State Employee Rights

As a State employee with a disability, you have the right to a workplace free of discrimination and harassment. Your employer must treat you in a similar manner to employees without disabilities. You have the right to be considered for training and promotional opportunities on the same basis as other employees. The employer cannot discipline or discharge you, unless other employees would be disciplined or discharged for the same reason.

Harassment can take different forms and may include offensive remarks about a person’s disability. Although the law doesn’t prohibits simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren’t very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or sever that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

You have the right to request reasonable accommodation of your disability, including such things as leaves of absence, acquisition of equipment, or provision of sign language interpreters. Each agency has a reasonable accommodation policy and procedure. See the fact sheet Your Right to Reasonable Accommodation for further information.

Current state employees under the jurisdiction of the Governor who are unable to perform their current job due to their disabilities and are on disability leave of absence can participate in the Alternative Employment Program. Under this program, employees with disabilities are considered for other employment for which they are qualified.

Each state agency has an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action (EEO/AA) Officer and an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA0 Coordinator. See these lists for the individuals assigned to these duties in your agency [link to lists]. If you have been discriminated against in employment on the basis of disability, you can file a complaint internally with the EEO/AA Officer (see above) or externally with the Illinois Department of Human Rights, within 180 days of the act of discrimination, or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, within 300 days of the discriminatory act.​