During the last legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Workplace Transparency Act (WTA), which overhauled sexual harassment reporting and training requirements across the State of Illinois for employers, including units of government. Initially, the law required employers to report the number of adverse judgments issued in 2019 on July 1, 2020. Recently, the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) extended its deadline requiring employers to report all cases of “adverse judgments” regarding instances of alleged discrimination or sexual harassment in the workplace to October 31, 2020. This initial rule change does not affect reporting requirements moving forward.
The WTA defines an adverse judgment or “administrative ruling” as “any final and non-appealable judgment that finds sexual harassment or unlawful discrimination” in the employee’s favor and against the employer. These judgments can include decisions by the Illinois Human Rights Commission, Cook County Commission on Human Rights, Chicago Commission on Human Rights, or a decision by an Illinois Circuit Court. Rulings also include any final judgments by a federal court regarding employment discrimination that are no longer appealable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA), or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Employers are strictly prohibited from reporting the name of a victim of an alleged act of sexual harassment or unlawful discrimination in all required disclosures. Employers are not required to report settlements to the IDHR. Employers with no adverse judgments during the 2019 calendar year are not required to report that information to IDPH—only employers with adverse judgments must report them.
Employers can download and complete the adverse judgment form (2019 Form IDPH 2-108) here and email it to idhr.webmail@illinois.gov on or before October 31, 2020. Civil penalties for not reporting adverse judgments range from $500 to $5,000 depending on the number of workers employed by the employer and the number of offenses for failing to report.
Readers can learn more about the deadline change here and read more about the WTA on the Illinois General Assembly’s website here.
