Opinion ID: 8414582
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Burden of the Duty

Text: Defendants believe that they have no obligation to fire or demote employees because of their “usage of inappropriate language, or sexual misconduct.” 4 We should not create that obligation, they argue, because the resulting burdens would be intolerable. The problem with that argument is that the defendants already have that obligation, independent of this case and even independent of Illinois tort law. “Hostile or abusive work environments are forms of sex discrimination actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” Lapka v. Chertoff, 517 F.3d 974, 982 (7th Cir. 2008). Sexual harassment is also actionable under the Illinois Human Rights Act. 775 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/2-102(D); Sangamon County Sheriff’s Dep’t v. Illinois Human Rights Comm’n, 233 Ill.2d 125, 330 Ill.Dec. 187, 908 N.E.2d 39, 41 (2009). Under these statutes, employers can be held liable for failing to discipline harassing employees. See Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742, 765, 118 S.Ct. 2257, 141 L.Ed.2d 633 (1998) (employers are vicariously liable for hostile environments created by supervisors unless they can show they “exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior”); EEOC v. Management Hospitality of Racine, Inc., 666 F.3d 422, 434-35 (7th Cir. 2012) (affirming jury verdict for plaintiff, in part because there was sufficient evidence to find that defendants’ sexual harassment policy did not prevent and promptly correct harassment); Smith v. Sheahan, 189 F.3d 529, 535 (7th Cir. 1999) (reasonable jury could conclude that defendant did not remedy harassment when it failed to discipline harasser); Mansker, No. 1999SF0356, 2004 WL 3372598, at  (Ill. Hum. Rts. Comm’n Apr. 7, 2004) (finding employer liable when it had notice of sexual harassment and “did not take actions to correct the working environment”); see also Heath, No. 2003CF1052, 2004 WL 4229510, at  (IL Dep’t Hum. Rts. Aug. 1, 2004) (dismissing in part a charge of discrimination because the employer investigated, suspended, and finally discharged the harassing co-worker). The plaintiff does not ask us to impose any new obligations on employers to oversee their supervisory employees, and we do not do so by allowing this case to proceed.