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     - Winter '04
     - Summer '04

To learn more about Hennessy & Roach services, reach us at:

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Fax:                312-346-5330

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Fax:                314-231-0990

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Fax:                217-726-0137
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Chicago, IL 60603

Sexual Harassment Settlements and Verdicts

Hennessy & Roach has recently reviewed reported settlements and verdicts in sexual harassment cases in Cook County. The results are informative. Of 49 verdict and settlement reports surveyed from the period 1994 to 2004 involving allegations of sexual harassment, 11 cases were settled, 16 cases went to trial and resulted in not guilty verdicts and 17 cases went to trial and resulted in verdicts against employers. 

Of the cases resulting in adverse verdicts, some common threads can be seen. Eleven reported cases involved some form of offensive touching, rather than merely allegations of hostile work environment. Eight cases involved retaliation and six of the cases were against governmental bodies. Significantly, of the 17 adverse verdicts reported, seven included punitive damages. 

Of the adverse verdicts, three cases resulted in verdicts under $100,000.00; four cases resulted in verdicts between $100,000.00 and $300,000.00; one case resulted in a verdict between $300,000.00 and $500,000.00; six resulted in verdicts of $500,000.00 to $1 million; and four resulted in verdicts of $1 million to $4.4 million. 

Of the cases that were settled, two were resolved for under $100,000.00; four were settled for between $100,000.00 and $300,000.00; one was settled for $750,000.00; and three were settled between $1 and $47 million. One other settlement amount was held confidential and the amount was not reported. 

Five out of the eleven cases settled involved allegations of retaliation as well as sexual harassment. 

The results of our review demonstrate that settlements and verdicts in sexual harassment cases can be substantial. This is particularly true where there is evidence of offensive touching by the offender and/or retaliation by the employer against the complaining employee. 

Domestic Violence Victims May Take Unpaid Leave

Employers with 50 or more employees in Illinois must now permit employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for the purpose of obtaining medical attention, counseling, services from victims’ organizations, legal services, or for safety actions (such as permanent of temporary relocation). Employees may also take leave if a family or household member is the victim. Unpaid leave under the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act is patterned after FMLA leave, and an employee who has used his or her 12 weeks of family leave under the FMLA is not entitled to any additional time off for domestic victim leave under the state law.

[Note, though, that the Illinois Department of Labor’s implementing regulations interpret that to mean that if the FMLA leave was exhausted for purposes other than the purposes for which leave is available under the state act, the employee remains eligible for domestic violence victim’s leave.]

Victim’s leave may be taken in blocks, or intermittently, or on a reduced work schedule basis. Normally, the employee is expected to give the employer 48 hours’ notice, but if circumstances make advance notice impracticable, the employee may provide certification of his or her need within a reasonable time after the absence. Certification by the employee of the need for leave can be supported by a police or court record or documentation by a victim’s service agency, an attorney, a doctor or therapist, or a clergyman. All information provided to the employer must be kept in the strictest confidence by the employer.

An employee who takes domestic violence leave is entitled to reinstatement without loss of any accrued benefits. While the employee is on leave, the employer must maintain any group health plan coverage for the duration of the leave as if the employee had continued at work.

Employers are prohibited from refusing to hire, discharging, harassing or discriminating against any employee who exercises any rights under this Act. Employers cannot penalize an employee because the workplace is disrupted or threatened by the person who is allegedly stalking or otherwise abusing the employee. The employer must consider “reasonable accommodations” to assist the victimized employee, including things like adjusting the work schedule, reassignment, transfer, changing the employee’s telephone number or seating assignment, installation of a lock, or implementation of a safety procedure. The Act is enforced by the Illinois Department of Labor.

Illinois Minimum Wage Now $5.50

As of January 1, 2004, the minimum wage required in Illinois for workers age 18 and older rose to $5.50 per hour. The current minimum wage required nationwide by federal law (the Fair Labor Standards Act) remains $5.15, but Illinois is one of a dozen states that have enacted higher minimum wages than federal law would otherwise require. The new rate will affect approximately 450,000 Illinois workers. Next January 1, the Illinois minimum wage will be increased again, up to $6.50.

Whistleblowers Gain New Protections in Illinois

Employees in Illinois who reasonably believe that their employer is violating a state or federal law, rule, or regulation are now shielded from employer retaliation if they decide to report their employer to a government or law enforcement agency. The Illinois Whistleblower Act, which became effective on January 1, prohibits Illinois employers from maintaining a rule or policy that would prevent their employees from blowing the whistle on unlawful employer activity. The Act also prohibits employers from retaliating against any employee who discloses information to authorities in the reasonable belief that the employer has violated a law, rule or regulation. The Act also forbids employers from penalizing any employee who refuses to participate in an activity that would violate a law, rule or regulation. Whistleblowers who suffer retaliation can sue for reinstatement, back pay with interest, and attorney’s fees.

Illinois Bans “English Only” Rules In Workplace

The General Assembly has amended the Illinois Human Rights Act to prohibit employers from barring employees from speaking languages other than English in the workplace for non-work communications. It is now an unlawful employment practice for an employer to impose a restriction on an employee’s use of his or her “native tongue” at work for communications that are unrelated to the employee’s duties. So if workers want to discuss the weather, or gossip, or talk about the boss in Spanish or Polish, the employer cannot prevent it. Employers may still insist that job-related communications be conducted in English, and the right to speak one’s “native tongue” does not include a right to use slang, jargon, profanity or vulgarity in the workplace.