On April 27, 2022, the Chicago City Council amended the city's sexual harassment ordinance with the express purpose of promoting zero tolerance of violence and harassment in the workplace. The amendments will be part of the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance.
The ordinance retains the current directive that:
[n]o employer, employee, agent of an employer, employment agency or labor organization shall engage in sexual harassment. An employer shall be liable for sexual harassment by nonemployees or nonmanagerial and nonsupervisory employees only if the employer becomes aware of the conduct and fails to take reasonable corrective measures.
Employers are defined as "any individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, business trust, or any person or group or persons that provides employment to one or more employees in the current or preceding calendar year and any agent of such an entity or person[,]" that are subject to Chicago licensing requirements or maintain a business facility within city limits.
Employees are individuals "engaged to work in the City of Chicago for or under the direction or control of another for monetary or other valuable consideration."
The amendments, which take effect July 1, 2022, bolster the city's commitment to promoting safer workplace environments in six ways:
The definition of sexual harassment is revised to explicitly include sexual misconduct:
"Sexual harassment" means any...
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