Chicago Employment Discrimination Lawyer

Seeking Justice for Victims of Workplace Discrimination

It is illegal under federal and state laws for employers or potential employers to discriminate against employees or candidates on the basis of certain actual or perceived protected categories, including race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, and other protected characteristics. If you believe your employer has discriminated against you because you’re in a protected class, contact Atlas Law Center for legal guidance.

Every employer has the duty to prevent a hostile work environment under Illinois state and federal law, so if your employer has failed at this, you have the right to seek legal recourse with help from a discrimination lawyer. Initiating an employment discrimination claim can allow you to get compensation to make up for any opportunities you missed out on because you were discriminated against. If you’re interested in learning about your rights as an employee in Illinois, contact our Chicago employment discrimination law firm today for a free consultation.

What Is Employment Discrimination?

Before you bring a legal case against your employer, it’s essential to make sure what you’re experiencing at work qualifies as employment discrimination according to state and federal laws. In short, if you’re treated differently than other employees because you belong to a protected class, you might be a victim of employment discrimination.

Some examples of unfair treatment at work include:

Getting inferior job assignments
Being passed over for a promotion that you’re qualified for
Being subject to demeaning comments at work
Being paid a lower wage than other employees in the same position
Being denied a reasonable accommodation for a disability
Dealing with sexual harassment at work
Getting asked invasive questions about your health, genetic background, or plans to start a family

It can be challenging to prove that these instances of unfair treatment qualify as workplace discrimination, since employers often deny the underlying reason for their actions. However, if you belong to one of the protected classes recognized by the government, you may be able to prove discrimination in the workplace. The protected characteristics include:

Race
Religion
Color
Sex
Ancestry
Pregnancy
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
National origin
Citizenship status
Military status
Order of protection status
Arrest record
Age (if 40 or older)

If you’re a member of one or more of these protected classes and believe you’re being subjected to workplace harassment or discrimination because of this, contact our Chicago, IL employment law firm today. We’ve helped numerous clients with discrimination claims of all kinds, including racial discrimination, sexual harassment, disability discrimination, gender discrimination, and more.

When you tell our attorneys about the workplace harassment or discrimination you’re facing, we’ll help collect evidence and calculate the compensation you deserve as we seek justice for you. Call our Chicago, IL law office for a free consultation with a caring attorney.

What Are the Main Types of Employment Discrimination Claims?

Workplace discrimination can take different forms, with the two main types being disparate treatment and disparate impact. Disparate treatment happens when an employer purposely targets an individual or group and treats them unequally for unlawful reasons, typically because of protected classes like race, sex, or religion. For example, a victim of disparate treatment might be:

Denied a promotion or job due to their race or gender
Made to feel humiliated or unsafe due to a supervisor’s or coworker’s remarks about women, elderly employees, or people with disabilities
Pressured by a supervisor to engage in sexual activity or face termination
Refused time off for a religious holiday while employees of other faiths get time off for their religious holidays

On the other hand, disparate impact describes when an employer creates a policy or practice with the effect of discriminating against a group, even though it doesn’t specifically single out a protected group for different treatment. This form of discrimination does not need to be intentional for it to be considered unlawful. In fact, it often comes from a seemingly neutral practice that does not purposely discriminate, but the result tends to be discrimination based on race, national origin, age, sex, and more.

Examples of such policies include:

Initiating lifting requirements for a job that does not require lifting, resulting in excluding women or people with certain disabilities
Forbidding employees from speaking any language other than English at all times at work
Requiring employees to reach items at a certain height, even though the job duties do not include reaching up high
Creating job skills tests that applicants from certain ethnic groups or age groups tend to struggle with

If these examples of employment discrimination sound familiar to you, we urge you to contact a trusted lawyer in Chicago to initiate a discrimination lawsuit against your employer. We’ve won several employment discrimination claims for clients in the Chicago area, so if you’re dealing with gender discrimination, age discrimination, sexual harassment, or other human rights violations, we can help you seek justice.

What Should You Do If You’re Experiencing Workplace Discrimination in Illinois?

If you believe you’re a victim of employment discrimination based on your national origin, age, skin color, or other protected traits, you might wonder what to do next. The answer is that you should schedule a free consultation with a discrimination attorney. Chicago residents are protected by a number of laws – from the Illinois Human Rights Act to the Civil Rights Act – that defend their civil rights anywhere they go, including at work.

Skilled Chicago employment discrimination lawyers know the details of these laws and how they’re enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and other agencies. This allows them to find circumstantial and direct evidence proving that their clients are victims of employment discrimination. So, for the best chance of proving your case, you should schedule a meeting with an attorney with extensive experience taking legal action to protect employees in Illinois.

While you await your free consultation, consider taking these basic steps to help your case:

Record dates, times, locations, names, and witnesses of the discrimination. (Note: This must not be done on company time or company equipment and should be kept at home)
Inform your superior or human resources department about what’s happening.
Review the company policies about discrimination, grievance procedures, or arbitration agreements
Keep copies of positive job evaluations and awards
Talk to sympathetic co-workers, as you may find others encountering the same problems, and your complaints may be taken more seriously if you complain together

Taking these steps can help your employment discrimination case go as smoothly as possible. If you’re ready to explore the potential outcomes of your case, including compensation, contact our Chicago, IL law firm today.

How Can a Chicago Discrimination Attorney Help You?

If you believe you have been discriminated against on the basis of race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, or other traits, your employer should be held accountable, and our attorneys can help. We have years of experience representing individuals and classes in employment discrimination matters. We can help find out if your rights were violated and, if so, the compensation you deserve.

If you want the chance to seek justice for workplace discrimination, it is crucial that you get legal assistance as soon as possible, as the statute of limitations can limit your time to get compensation. To report discrimination at work or to get more information on your right to enjoy a workplace free from harassment and discrimination, please call us at 630-394-6350 to speak with a compassionate employment discrimination lawyer.