Employee Discipline: Illinois

Federal law and guidance on this subject should be reviewed together with this section.

Authors: Stuart R. Buttrick, Susan W. Kline, Stacey Smiricky and Lindsey Hogan, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Summary

• Employers' standards can be established by various sources and set out in various locations. See The Process of Discipline; Communicating Expectations for Workplace Conduct.
• Illinois has specific requirements and limitations with regard to employee discipline and related investigations. See When to Investigate Employee Behavior in Advance of Discipline.
• Illinois has strict harassment and discrimination laws. See When to Investigate Employee Behavior in Advance of Discipline.
• Illinois law protects employee privacy rights, and imposes limitations on the use of polygraph or lie detector tests. See Privacy Concerns in Investigations; Polygraph or Lie Detector Tests.
• Employers should not discipline employees for absences due to protected leave. See Specific Discipline Situations; Attendance.
• Employees can be liable if they disclose confidential business information to a competitor. See Specific Discipline Situations.
• Illinois law protects employee rights to certain inventions. See Employee Inventions.
• Illinois laws contain protections for whistleblowers. See The Process of Discipline; Treatment of Employees Who Have Engaged in Protected Activities.
• Illinois has unique leave of absence laws. See The Process of Discipline; Treatment of Employees Who Have Engaged in Protected Activities.
• The Illinois concealed weapons law may affect an employer's enforcement of its workplace policy banning guns from the workplace. See Discipline Regarding Guns in the Workplace.
• Defamation claims are sometimes raised by disciplined or terminated employees. See Defamation Avoidance.
• Illinois law protects the confidentiality of disciplinary documentation and communications. See Confidentiality of Disciplinary Communications.
• From time to time, disciplined or terminated employees raise claims of false imprisonment. See False Imprisonment.
• It does not violate Illinois law to enforce COVID-19 measures by terminating employment or excluding individuals from a place of employment in response to noncompliance. See Health Care Right of Conscience Act.
• Employers of 25 or more employees applying for or receiving certain state contracts or grants must comply with drug-free workplace requirements. See Disciplining Employees With Drug and Alcohol Addictions.
• E-cigarette use is banned in certain areas. See E-Cigarettes.
• Chicago and Cook County have requirements pertaining to employee discipline. See Local Requirements.