Ill. Sexual Harassment Victims may also Recover for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
The Seventh Circuit court of appeals has ruled that victims of sexual harassment may also sue under Illinois law for intentional torts such as intentional infliction of emotional distress. This ruling is contrary to the ruling of some courts in the past that a Plaintiff could not bring a civil rights claim in additional to Illinois state law tort claims based on the same facts. This ruling is significant because unlike, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, damages recoverable for Illinois state law tort claims are not capped. For Title VII civil rights cases, the maximum recoverable damages is $300,000 for the largest employers and range as low as $50,000 for small employers. Salley Naeem v. McKesson Drug Company, et. al., Case number 04-3816, 2006 U.S.App. Lexis 8967 (7th Cir. April 12, 2006). Click here to read the entire case