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January 27, 2026
In case you missed it, several laws became effective in Illinois in late 2025 or early 2026. This article is one of three articles discussing those laws. We published an article in December 2025 discussing changes to leave laws in Illinois. Earlier today, we published an article discussing amendments to Illinois’s Workplace Transparency Act, which grants employees increased protection when reporting unlawful employment practices. This article addresses amendments to Illinois’s Human Rights Act and increased protections related to immigration.
Effective January 1, 2026, and with respect to charges pending or filed on or after that date, Illinois amended its Human Rights Act to make it discretionary, rather than mandatory, that the state Department of Human Rights conduct a fact-finding conference in its investigation of a charge of unlawful employment discrimination. See 2025 IL S.B. 2487.
The amendment also outlines civil penalties for each specific violation of the Human Rights Act and for each injured party. Such penalties may be in an amount not exceeding $16,000 for an employer’s first violation; an amount not exceeding $42,500 for an employer’s second violation if it occurred within five years of the first violation; and in an amount not exceeding $70,000 if the employer committed two or more violations during the previous seven years.
Illinois Employers: If you wish to have a fact-finding conference with the Department of Human Rights, you and the opposing party must submit a written request within 90 days of the filing of the charge. The Department must then conduct a fact-finding conference unless it already has issued its report.
First, effective December 9, 2025, Illinois amended its state whistleblower statute to prohibit employer retaliation against employees who disclose or threaten to disclose – in good faith – violations of state or federal constitutional rights during civil immigration enforcement. See 2025 Ill. HB 1312.
Second, effective December 12, 2025, Illinois amended its Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act to prohibit employers from imposing employment authorization standards that are stricter than those required under federal law. See 2025 Ill. SB 2339. The amendments also prohibit employers from taking adverse action against employees upon receipt of a notice indicating mismatches or other discrepancies in an employee’s identification documents. Instead, employers must provide notice to the employee of the alleged discrepancy and an opportunity for the employee to respond.
Non-profits and labor unions may now bring civil lawsuits as “interested parties,” and employees, job applicants, or their representatives may file lawsuits, to enforce the amendments. Remedies for violations include fines, reinstatement, back pay, attorney’s fees, and other damages.
Illinois Employers: Update your anti-retaliation policies and your employment verification procedures to comply with these amendments.
The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Illinois, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
