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.