Illinois Employment Legal Questions

The EEOC will always issue you a Right to Sue letter regardless of whether you have a good case, or if you filed your case late.  This means that if your original EEOC was filed late, then you will not be able to prevail in court.  If, however, your mental illness prevented you from filing on time, this is sometimes used as an argument to extend the time to file.  This is not easy to argue.  You would need to meet with an attorney to review your case in more detail... Read More

If you have no employment agreement with the company or have no right to a hearing such as through a union or civil service board that would hear your case, your options are limited.  Most employees are considered "at will" employees which means you have generally have no right to challenge the termination in court, regardless of whether you were sleeping on duty or not. The exceptions to this is if you believe that the termination was in reality based on illegal discrimination (race, religion, age, etc.) or was taken in retaliation for certain complaints you have made that would be protected by the law.  These protected complaints include complaints about safety violations, work place injuries, overtime issues, and other matters.  You should speak to an attorney if you believe one of these areas apply to your case. Even in the absence of discrimination or retaliation, you should make a written appeal to the Director of HR or upper management clearly explaining and denying that you were not sleeping at the time and adding any defense that may apply.  If the appeal is worded properly, it may at least deter the company from telling future prospective employers about this false allegation... Read More

It sounds like you have a case based on the employee manual and, more likely than not, based on the law. Are you speaking with the right person/department? Perhaps you will be paid when everything is processed by the personnel or other appropriate department, but your supervisors or others do not understand that.... Read More

In most cases, there is no rule or law that even requires a severance package be presented.  Therefore, there is no deadline for when or if it even has to be presented.  If there is a larger reorganization or lay off affecting many employees, the severance package is typically offered to all employees affected at the same time. If only you are being let go, there are no laws that apply. You should therefore wait a few more days before asking about it since they do not have to present it to you. The severance should not be confused with the paycheck you may still be owed for time actually worked and the accrued unused vacation.  These payments must be paid to you by the next regular pay period under state law and are owed to you regardless of whether you get a severance package.  Typically, if the severance package is being offered, there will be (or should be) a reference to the regular paycheck and vacation pay you are still owed.... Read More

The employer cannot withhold your paycheck for the time you actually worked.  Even an undocumented worker who is in the US illegally is entitled to be paid for the work they perform. The employer is required to insure that you have a social security # and may want to see your card.  If you could not produce it, they could keep you from working, but would still have to pay for the time you have worked.... Read More

Illinois law requires that you pay the employee the last paycheck, and any accrued and unused vacation time, no later than what would have been the next pay period for when you would have paid that employee had he/she not been terminated.  It is often a good idea to pay them upon their termination so you do not have to worry about any further contact.  But you are not required to do so.... Read More

If the state laws require a license then you can be certain it is a violation for the company to engage in that area without a license.  If you go along with this by giving false information you can be liable for civil fines and possibly criminal penalties. Therefore, you should NOT go along with this. You would be protected by state law if you refuse and are then terminated by your employer.  You would also be protected if you were to report this to a state agency and the company then tried to punish you.  Having said that, it would be safer for your career if you start looking for work elsewhere as soon as possible.... Read More

You should first make a written request for a copy of your personnel file to verfiy that there are no disciplinary actions or documents claiming that you had poor performance.  The company may not have issued any of these to you, but you should verify that there are no such documents that were placed in your personnel file. Once you have obtained your file, you can try asking the prospective employer why you were not selected and try to confirm that there was not a negative reference from your past employer.  Many companies will not divulge such information to you, there are some that may, especially if they were considering hiring you until they received the negative reference.  There are also companies that you can locate on the internet that specialiize in contacting prior employers pretending to be a prospective employer and ask for a reference.... Read More

Illinois law requires that you provide the employee access to and a copy of his personnel file.  You must also provide a copy to former employees for up to 1 year after the end of their employment.  Whatever is in his/her official personnel file must be provided. There are some occasions when certain documents that may relate to the employee are kept in another file which is not the personnel file.  For example, an investigation of the employee's complaints against another employee may not be kept in the personnel file as it may contain confidential information which the employee would not typically have access to such as confidential witness statements or notes of your communications with an attorney about the employee.  But if you do place that information in the employee's personnel file, then under the law he or she is entitled to this.  If that information is kept in a separate file, then it is not considered to be part of the personnel file. If producing this information is of concern to you, you should speak to an attorney to determine what exceptions might apply, and the repercussions of not providing it, if any.... Read More

The rights you may have depend on what type of harassment you were experiencing.  If this was sexual harassment, or based on age, race or some other illegal basis, you can file a charge of with the EEOC or Illinois Department of Human Rights for both retaliation and discrimination.  If this was just a co-worker's general harassment, meaning the employee is just being a jerk, and is not doing this based on one of the illegal types of discrimination, then your rights are more limited.  You should prepare a response indicating specifically where, how, and why you believe the allegations about your performance are false and inaccurate, and indicate that you feel this is retaliation for your complaint.  If, however, the allegations of performance are accurate, your options are more limited.  In either case, it may be worthwhile to meet with an attorney who can help you prepare a proper strategy or take legal action if applicable.... Read More

Employees are entitled to review their personnel files and get copies of what is in those files.  But the proper process is for the employee to make the offical request to see the file or get copies.  Your friend's personnel file was probably in a cabinet with other employee files.  So, going into that file cabinet was probably disconcerting to the boss who could be worried about what other files your friend may have seen.  The office area and the cabinet your friend went into do belong to the company. So arguably, they could argue this was a trespass.  Your friend's counter to this was that she is entitled to see her own file, and that is all she did.  I would not make a big deal of this unless the suspension goes on for a few more days or she is terminated... Read More

There are several laws that protect a federal employee from the conduct that you describe.  The violations of your FMLA rights allow you to file a claim in federal court.  The harassment as to your disabilities may violate the Rehabilatation Act.  Any claim for disability discrimination, however, must be presented to the USPS EEO counselor within 45 days of the incidents you are complaining about.  Therefore, if you have not done so already, contact the EEO counselor at the post office immediatetly. Since you have raised several legal issues, you should contact an attorney who has experience representing federal or USPS employees.... Read More

Once you receive notice of a charge from the Illinois Dept of Labor, you must respond to it and defend against it, regardless of whether there is any merit to this charge or not.  There may be several defenses you have, including that he was not an employee but just an independent contractor.  But you must appear to present these defenses.... Read More

The school probably objected to unemployment before you reached a settlement with the school.  You can still appeal the unemployment decision if you file the appeal within the proper deadline.  You can also ask the school through your attorney, to include a provision saying that the school will not challenge your unemployment claim.  If you can still request a hearing on the unemployment claim, (meaning you did not miss the deadline), the school will have to present any evidence they have to prove misconduct.  If the school cannot prove this, or agrees to not challenge your claim, you may be entitled to unemployment, or at least would not be denied due to alleged misconduct. BUT, the salary or payment you are going to get through the settlement may possibly prevent you from getting unemployment if you are still going to get paid from the school.... Read More

If the manager took these actions against you because of discrimination (race, age, etc.), or retaliation for certain types of complaints you may have made, then you may be able to file a discrimination charge.  If this is just a question of the supervisor not liking you, there may be no legal action to take.  Nevertheless, you should always provide a written response to any termination or negative evaluation that you do not agree with. When ever you receive a performance evaluation that you do not agree with, it is important to provide a factual rebuttal as to those areas that you believe are wrong.  This can include the following:    1.  listing the accomplishments that were ignored by your supervisor and noting why they were important.     2.  Explain why some of the ratings or comments were not accurate.  Be factual and specific  (e.g.,  if you were accused of not meeting a deadline, state that you did in fact meet that deadline).     3.  If there are good reasons why you did not accomplish a particular goal, explain any reasons that were out of your control that prevented you from doing this.  Examples might be waiting on the contributions by others which prevented you from finishing your work, or some specific obstacle that made it impossible to have met the deadline. This rebuttal should be provided to the person who gave you the performance evaluation and ask that it be attached to the evaluation.  If you have good arguments as to why the evaluation was not accurate, this may serve to delay any intended termination, or at least place you in a stronger position to challenge a termination. Your rebuttal should be factual and specific.  Do not just say it was unfair; explain why it was unfair (impossible goals, no one else in the whole company met their sales goals, etc).... Read More

Ordinarily, a company can choose who they want to promote even if the person is not as qualified as you.  However, if the company is not promoting you because of your age, or because of your military service, or some other illegal classification, then you would have a claim you can file against them.  You should meet with an attorney to explore more details in your case.... Read More

There may not be much you can do, unless, the company where you are suppose to be working does in fact need people, but is discriminating against you and the other 2 women.  For example, if the company is sending you home or telling you not to come in because they prefer employees of a different race, gender, national origin, etc., then you would have a claim for discrimination.  This depends on whether the company is using someone else to do your jobs, and determining which characteristics the three of you share besides gender. It is worth speaking to an attorney to explore this further... Read More

An important issue is the reason for the harassment. Are you a member of a protected class and is the harassment aimed at you for that reason? Is there a contract or employee handbook? Is there a union involved? You are going to have a hard time getting an analysis online. You will need to have a fact-specific discussion with an attorney. Viable cases are usually pursued without fees up front, but the cases are carefully screened. Your EEOC contact office for Illinois, except extreme Southern Illinois, will be Chicago.... Read More

A prior employer cannot provide false information about you that would be deemed defamatory.  If you worked there and they are telling others you did not, that causes you to be thought of as a liar.  You should contact the HR company first to make sure they are aware that you did in fact work for them so this does not occur again.  If the false statement caused you to lose a job or they do this again, you can consider legal action for defamation.... Read More

There is a fine line between an internship or student who is learning or being taught new skills, and doing actual labor.  Part of this also involves whether you are getting credit towards your degree, such as being part of your 3rd or 4th year of Vet school, vs. a residency program such as for for M.D.'s. I suggest speaking with an attorney who specializes in wage and hour issues and he/she can probably answer your question very easily or determine whether the line was crossed here or not... Read More

If the sole and real reason for your termination was not appearing at work, then they can terminate you without violating any law.  It seems very unfair and you can and should write a written appeal to the the company (either the Director of HR, or someone higher up in the company) explaining that you did inform a supervisor, indicate you told and when you notified that person.  But there is no legal recourse. If you feel this was just a pretext for discriminination, then you should speak to an attorney in further detail... Read More