Catherine R. Locallo, Robbins Schwartz, Chicago
312-332-7760 | Email Catherine R. Locallo
Disparate-Impact Legislation Advances to Governor, Raising Compliance Stakes for Employers
On June 1, 2026, the Illinois General Assembly passed The Civil Rights Safeguard Act, Senate Bill 3777, which would amend the Illinois Human Rights Act to expressly prohibit employers from using hiring criteria, employment policies, or workplace practices that appear neutral but have an unjustified discriminatory effect (disparate impact) on protected groups.
The bill is yet another amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act which prohibits discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation in connection with employment, housing, public accommodations, financial credit, and education. According to the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the legislation is intended to keep disparate-impact protections firmly embedded in Illinois law. Those protections reflect a longstanding legal theory recognized under federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Department has described the legislation, in part, as a response to what it views as a lack or reduction of disparate-impact enforcement at the federal level.
Disparate impact is not intentional discrimination. It asks whether a seemingly neutral policy disproportionately affects a protected group, regardless of intent.
To that end, the legislation defines “criteria or methods”, as “practices, policies, and groups of practices or policies that may have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination prohibited under this Act”. It also makes it “a civil rights violation for any employer, employment agency, or labor organization to use criteria or methods in any act as set forth in Section 2-102 that have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination on the basis of unlawful discrimination, citizenship status, family responsibilities, work authorization status, arrest record, or conviction record.”
Employers may defend a practice by showing it is job related and consistent with business necessity, unless a less discriminatory alternative would achieve the same objective.
It is anticipated that the Governor will sign this bill into law on or before the end of August 2026, and it would take effect on January 1, 2027. If it is signed into law, employers should review current policies, hiring and promotion practices, and candidate screening and assessment tools (including the use of AI) to ensure they do not unintentionally create a disparate impact.
For more information about employment and labor law, see EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION (IICLE®, 2026). Online Library subscribers can view it for free by clicking here. If you don’t currently subscribe to the Online Library, visit www.iicle.com/subscriptions.