In 2006, Plaintiff began working with a contractor as a janitor at a Chicago police station. Three years later the station decided that Plaintiff could no longer work there after people learned Plaintiff was previously arrested in 1999 even though the charge was dismissed for lack of probable cause. Court properly found that Plaintiff’s termination violated Illinois law. Employers may terminate employees for prior conduct, but they may not do so based solely on the fact that the person was arrested for that conduct. Instead, there must be information that indicates the person actually engaged in the conduct. On remand trial court must: (1) reexamine its reductions in costs and give specific reasons for any reductions; and (2) adjust the fee calculations to fit the rates of each attorney. It was an abuse of discretion for the court to arbitrarily reduce the attorney’s costs and rates without any explanation or clear rationale. (NEVILLE and SIMON concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Employment Discrimination