Lázaro Law Group offers a complimentary consultation for pregnancy discrimination matters, and reimbursement of court costs may be part of a successful outcome.

The free consultation is at no cost. Beyond that, fee structure depends on case type, claim category, and forum. In successful pregnancy-related discrimination claims under Title VII or the Illinois Human Rights Act, courts can award lost wages, emotional distress damages, and reimbursement of legal costs including attorney fees. The firm reviews fee terms during your consultation so you understand cost exposure before any work begins. Call (312) 680-7519 to schedule.

The firm represents both employers and employees, which sharpens evidence strategy and forum selection in pregnancy discrimination cases.

Most Chicago pregnancy discrimination attorneys recite federal law without comparing the EEOC, IDHR, Cook County, and Chicago Commission filing routes. Lázaro Law Group's dual-perspective experience exposes how employers actually defend these cases, which shapes how the firm preserves evidence and selects forums.

Timelines range from months to over a year depending on forum, settlement openness, and whether the case proceeds to employment litigation.

Administrative investigation at the EEOC or IDHR commonly takes several months before a right-to-sue letter issues. Mediation can shorten the timeline. Cases that require employment litigation, including a federal pregnancy discrimination action or a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit in court, extend longer. Lázaro Law Group sequences filings to keep the most leverage available throughout the pregnancy discrimination claim.

Filing windows for discrimination in the workplace claims differ sharply by forum, and the shortest one starts running the day the adverse action occurred.

Per the EEOC, the federal filing window for pregnancy discrimination charges is generally 180 days, though state law may extend it. According to the Illinois Department of Human Rights, employment discrimination charges generally can be initiated within 2 years of the alleged discrimination. According to Illinois Legal Aid Online, the Chicago Commission on Human Relations route may have a 365-day window.

The right forum depends on your employer's size, your work location, and the type of pregnancy discrimination claim you have.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission covers federal claims at employers with 15 or more employees. The IDHR covers all Illinois employers under the Illinois Human Rights Act. The Chicago Commission route applies to employers with one or more employees. Lázaro Law Group identifies the forum that preserves the most leverage for your facts. You should contact us before you file to assess the best course for your particular case.

Yes. Pregnancy discrimination laws in Illinois specifically prohibit failure to reasonably accommodate pregnancy, and the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act adds further protections.

According to IDHR guidance, accommodation refusal is prohibited under Illinois law. Common examples of accommodations include the right to perform modified job duties, schedule changes, lifting limits, water access, and bathroom break adjustments. Federal law does not establish mandatory maternity leave, but it requires that a temporarily disabled employee due to pregnancy receive the same benefits and health insurance treatment as other employees with similar work limitations. Refusing to accommodate a female employee without undue hardship may be considered pregnancy discrimination.

Lázaro Law Group preserves evidence, maps filing options, reviews any severance pressure, and identifies witnesses before the record changes.

In the first days, the firm’s attorneys collect emails, performance reviews, schedule records, accommodation requests, and comparator information, then provides legal guidance on next steps. The firm maps EEOC, IDHR, Cook County, and Chicago Commission options. If a severance agreement has been offered, the firm reviews waiver language before any deadline. The goal is to secure leverage before the employer's narrative hardens.

Small Chicago employers can still face pregnancy discrimination claims under Illinois and Chicago local routes, even when federal coverage does not apply.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act generally covers employers with 15 or more workers. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act amended Title VII to prohibit sex discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. The Illinois Human Rights Act covers all Illinois employers for pregnancy claims. The Illinois Human Rights Act applies to employers with one or more employees, so a small-employer answer at the federal level does not end the analysis.

In Illinois the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act, 820 ILCS 260, does two main things. Section 10 requires employers to provide reasonable paid break time, at the employee’s regular rate, each time the employee needs to express milk for one year after the child’s birth. The employer cannot require the employee to use paid leave for it or dock compensation, and the only out is undue hardship as defined in the Illinois Human Rights Act. As amended effective January 1, 2026, the paid-at-regular-rate requirement is explicit in the statutory text. Section 15 requires the employer to make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location near the work area, other than a toilet stall, where the employee can pump in privacy.

Worth knowing alongside it: the federal PUMP Act also applies, but Illinois is more generous because the federal law generally does not require the break time to be paid for non-exempt employees, while Illinois does. Separately, the pregnancy accommodation provisions of the Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5/2-102(J), list private pumping space among the required accommodations, so an employee denied pumping breaks or space may have claims under both statutes.

Yes — ideally before you sign. If you have received a severance agreement tied to a pregnancy disclosure, leave, or accommodation request, have it reviewed before you sign anything, because a release can waive your discrimination and retaliation claims and those rights are hard to recover once you sign. Lázaro Law Group reviews the agreement, the timing of the events, and your available filing windows so you understand what you would be giving up — and whether the offer is fair — before you decide.