Section 560.235  Prohibition on Sexual Harassment

a)         All persons have the right to work in an environment free from sexual harassment.  All persons subject to the Act shall refrain from sexual harassment of any person. 

b)         Sexual Harrassment Defined

1)         For purposes of the Act, "sexual harassment" means any unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or any conduct of a sexual nature when:

A)        submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of  an individual's employment;

B)        submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting that individual; or

C)        that conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering  with an individual's work performance or creating an  intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

2)         For the purposes of this definition, the phrase "working environment" is not limited to a physical location where an employee is assigned to perform his or her duties and does not require an employment relationship.  [5 ILCS 430/5-65]

c)         No later than January 1, 2018, each natural person and any entity required to register under the Act shall have a written sexual harassment policy that shall include, at a minimum:

1)         a prohibition on sexual harassment;

2)         details on how an individual can report an allegation of sexual harassment, including options for making a confidential report to a supervisor, ethics officer, Inspector General, or the Department of Human Rights and that reports made to any of the above persons will be confidential to the extent practicable;

3)         a prohibition on retaliation  for reporting sexual harassment allegations, including availability of whistleblower protections under the State Officials and Employee Ethics Act, the Whistleblower Act [740 ILCS 174], and the Illinois Human Rights Act [775 ILCS 5]; and

4)         the consequences of a violation of the prohibition on sexual harassment and the consequences for knowingly making a false report.  [25 ILCS 170/4.7(c)]

(Source:  Added at 43 Ill. Reg. 751, effective December 20, 2018)