Unfortunately, workplace sexual harassment and sexual violence are on the rise. Both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act prohibit sexual-based conduct in the workplace such as direct requests for sexual favors and harassment that creates a hostile work environment.
Of course, those same laws also prevent any sexual assault in the workplace such as an unwanted touching of a sexual nature and/or rape. Oftentimes, sexual harassment can escalate into sexual violence and, thus, it is important for an aggrieved employee to report any unwelcome conduct to his or her manager and/or Human Resources. It is almost always best to report the conduct both verbally and in writing.
Our team can help you navigate sexual harassment and workplace violence and pursue the best legal course of action.
Contact UsHappy New Year! All of us at at the Firm took a couple of weeks off to enjoy our families and the holiday season. We hope you did as well.
This first week of the year was looking a little light in workplace news until the end of the week when two interesting pieces of news dropped.
First, on Thursday the …
Biden to Sign Law Ending Mandatory Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Cases
Congress recently passed the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021” (H.R. 4445). This bill received increasingly rare bipartisan support and we expect President Biden to sign it into law any day.
Let’s take a quick look at what this law does and what it means …
Employees can be the first line of defense against workplace violence but only if they know what to look for and what to do about it.
On February 15 an employee at an Aurora, Illinois manufacturing plant walked into work believing he was going to be fired that day. Those of us in the Chicagoland area know what happened after that–he …