Commission on Human Rights

In furtherance of President Preckwinkle’s efforts to ensure the health and safety of Cook County  residents and its workforce, and to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Cook County Department of Human Rights and Ethics will be closed March 18– 31, 2020.   Any deadlines for the filing of complaints, required responses to requests for information, and other deadlines related to the investigation and adjudication of cases by the Commission on Human Rights or the Ethics Commission will be tolled during this time. Similarly, if the Department remains closed beyond March 31, 2020 the deadlines as noted previously will be extended until such time as the office reopens. The Department will be monitoring all voicemail and email messages to our office. Thank you for your understanding and support during these very difficult times. 

The Cook County Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinances are now in effect. Follow the links for "Earned Sick Leave Ordinance and Regulations" and "Minimum Wage Ordinance and Regulations" to learn more.

The mission of the Cook County Commission on Human Rights is two-fold: (1) To protect people who live or work in Cook County from discrimination and harassment in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, credit transactions, and access to Cook County facilities, services and programs and (2) To ensure that those who work in, or for the benefit of, Cook County are paid an appropriate wage for their labors and receive appropriate benefits. The Commission pursues these objectives through enforcement of four County ordinances:

• The Cook County Human Rights Ordinance: This ordinance prohibits people in Cook County (including employers, landlords, property managers, real estate agents, store and restaurant owners, bankers, lenders and Cook County government officials and employees) from unlawfully discriminating against or harassing other people on the basis of that person's race, color, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, military discharge status, source of income (including use of a housing choice voucher), housing status, or gender identity. The ordinance also provides protection against retaliation for making a discrimination or harassment complaint and provides additional protections against some forms of employment discrimination based on a person's credit history or criminal background.

• The Cook County Living Wage Ordinance: This ordinance requires that all employees who contract with Cook County government to provide labor or who operate on property in Cook County that receives a Class 6B, Class 8 or Class 9 property tax incentive pay their employees not less than a living wage as determined annually by Cook County's Chief Financial Officer. Beginning July 1, 2019, the living wage is $12.38/hr. with employer-provided healthcare benefits and $15.47/hr. without.

• The Cook County Minimum Wage Ordinance: This ordinance requires that all employers with employees in Cook County pay those employees not less than a minimum wage as determined annually by law. Beginning July 1, 2019, the minimum wage in Cook County is $12/hr., and the base wage for tipped employees is $5.25/hr.

• The Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance: This ordinance requires that all employers with employees in Cook County provide those employees with paid time off to recover from illness or injury, obtain medical care or care for a sick family member. Beginning July 1, 2017, employees in Cook County can earn at least one day off for every 320 hours worked.

The Commission on Human Rights enforces each of these ordinances through a variety of means, including rulemaking, investigating complaints by members of the public, and mediating those disputes when possible or conducting hearings to award compensatory damages, injunctions and other relief when necessary.