We are passionate about advocating for the rights of everyone. Why anyone would care who you want to sleep with or what gender you identify with is beyond me. And fortunately the laws of Illinois agree and offer protections for people who are discriminated against based on things such as their sexual orientation.

Most discrimination lawsuits happen from bad behavior in the workplace. That makes sense because you are at the job probably more than any other location you go to. So there is a lot more time and opportunity for bad behavior to occur. That said, discrimination also happens at places of business that you go to such as restaurants, stores, etc.

The key point in these cases is to know that you can treat someone poorly who is LGBTQ, you just can’t treat them poorly because they are LGBTQ. Does that makes sense? Let me give you a good example.

A lesbian woman contacted us some time ago for legal guidance. She wanted to sue a bar that she felt discriminated against her because of her sexual orientation. When I asked what happened, it turned out that the first time she went into the bar, she recognized one of the workers as someone she had a bad Tinder date with. They ended up blocking each other on that app.

As the story went further, it turns out that this caller confronted that bad date and also shared the story with some of her co-workers at the bar. The next time she came in, a manager asked her to leave and told her she was barred from the establishment because she was making the employees feel uncomfortable.

The caller felt that the employees were uncomfortable because she was a lesbian. Objectively it felt like they were uncomfortable because of her personality and behavior, not her sexual partner preference.

The situation would have been way different if she was in the bar on a date with another woman and they kissed and got asked to leave. It would also be way different if the bar manager or anyone else said anything negative about her sexual preference.

You need actual evidence to win these cases, not a feeling. You can always file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights or if in Chicago, the Commission on Human Relations. But to get a lawyer involved, you have to have objectively strong facts.

If you feel you were discriminated against and want our opinion on that, please call us any time at 312-346-5320 to talk to a lawyer for free and in confidence.