes Sexual Harassment), National Origin, Ancestry, Age, Order of Protection Status, Marital Status, Disability, Military Status, Sexual Orientation (includes Gender Identity), Pregnancy, Retaliation

 

  

At least 1 employee for disability and sexual harassment.  At least 15 employees for all other discrimination.
 

Illinois Pregnancy Accommodation Act

 

  

Failing to accommodate an employee for conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth; Retaliation.

  

At least 1 employee
 

County

(Cook)

 

  

Cook County Human Rights Ordinance

  

Race, Color, Sex (includes Sexual Harassment), Age, Religion, Disability, National Origin, Ancestry, Sexual Orientation (includes Gender Identity), Marital Status, Parental Status, Military Discharge Status, Source of Income; Retaliation

 

  

No minimum employee size threshold.
 

 

Municipal

(Chicago)

 

  

Chicago Human Rights Ordinance

  

Race, Color, Sex (includes Sexual Harassment), Age, Religion, Disability, National Origin, Ancestry, Sexual Orientation (includes Gender Identity), Marital Status, Parental Status, Military Discharge Status, Source of Income; Retaliation

 

  

No minimum employee size threshold.

As illustrated above, there are a myriad of overlapping laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination and other workplace conduct with regard to employers of all different sizes, including those with as few as just 1 employee.  Small businesses and the employees who work for them should remember that even if a federal or state law does not necessarily apply to them, county or municipal level laws might.

We hope that both employees and employers (including business owners and managers) will take the time to familiarize themselves with these laws to ensure that they are upheld and enforced in every workplace, no matter the size.

For further guidance on the various federal, state, and local laws and regulations, check out the websites of the governmental agencies in charge of their enforcement:

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — http://www.eeoc.gov/

Illinois Department of Human Rights — http://www2.illinois.gov/dhr/Pages/default.aspx

Cook County Commission on Human Rights —http://www.cookcountyil.gov/appointments/cook-county-commission-on-human-rights/human-rights-commission-on/

Chicago Commission on Human Relations — http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cchr.html

 

[1] https://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-trends-impact

[2] http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-small-business/