This checklist is general information for employers in Cook County, Illinois. The ordinance reaches employers that are based or do business in Cook County, not businesses that operate only in DuPage, Kane, Will or Kendall counties. Background is on the overview page and the rules and numbers page.
The Lamplight Hiring Review
Employers commonly work through these steps when hiring or updating policies.
- Confirm coverage. Is the business based or doing business in Cook County, and does its town have its own ordinance with remedies?
- Read the application form. Look for credit-history questions and credit-report requests, which the ordinance limits except for listed roles.
- Move criminal-history questions to after selection for an interview, or a conditional offer, unless an exception applies.
- Check ads, interviews and pay practices against the 19 protected classes.
- Set up religious accommodation requests so that a refusal rests on a documented undue hardship.
- Cover harassment and retaliation in policy, including conduct by customers and vendors.
- Plan for a complaint. Calendar the 30-day answer window and keep relevant records from the day the complaint is served.
- Re-check the Code and Commission rules each January and July.
Common mistakes
- Asking applicants for credit reports or credit history for roles outside the exceptions.
- Asking about criminal history on the application or before the interview or conditional offer.
- Missing the 30-day response to a served complaint and drifting toward default.
- Refusing a religious accommodation without showing undue hardship.
- Ignoring harassment by customers or vendors that the employer knew or should have known about.
- Retaliating against a worker who complained or testified.
- Landlords: blanket bans on tenants with convictions or on Housing Choice Vouchers.
- Deleting relevant records after a complaint is served.
When to talk to an attorney
A CPA cannot answer these questions. An attorney can.
- A served complaint, subpoena or default notice.
- How to respond if the complainant asks for, or elects, a court case, given the 20-day and 90-day windows.
- Religious accommodation, undue-hardship, credit-history or criminal-record policy design, including Fair Credit Reporting Act questions.
- Retaliation claims, or charges filed with the County, the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the EEOC at once.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance apply to small employers?
Yes, if the business is based or does business in Cook County. The Code covers employers with one or more employees, so there is no minimum headcount. Governments of the State of Illinois and of Cook County municipalities are excluded.
How long does someone have to file a complaint?
The Code gives 180 days from the alleged violation, or from the last day of a continuing violation. Illinois and federal charges follow their own deadlines, which differ; see Title VII and the Illinois Human Rights Act.
Can an employer ask about criminal or credit history?
The ordinance bars asking about criminal history until an applicant is selected for an interview, or has a conditional offer if there is no interview, with listed carve-outs. Credit reports and credit history are barred except for listed roles, such as required bonding, custody of or unsupervised access to cash or marketable assets of $2,500 or more, signatory power of $100 or more per transaction or managerial control.
What are the fines?
The Commission can order a fine of $100 to $500 per offense, and each day of a continuing violation counts separately. Relief can also include damages, back pay and attorney fees.
A CPA can help with the payroll, tax and accounting side of hiring and back pay, and works alongside the owner's attorney.
Official sources
- Cook County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 42, Article II (Municode)
- Cook County Commission on Human Rights
- Cook County: Human Rights Ordinance and Regulations
- Cook County Commission on Human Rights: Substantive and Procedural Rules (PDF, effective 19 November 2024)
This page is a plain-language summary. The official source controls if there is any difference.