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Gender Discrimination

In Illinois, a company may not terminate or otherwise take an adverse job action against an employee because of the sex of the employee. In most instances these types of cases will involve female workers being treated in an unfair manner. That isn't the law but rather what my office sees more times than not. A companies policies and employment rules must be applied equally to all employees. Policies and employment rules which disproportionately and adversely impact on one sex are strictly prohibited under both Illinois and Federal law. Below are some of the questions you should ask yourself.

  • Do you work harder than your male counterparts?
  • Does the boss have different rules for male and female workers?
  • Do you putting in more hours than your male counterparts?
  • Are you getting paid less than your male counterparts?
  • Do men seem to get promoted ahead of females in your company?
  • Do you have the same or more education than your male counterparts?
  • Does your company have a male only group of executives?

If you can answer yes to any of those questions, you should contact my office because you may have a discrimination case based on your gender. A company generally won't put negative gender related comments in writing so one has to look for statistics to prove a discrimination case. Many times you will be working in what is called an old boys club. This just means the men don't like working with women and treat members of the other sex in a hostile fashion. You don't have to put up with this type of treatment.

Below are a few U.S. Supreme Court cases involving gender discrimination and women's rights.

  • Cleveland Bd. of Ed. V. LaFleur (1974)
    This case involved a pregnant teacher and because only females can get pregnant it is a gender discrimination case. Employers can't make special rules regarding pregnant employees.
  • Johnson v. Transportation Agency (1987)
    An employer may take gender into account in making a hiring decision but they also need to take other factors into account.
In addition to the protections women have from discrimination through the Illinois Human Rights Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Illinois also affords protection via the Gender Violence Act-740 ILCS 82.  Under this Act,  woman are protected from violence and also the threat of violence while at work.  And the best part about the Act is there can be liability on the company even if there are no criminal charges, prosecution or conviction.   There is also a much longer statute of limitations period.  For actual acts of violence the statute is seven years, for threats the statute is two-years.  And women are allowed to collect punitive damages as part of their compensation from violation of this Act. 

Sometimes in order to prove gender discrimination I may have to obtain a company's gender profile. All employers with more than 100 employees must prepare and file an EEO-1 report. An EEO-1 report is a numerical breakdown of the way women and other minorities are employed in the workplace in various job categories. This type of record is very important in showing the negative treatment women and minorities receive at work.

If the company has less than 100 employees as part of my discovery I will obtain information on the employees and prepare my own report, which is similar in nature to an EEO-1 report. These documents are valuable in showing a disparity in pay or work positions for females and other minorities for companies that employ less than 100 workers.

Learn whether your employer has violated federal and state laws by contacting attorney Peter LaSorsa today. I don't charge for my initial consultation. I am free seven days a week to discuss your potential claim. I have years of experience dealing with employment discrimination issues.

E-mail your question about SEX DISCRIMINATION.

You may call 24/7:
Peter LaSorsa, Attorney at Law

Phone: 312-505-5038

- All correspondence strictly confidential -