At a Glance
- Senate Bill 3777, the Civil Rights Safeguard Act, codifies disparate impact liability under the Illinois Human Rights Act, creating an express state-law basis for challenging facially neutral employment practices that disproportionately affect protected groups.
- House Bill 4844 amends Illinois’ Jury Act to require employers with over 25 employees to compensate employees at their regular rate of pay for time spent serving on jury duty beginning January 1, 2027.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker recently signed into law two bills that will impact employers in the state. Senate Bill (SB) 3777, the Civil Rights Safeguard Act, amends the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) to codify into statute disparate impact liability under Illinois law. House Bill (HB) 4844 amends Illinois’ Jury Act, 705 ILCS 305 et seq., to mandate that employers with more than 25 employees compensate employees for the time spent serving on jury duty. Both bills were signed into law on July 31, 2026, and are discussed below.
Disparate Impact Analysis
Under a disparate impact theory, a facially neutral policy or practice may be unlawful if it disproportionally affects members of a protected group, even absent discriminatory intent, unless the respondent can satisfy the applicable statutory defense.
Disparate impact liability has long been recognized under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Griggs v. Duke Power, the United States Supreme Court held that an employer’s requirement that...
[Sportschosun Jang Jong-ho] A total of 34.789 billion won in false National Health Insurance claims was detected at 839 health care institutions over the past four years (2022-2025). According to d...