Often times I receive calls from potential clients who were sexually harassed by a co-worker, boss, or supervisor many years ago. At the time, the potential client often did not take action on the alleged unlawful sexual harassment. In this all too common scenario, potential clients are often left with no recourse as they have often passed what is called the Statute of Limitations time period. In Illinois, an individual subjected to unlawful sexual harassment has at most 300 days to file a charge from the date of the last sexual harassment. Generally, failing to file a charge of discrimination within the allotted 300 days will barr a sexual harassment victim from filing a lawsuit.
In Illinois, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) generally accepts charges that are filed within 300 days of the last date of sexual harassment. In Illinois, the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) requires charges of sexual harassment to be filed within 180 days of the last date of sexual harassment. I am often asked "what is the difference between the EEOC and the IDHR?" In Illinois, the EEOC and IDHR are investigative bodies charged with the responsibility of investigating the allegations contained in a sexual harassment victim’s charge of discrimination or sexual harassment. Charges that are filed with the EEOC are likely to be litigated in federal court. Charges that are filed only with the IDHR are likely to be litigated in Illinois state court, the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, or the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. Charges filed with the IDHR within the allotted 180 days can be elected to be automatically cross-filed with the EEOC. As a result, a sexual harassment victim can have charges on file in both the IDHR and EEOC at the same time and not be limited to federal or state court in the future.
Choosing where to file your charge of discrimination or sexual harassment can sometimes be difficult. Further, application of the statute of limitations as well as other legal standards often present difficulties a sexual harassment victim is unaware of. As a result, two things are obvious: The first, any individual who believes they are a victim of unlawful sexual harassment should contact our office and an experienced attorney can speak with you, at no charge, over the telephone and help evaluate your case. The second, filing a charge and contacting our office to discuss your potential charge should be done as soon as possible - failure to do so may result in a potential lawsuit being barred.