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No person shall directly or indirectly discriminate against any individual in hiring, classification, grading, discharge, discipline, compensation, or other term or condition of employment because of the individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, age, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, military status, credit history (within the meaning of Section 6-10-053), criminal history (within the meaning of Section 6-10-054), or source of income. No employment agency shall directly or indirectly discriminate against any individual in classification, processing, referral or recommendation for employment because of the individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, age, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, military status, credit history (within the meaning of Section 6-10-053), criminal history (within the meaning of Section 6-10-054), or source of income.
The prohibitions contained in this paragraph shall not apply to any of the following:
(a) use of an individual's unfavorable discharge from military service as a valid employment criterion where: (i) authorized by federal law or regulation; or (ii) where the affected position of employment involves the exercise of fiduciary responsibilities and the reasons for the dishonorable discharge are related to such individual's fiduciary capacity;
(b) hiring or selecting between individuals for bona fide occupational qualifications; and
(c) giving preferential treatment to veterans and their relatives as required by federal, state or local law or regulation.
(Prior code § 199-3; Added Coun. J. 12-21-88, p. 23526; Amend Coun. J. 11-6-02, p. 96031, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 3-14-12, p. 22749, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 2-10-16, p. 18514, § 10; Amend Coun. J. 4-27-22, p. 46382, § 11; Amend Coun. J. 11-15-23, p. 5888, § 14)
(a) No employer, employee, agent of an employer, employment agency, or labor organization shall engage in sexual harassment. An employer shall be liable for sexual harassment by nonemployees or nonmanagerial and nonsupervisory employees only if the employer becomes aware of the conduct and fails to take reasonable corrective measures.
(b) Every employer shall have a written policy document prohibiting sexual harassment.
(1) The written policy document shall include at least the following:
(A) A statement that sexual harassment is illegal in Chicago.
(B) The definition of sexual harassment as defined in Section 6-10-020.
(C) A requirement that all employees participate in:
(i) sexual harassment prevention training annually.
(a) Employees shall partici-pate in a minimum of one hour of sexual harassment prevention training annually.
(b) Anyone who supervises or manages employees shall participate in a minimum of two hours of sexual harassment prevention training annually.
(ii) one hour of bystander training annually.
(D) Examples of prohibited conduct that constitute sexual harassment.
(E) Details on:
(i) how an individual can report an allegation of sexual harassment, including, as appropriate, instructions on how to make a confidential report, with an internal complaint form, to a manager, employer's corporate headquarters or human resources department, or other internal reporting mechanism; and
(ii) legal services, including governmental, available to employees who may be victims of sexual harassment.
(F) A statement that retaliation for reporting sexual harassment is illegal in Chicago.
(2) The written policy document shall be provided in an employee's primary language within the first calendar week of that employee's employment.
(c) Every employer shall require its employees to participate in the trainings and time requirements required by Section 6-10-040(b)(1)(C). For the annual required sexual harassment prevention training, an employer may use the model sexual harassment prevention training program prepared by the State of Illinois required under 775 ILCS 5/2-109, or may establish its own sexual harassment prevention training program that equals or exceeds the minimum standards set in 775 ILCS 5/2-109(B).
(d) Every employer shall conspicuously display in at least one location where employees commonly gather posters designed by the Commission about the prohibitions on sexual harassment. The employer shall display at least one poster in English and one poster in Spanish.
(e) Each employer shall maintain for at least five years, or for the duration of any claim, civil action, or investigation pending pursuant to this section, whichever is longer, a record of the employer's written policy document prohibiting sexual harassment and trainings given to each employee, and records necessary to demonstrate compliance with this chapter. Failure to maintain these records shall create a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the Employer violated this Section 6-10-040.
(f) Any person who violates subsections (b), (c), or (d) of this section shall be subject to a fine of not less than $500.00 nor more than $1,000.00 for each offense. Every day that a violation shall continue shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
(Prior code § 199-4; Added Coun. J. 12-21-88, p. 23526; Amend Coun. J. 4-27-22, p. 46382, § 11)
No employer shall refuse to make all reasonable efforts to accommodate the religious beliefs, observances and practices of employees or prospective employees unless the employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business.
Reasonable efforts to accommodate include, but are not limited to allowing an employee: (i) to take a day of paid leave or vacation, where applicable under the employee's employment agreement; or (ii) to be excused from work without pay and without discipline or other penalty; or (iii) to elect to take the day off with pay in order to practice the employee's religious beliefs, and to make up the lost work time at a time and date consistent with the operational need of the employer's business. Any employee who elects such deferred work shall be compensated at the employee's regular rate of pay, regardless of the time and date at which the work is made up. The employer may require that any employee who plans to exercise option (iii) of this subsection provide the employer with notice of the employee's intention to do so, no less than five days prior to the date of absence.
(Prior code § 199-5; Added Coun. J. 12-21-88, p. 23526; Amend Coun. J. 4-27-22, p. 46382, § 11)
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no employer, agent of an employer, employment agency or labor organization shall do any of the following:
(i) Fire or refuse to hire or recruit, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an individual with respect to employment, compensation, or a term, condition, or privilege of employment because of the individual's credit history or credit report.
(ii) Inquire about an applicant's or employee's credit history.
(iii) Order or obtain an applicant's or employee's credit report from a consumer reporting agency.
(b) The prohibitions contained in this section shall not prevent an inquiry or employment action if a satisfactory credit history is an established bona fide occupational requirement of a particular position or a particular group of employees. A satisfactory credit history is not a bona fide occupational requirement unless at least one of the following circumstances is present:
(i) State or federal law requires bonding or other security covering an individual holding the position.
(ii) The duties of the position include custody of or unsupervised access to cash or marketable assets valued at $2,500 or more. For the purpose of this exception (ii), "marketable assets" means company property that is specially safeguarded from the public and to which access is only entrusted to managers and other select employees. "Marketable assets" do not include the fixtures, furnishings, or equipment of an employer.
(iii) The duties of the position include signatory power over business assets of $100 or more per transaction.
(iv) The position is a managerial position which involves setting the direction or control of the business.
(v) The position involves access to personal or confidential information, financial information, trade secrets, or state or national security information. For purposes of this exception, the following definitions apply:
A. "Personal or confidential information" means sensitive information that an employee, customer, client, or service recipient gives explicit authorization for another person to obtain, process, and keep; that an organization entrusts only to managers and a select few employees; or that is stored in secure repositories not accessible by the public or low-level employees.
B. "Financial information" means non- public information on the overall financial direction of an organization, including, but not limited to, company taxes or profit and loss reports.
C. "Trade secrets" means sensitive information regarding a company's overall strategy or business plans. This does not include general proprietary company information such as handbooks, policies, or low-level strategies.
D. "State or national security information" means information only offered to select employees because it may jeopardize the security of the state or the nation if it were entrusted to the general public.
(vi) The position meets criteria in administrative rules, if any, that the U.S. Department of Labor or the Illinois Department of Labor has promulgated to establish the circumstances in which a satisfactory credit history is a bona fide occupational requirement.
(vii) The employee's or applicant's credit history is otherwise required by or exempt under other applicable law.
(c) The prohibitions contained in this section shall not apply to any of the following:
(i) Any bank holding company, financial holding company, bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or trust company, or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof, that is authorized to do business under the laws of Illinois or of the United States.
(ii) Any company authorized to engage in any kind of insurance or surety business pursuant to the Illinois Insurance Code, including any employee, agent, or employee of an agent acting on behalf of a company engaged in the insurance or surety business.
(iii) Any municipal law enforcement or investigative unit, including without limitation the Office of the Inspector General, Police Department, and Independent Police Review Authority.
(iv) Any entity that is defined as a debt collector under federal or state statute.
(Added Coun. J. 3-14-12, p. 22749, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 4-27-22, p. 46382, § 11)
(a) Employers shall not inquire into or use arrest record as a basis to refuse to hire, to segregate, or to act with respect to recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure or terms, privileges, or conditions of employment.
(1) This subsection (a) does not prohibit a potential employer from requesting or utilizing sealed felony conviction information obtained from the Illinois State Police under the provisions of Section 3 of the Criminal Identification Act or under other State or federal laws or regulations that require criminal background checks in evaluating the qualifications and character of an employee or a prospective employee.
(2) The prohibition against the use of an arrest record shall not be construed to prohibit an employer from obtaining or using other information which indicates that a person actually engaged in the conduct for which the individual was arrested.
(b) Employers shall not use a person's conviction record as a basis to refuse to hire, to segregate, or to act with respect to recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure or terms, privileges or conditions of employment, unless:
(1) applicable law excludes applicants with certain criminal convictions from the relevant position;
(2) a standard fidelity bond or an equivalent bond is required for the relevant position, and an applicant's conviction of one or more specified criminal offenses would disqualify the applicant from obtaining such a bond, in which case an employer may include a question or otherwise inquire whether the applicant has ever been convicted of any of those offenses; or
(3) there is a substantial relationship between one or more of the criminal offenses in the person's conviction record and the employment sought or held; or
(4) the granting or continuation of the employment would involve an unreasonable risk to property or to the safety or welfare of specific individuals or the general public.
For the purposes of this subsection (b), “substantial relationship” means a consideration of whether the employment position offers the opportunity for the same or a similar offense to occur and whether the circumstances leading to the conduct for which the person was convicted will recur in the employment position.
(c) Factors considered. In making a determination pursuant to subsection (b)(3) and (b)(4), the employer shall consider the following factors:
(1) the length of time since the conviction;
(2) the number of convictions that appear on the conviction record;
(3) the nature and seventy of the conviction and its relationship to the safety and security of others;
(4) the facts or circumstances surrounding the conviction;
(5) the age of the employee at the time of the conviction; and
(6) evidence of rehabilitation efforts.
(d) In the event any employer makes a preliminary decision that the applicant's or employee's conviction record disqualifies the applicant or employee, the employer shall notify the applicant or employee of this preliminary decision in writing.
(1) Notification. The notification shall contain all of the following:
(A) notice of the disqualifying conviction or convictions or anything else in the conviction record that is the basis for the preliminary decision and the employer's reasoning for the disqualification;
(B) a copy of the conviction record, if any; and
(C) an explanation of the applicant's or employee's right to respond to the notice of the employer's preliminary decision before that decision becomes final. The explanation shall inform the employee that the response may include, but is not limited to, submission of evidence challenging the accuracy of the conviction record that is the basis for the disqualification, or evidence in mitigation, such as rehabilitation.
(2) Employee response. The applicant or employee shall have at least 5 business days to respond to the notification provided to the applicant or employee before the employer may make a final decision.
(3) Final decision. The employer shall consider information submitted by the applicant or employee before making a final decision. If an employer makes a final decision to disqualify or take an adverse action solely or in part because of the applicant's or employee's conviction record, the employer shall notify the applicant or employee in writing of the following:
(A) notice of the disqualifying conviction or convictions or anything else in the conviction record that is the basis for the final decision and the employer's reasoning for the disqualification;
(B) any existing procedure the employer has for the applicant or employee to challenge the decision or request reconsideration; and
(C) the right to file a complaint with the Commission.
(Added Coun. J. 11-5-14, p. 95804, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 4-15-15, p. 106130, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 4-27-22, p. 46382, § 11; Amend Coun. J. 4-19-23, p. 62651, § 12; Amend Coun. J. 11-15-23, p. 5888, § 15)
No person shall publish or cause to be published, in print or on the internet, an advertisement for, or other posting of, any job opportunity that requires the applicant for the position to be employed or which states any other preference, limitation, or discrimination prohibited by this chapter. This prohibition does not apply to any third-party publisher of advertisements which is not itself the employer, agent of an employer, employment agency, or labor organization causing publication of the job opportunity.
(Added Coun. J. 3-14-12, p. 22749, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 4-27-22, p. 46382, § 11; Amend Coun. J. 11-7-22, p. 54984, § 8)
No person shall discriminate against any individual in any aspect of a credit transaction, or in any terms and conditions of bonding because of the individual's race, color, sex, gender identity, age, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, military status, or source of income.
(Prior code § 199-6; Added Coun. J. 12-21-88, p. 23526; Amend Coun. J. 11-6-02, p. 96031, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 2-10-16, p. 18514, § 11; Amend Coun. J. 4-27-22, p. 46382, § 11)
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