Chicago Lawyer Practices at Illinois Human Rights Commission
Ron Schwartz, an attorney at Katz,
Friedman, Eagle, Eisenstein, Johnson & Bareck, P.C., is an
employment law lawyer who represents workers who have discrimination claims at the Illinois Human Rights Commission.
Call (312) 263-6330.
Introduction
This article is for informational purposes only and
should not be construed as legal advice regarding the Illinois Human
Rights Act or the Human Rights Commission.
Ron Schwartz is an experienced attorney who has represented dozens of claimants before the Illinois Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission is a low cost alternative to going to Court.
Before a case can be heard at the Commission, a Complainant (also known as a charging party) must file a charge of discrimination within 180 days from the date of the alleged discriminatory act with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. (“IDHR”). In sexual harassment cases, the deadline is also 180 days from when the harassment occurred. It is important for the claimant to file promptly the charge of discrimination or the claim may be barred.
Procedure
The IDHR has 365 days, plus any agreed upon extensions, to complete its investigation. If the investigation is not completed by this deadline, then the Complainant can proceed to Court or the Illinois Human Rights Commission.
If the IDHR completes its investigation within 300 days it will issue finding(s) of substantial evidence (“SE”) or lack of substantial evidence (“LSE”). If an SE finding is issued, the Complainant can choose between filing a Complaint in the Circuit Court or with the Illinois Human Rights Commission. If the Complainant chooses the Commission, the IDHR will file a Complaint with the Commission. But the IDHR will then have no further involvement with the case.
If the IDHR finds LSE, then the charging party may proceed to Circuit Court or file a Request for Review with the Commission. However, unless the Commission reverses the LSE finding, the charging party will not get the opportunity to have the Commission hear his/her case on the merits. The Complainant must choose between filing with the Circuit Court and proceeding to the Commission. The Complainant cannot do both.
Comparing Commission to Court
The advantages of having the Commission hearing your case on the merits is that (1) the costs are much lower than they are in Circuit Court. For starters, there is no filing fee at the Commission. (2) Generally, depositions are not taken in cases before the Commission. This avoids costly court reporter charges. (3) In addition, the Administrative Law Judges at the Commission only decide discrimination cases. In Circuit Court, the assigned judge may not be familiar with discrimination law.
The disadvantages of proceeding to the Human Rights are (1) if the Commission affirms a LSE finding then the only option is to appeal the case to the Appellate Court; (2) there may be substantial delays at the Commission although recently those delays have diminished; (3) there is no opportunity for a jury trial; and (4) without the ability to take a deposition there may be unpleasant surprises during the Public Hearing (a trial-like proceeding).
Please call Ron Schwartz at (312) 263-6330 if you want a lawyer to represent you at the Human Rights Commission.
Revised: 11/23/2010
Nothing on this attorney web site should be understood as offering
legal advice regarding handicap or disabilities law or any other legal
subject.
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