In 2020, the United States Supreme Court in the landmark Bostock case ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation is covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964. This decision created sweeping protections for LGBTQ employees.
Examples of this sort of discrimination and harassment include:
- An interviewer tells a job applicant that the Company does not hire gay employees.
- An employee is terminated after their boss discovers that they identify as LGBTQ and tells the employee that he does not want to work with “gay” employees.
- An employee is repeatedly subject to verbal harassment and derogatory comments because they identify as LGBTQ.
The Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) prohibits discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation. In this state, plaintiffs can file discrimination, harassment, and retaliation cases directly in state court.
