DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION IN SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY

The disability discrimination law in suburban Cook County provides claimants a fair opportunity to prove their discrimination claims. The Cook County Commission's Interpretive Rules on Disability Discrimination state that "an impairment is to be determined without regard to mitigating measures such as medicines, or assistive or prosthetic devices." Section 620.110. The Cook County Ordinance requires that a charge of discrimination must be filed within 180 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act.

There is a crucial difference between the Cook County Commission disability discrimination law and the Americans with Disabilities Act as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Sutton v. United Airlines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471 (1999), the Supreme Court's restrictive interpretation of the ADA is that the severity of an impairment must be viewed in its treated or corrected condition.

The Sutton case eliminates dozens of impairments as potential disabilities under the ADA. Also, the Supreme Court's decision casts a dark shadow on many other impairments. If an ADA claimant can overcome the hurdle of showing that her impairment is a disability, then she may have a serious problem proving that she is qualified to do her work.

Workers in suburban Cook County are fortunate that the Cook County disability discrimination ordinance provides protection to persons who do their best to overcome their impairments through assistive devices or medicines. The interpretation of the Cook County disability provisions is a model for the Democratic Congress to follow in amending the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Our law firm has been at the forefront of representing workers, including employees with disabilities, for over 50 years. We are located next door to the Cook County Human Rights Commission, which is at 69 W. Washington St., Chicago, Illinois.

Revised: 11/18/2007

Nothing on this page or any of the pages constituting this web site should be construed as offering legal advice about disability discrimintion or any other subject. The attorneys of Katz, Friedman are licensed to practice law in Illinois, including representation of disabilities discrimination claimants in suburban Cook County.