Wheaton Workplace Discrimination Lawyer

Experienced Employment Law Attorney Fighting Against Workplace Discrimination in Wheaton, IL

All workers have the right to be treated equally, regardless of their immutable personal characteristics. No one should be discriminated against because of their race, religion, gender, sexuality, or other protected traits. If you had adverse employment action taken against you or if you are being harassed at work due to a protected trait, you might have experienced unlawful discrimination. Discrimination can take many forms, from being denied a reasonable disability accommodation to having your religion mocked by your coworkers on a frequent basis. Illinois courts take workplace discrimination very seriously. Being discriminated against at work can interfere with a person's ability to earn a living or secure career opportunities that should be available based on the worker's merits.

JSL Law, LLC is committed to protecting workers who have been faced with wrongful discrimination. Attorney Jolianne Alexander will stand up for your right to work without fearing that you will be treated unfairly due to your protected personal traits. She will strive to gather the proof you will need to show that your employer is unlawfully discriminating against you. JSL Law, LLC can take on unique cases or represent you and your coworkers who are facing the same kind of discrimination together.

What is Considered a Protected Trait in Illinois?

In Illinois, workers cannot be discriminated against due to their:

• Race.
• Color.
• Religion.
• National origin.
• Ancestry.
• Disability.
• Sex.
• Sexual orientation.
• Gender identity.
• Pregnancy.
• Military and veteran status.
• Age (40 or over).
• Marital status.
• Order of protection status.
• Family responsibilities (as of January 1st, 2025).
• Arrest or conviction record.
• Citizenship status.
• Language.

The list of protected traits is fairly long and inclusive. Attorney Alexander can answer your questions if you are not sure how a protected trait applies to you.

What Counts as Discrimination?

Almost anything that can be considered an adverse employment action can count as unlawful discrimination if it is carried out because of an employee's protected traits. Workplace discrimination can include:

• Firing or refusing to hire people with a protected trait.
• Failing to promote or give seniority status or tenure on the basis of protected traits. If people of a certain race or other protected status make up a large percentage of a company's workers but none have been promoted to management positions, there is likely discrimination taking place.
• Denying job benefits or favorable job conditions to protected individuals.
• Giving unfavorable performance reviews to employees based on their protected traits, such as taking points of a disabled worker's evaluation because he or she needed accommodations or could not complete certain tasks due to the disability.

What is a Hostile Work Environment?

When a worker is harassed due to his or her membership in a protected class, and the harassment is so severe and persistent that it interferes with the employee's ability to perform his or her job duties, there might be what is called a hostile work environment. This includes harassment that is coming from coworkers instead of supervisors, but is allowed to continue. A few isolated incidents where insensitive comments are made may not be enough to establish a hostile work environment. However, if the harassment has become a near-daily occurrence, you may have a valid hostile work environment claim.

For example, say you are religious and need to take a break during your shift to pray. The other employees do things like mocking your religious customs, placing offensive cartoons or images in the space where you pray, or belittling you for taking your prayer break. This might be a hostile work environment.

Discrimination in Disability Accommodation

Illinois employers cannot discriminate against disabled or pregnant workers who are able to substantially perform their job duties with reasonable accommodations. An accommodation is considered reasonable if it does not put an undue burden on the employer. Things like letting a pregnant worker use a chair at her cash register or providing text-to-voice software for a blind employee are very likely to be considered reasonable. Refusing to provide reasonable accommodation or denying career opportunities to a worker who needs disability accommodations is a form of discrimination.

Contact a Wheaton, IL Workplace Discrimination Lawyer

JSL Law, LLC is committed to protecting employees against unlawful discrimination. Experienced Wheaton workplace discrimination attorney Jolianne Alexander will do all she can to hold employers who discriminate on the basis of protected traits accountable. Contact us at 630-730-8135 for a complimentary consultation.