The Illinois state legislature has amended the definition of “gender-related violence” under the state’s Gender Violence Act to include domestic violence, i.e., abuse by a family or household member. An employer may be liable for gender-related violence committed in the workplace by an employee or agent of the employer when the interaction giving rise to the gender-related violence arises out of and in the course of employment with the employer. Liability only extends to gender-related violence that occurs:
- while the employee was directly performing the employee’s job duties and the gender-related violence was the proximate cause of the injury; or
- while the agent of the employer was directly involved in the gender-related violence and the performance of the contracted work was the proximate cause of the injury.
The amendments go into effect on January 1, 2024.
