On February 15, 2019, a proposed bill was introduced in the Illinois House by State Representative Ann M. Williams. This legislation is called the Restaurant Anti-Harassment Act. As of March 29, 2019, this bill is pending before the Rules Committee.

What would the Restaurant Anti-Harassment Act REQUIRE?

· Restaurants would be required to have an Anti-Harassment Policy and Training Policy.

· All restaurant employees would have to be trained.

· Anti-Harassment Policy would have to clearly prohibit sexual harassment.

· This policy would have to establish an incident reporting protocol to the Restaurant owner and the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

· Enforcement of this proposed law would be by the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

· It would authorize a civil penalty of $500 for the first violation and $1,000 for each subsequent violation.

· The proposed effective date would be January 1, 2020.

THIS IS NOT THE LAW YET IN ILLINOIS. Illinois restaurants are now just being put “on notice” that it may be required by law in the near future to have an anti-harassment policy and sexual harassment training, if the bill is signed into law.

If you have any questions, please contact attorney Anthony J. Caruso, Jr., Esq. at (630) 377-1554 or by email at ancaruso@wesselssherman.com