Kaplan Law Firm is a plaintiff-side employment law and civil rights firm representing employees, executives, and professionals in Chicago and throughout Illinois. Our Chicago employment attorneys handle workplace discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, retaliation, severance agreements, employment contract disputes, and other violations of employee rights.

We provide strategic legal guidance to individuals navigating difficult workplace situations, from negotiating executive severance packages to pursuing employment litigation. Our goal is to help clients understand their rights, evaluate their options, and take meaningful steps toward resolving their legal concerns.

Chicago is our newest location. From here, our attorneys advocate for people facing workplace disputes, discrimination, retaliation, civil rights violations, and other serious legal issues that can affect their careers, livelihoods, and lives.

We believe people deserve attorneys who will listen, take their concerns seriously, and fight for them when their rights have been violated.

Clarissa Pintado

Know Your Rights Under Chicago & Illinois Law

Understanding your rights is an important first step when something goes wrong at work or your civil rights have been violated. Illinois, Chicago, and federal law provide protections against discrimination and other unlawful conduct.

• Employment Discrimination: Illinois law protects workers from discrimination in hiring, firing, pay, promotions, discipline, and other employment decisions based on protected characteristics including race, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, and other protected categories.

• Retaliation: Employees are protected from certain forms of retaliation for reporting discrimination or harassment, filing a complaint, or participating in an investigation.

• Harassment: Harassment based on a protected characteristic, including sexual harassment and a legally actionable hostile work environment, may violate Illinois law.

• Disability & Workplace Accommodations: Illinois law protects workers with physical and mental disabilities from discrimination, including in hiring, firing, pay, assignments, and other terms of employment. Failure to provide a required reasonable accommodation may also constitute discrimination.

• Civil Rights Beyond the Workplace: The Illinois Human Rights Act provides protections against discrimination not only in employment, but also in housing, public accommodations, financial credit, and other covered areas.



• Broad Illinois Protections: Illinois law protects several categories beyond those commonly associated with federal employment law, including marital status, reproductive health decisions, family responsibilities, military status, citizenship and work authorization status, order-of-protection status, and certain arrest and conviction records.