Effective January 1, 2026, Senate Bill 2487 will amend the Illinois Human Rights Act (the “IHRA” or the “Act”).  The changes will significantly impact the investigation of IHRA charges and potential penalties.

Fact-Finding Conferences Will No Longer Be Mandatory for Every Charge

Pursuant to the amendments, the Illinois Department of Human Rights (the “Department”) will not be required to hold a mandatory fact-finding conference for each and every charge it receives.  Instead, the Department will be empowered to conduct such conferences “in its discretion.”  In addition, parties to a charge will be able to jointly request a fact-finding conference if they submit separate written requests within 90 days of the charge being filed and jointly agree to a 120-day extension on the deadline for the Department’s report.  A fact-finding conference will be granted upon the Department’s receipt of both parties’ requests as long as the Department has not already issued its report.  Consistent with the previous version of the Act, a party’s failure to attend any fact-finding conference will result in dismissal of the charge or default.  

Employers may be relieved to learn that fact-finding conferences will no longer be mandatory in every case, but should evaluate with legal counsel the potential benefits of agreeing to a fact-finding conference when not ordered by the Department to attend, particularly where there may be the potential for early resolution of a charge at such a conference.  

These changes will apply to all charges pending or filed with the Department on or after January 1, 2026.

New Penalties for IHRA Violations

The amendments also empower the Illinois Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”) to impose a new penalty for each specific act of an employer which constitutes a civil rights violation and for each aggrieved party who was injured by the violation.

The maximum penalty the Commission can impose will depend on the employer’s history of prior IHRA violations.  A first offense can result in a penalty of up to $16,000.  For a second offense within the five-year period leading up to the filing of the current charge, the penalty can be up to $42,500.  Three or more violations within the seven-year period preceding the filing of the current charge can result in a penalty of up to $70,000. 

Critically, if the violation for which a penalty is imposed was perpetrated by the same person who committed the previous violations (for example, the same supervisor at a company), the five- and seven-year time limits will not apply, and the more severe penalty can be imposed regardless of when the previous violations occurred.