§ 495. Unlawful employment practice
(a) It shall be unlawful employment practice, except where a bona fide occupational qualification
requires persons of a particular race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, ancestry, place of birth, age, crime victim status,
or physical or mental condition:
(1) For any employer, employment agency, or labor organization to harass or discriminate
against any individual because of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin,
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, place of birth, crime victim status, or
age or against a qualified individual with a disability.
(2) For any person seeking employees or for any employment agency or labor organization
to cause to be printed, published, or circulated any notice or advertisement relating
to employment or membership indicating any preference, limitation, specification,
or discrimination based upon race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex,
sexual orientation, gender identity, place of birth, crime victim status, age, or
disability.
(3) For any employment agency to fail or refuse to classify properly or refer for employment
or to otherwise harass or discriminate against any individual because of race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, place
of birth, crime victim status, or age or against a qualified individual with a disability.
(4) For any labor organization to limit, segregate, or qualify its membership with respect
to any individual because of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex,
sexual orientation, gender identity, place of birth, crime victim status, or age or
against a qualified individual with a disability.
(5) For any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or person seeking employees
to discriminate against, indicate a preference or limitation, refuse properly to classify
or refer, or to limit or segregate membership on the basis of a person’s having a
positive test result from an HIV-related blood test.
(6) For any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or person seeking employees
to request or require an applicant, prospective employee, employee, prospective member,
or member to have an HIV-related blood test as a condition of employment or membership,
classification, placement, or referral.
(7) For any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or person seeking employees
to discriminate between employees on the basis of sex, race, national origin, sexual
orientation, or gender identity or against a qualified individual with a disability
by paying wages to employees of one sex, race, national origin, sexual orientation,
or gender identity or an employee who is a qualified individual with a disability
at a rate less than the rate paid to employees of the other sex or a different race,
national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity or without the physical or
mental condition of the qualified individual with a disability for equal work that
requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility and is performed under similar working
conditions. An employer who is paying wages in violation of this section shall not
reduce the wage rate of any other employee in order to comply with this subsection.
(A) An employer may pay different wage rates under this subsection when the differential
wages are made pursuant to:
(i) A seniority system.
(ii) A merit system.
(iii) A system in which earnings are based on quantity or quality of production.
(iv) A bona fide factor other than sex, race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender
identity, or physical or mental condition. An employer asserting that differential
wages are paid pursuant to this subdivision (7)(A)(iv) shall demonstrate that the
factor does not perpetuate a differential in compensation based on sex, race, national
origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical or mental condition; is job-related
with respect to the position in question; and is based upon a legitimate business
consideration.
(B)(i) No employer may do any of the following:
(I) Require, as a condition of employment, that an employee refrain from disclosing the
amount of his or her wages or from inquiring about or discussing the wages of other
employees.
(II) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document that purports to deny the employee
the right to disclose the amount of his or her wages or to inquire about or discuss
the wages of other employees.
(ii) Unless otherwise required by law, an employer may prohibit a human resources manager
from disclosing the wages of other employees.
(C) Nothing in this subdivision (a)(7) shall be construed to:
(i) create any new rights for an employer to inquire about a characteristic of an employee
that is otherwise unknown to the employer upon which pay discrimination is prohibited
pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision (a)(7); or
(ii) diminish an employee’s right to privacy under any other law, or pursuant to an applicable
contract or collective bargaining agreement.
(8) An employer, employment agency, or labor organization shall not discharge or in any
other manner discriminate against any employee because the employee:
(A) has opposed any act or practice that is prohibited under this chapter;
(B) has lodged a complaint or has testified, assisted, or participated in any manner with
the Attorney General, a State’s Attorney, the Department of Labor, or the Human Rights
Commission in an investigation of prohibited acts or practices;
(C) is known by the employer to be about to lodge a complaint, testify, assist, or participate
in any manner in an investigation of prohibited acts or practices;
(D) has disclosed his or her wages or has inquired about or discussed the wages of other
employees; or
(E) is believed by the employer to have acted as described in subdivisions (A) through
(D) of this subdivision.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to limit the rights of employers
to discharge employees for good cause shown.
(c) The provisions of this section prohibiting discrimination on the basis of age shall
apply for the benefit of persons 18 years of age or older.
(d)(1) An employee shall not have a cause of action in negligence for any injury occurring
to the employee on the account of an employer complying with subdivisions (a)(5) and
(6) of this section.
(2) A person shall not have a cause of action in negligence for any injury occurring to
the person on account of an employer complying with subdivisions (a)(5) and (6) of
this section.
(e) The provisions of this section prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation
and gender identity shall not be construed to prohibit or prevent any religious or
denominational institution or organization, or any organization operated for charitable
or educational purposes, that is operated, supervised, or controlled by or in connection
with a religious organization, from giving preference to persons of the same religion
or denomination or from taking any action with respect to matters of employment that
is calculated by the organization to promote the religious principles for which it
is established or maintained.
(f) [Repealed.]
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of this subchapter, an employer shall not be prohibited
from establishing and enforcing reasonable workplace policies to address matters related
to employees’ gender identity, including permitting an employer to establish a reasonable
dress code for the workplace.
(h) Nothing in this section shall require an employer to disclose the wages of an employee
in response to an inquiry by another employee, unless the failure to do so would otherwise
constitute unlawful employment discrimination. Unless otherwise required by law, nothing
in this section shall require an employee to disclose his or her wages in response
to an inquiry by another employee.
(i) An agreement to settle a claim of a violation of subsection (a) of this section shall
not prohibit, prevent, or otherwise restrict the employee from working for the employer
or any parent company, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of the employer. Any provision
of an agreement to settle a claim of a violation of subsection (a) of this section
that violates this subsection shall be void and unenforceable with respect to the
individual who made the claim.
(j) Except for claims alleging a violation of subdivision (a)(7) of this section or disparate
impact discrimination an employee shall not be required to demonstrate the existence
of another employee or individual to whom the employee’s treatment can be compared
to establish a violation of this section.
(k) Notwithstanding any State or federal judicial precedent to the contrary:
(1) harassment and discrimination need not be severe or pervasive to constitute a violation
of this section; and
(2) behavior that a reasonable employee with the same protected characteristic would consider
to be a petty slight or trivial inconvenience shall not constitute unlawful harassment
or discrimination pursuant to this section. (Added 1963, No. 196, § 1; amended 1971, No. 9, eff. Feb. 25, 1971; 1975, No. 198 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1981, No. 65, § 1; 1987, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 2; 1987, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 2; 1991, No. 135 (Adj. Sess.), § 15; 1999, No. 19, § 4; 1999, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2001, No. 81 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 25, 2002; 2005, No. 10, § 1; 2007, No. 41, § 18; 2013, No. 31, § 2; 2013, No. 35, § 2; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 129; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 145; 2017, No. 184 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2023, No. 6, § 249, eff. July 1, 2023; 2023, No. 80, § 1, eff. July 1, 2023.)