Illinois Supreme Court to Consider Whether Cook County Human Rights Ordinance Authorizes Punitive Damages

On November 29, 2012, the Illinois Supreme Court accepted the petition for leave to appeal in Crittenden v. Cook County Commission on Human Rights. Plaintiff filed a complaint with the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, alleging that her employer had sexually assaulted her in violation of the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance. The Commission awarded plaintiff compensatory damages and $5,000 in punitive damages. The appellate court reversed the award of punitive damages, holding that the Commission was not authorized under the ordinance to award punitive damages because the ordinance does not expressly authorize the award of such damages.

Download to read the appellate court’s decision in Crittenden v. Cook County Commission on Human Rights, 2012 IL App (1st) 112437.

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For more information, please contact Nancy G. Lischer or your regular Hinshaw attorney.

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