Question: My employer let me go after only two days working as a bartender at a Chicago restaurant. My schedule was Wednesday through Saturday, but my childcare fell through. I told my manager, and kept in touch with her over the next couple of days while I worked everything out. When I called and told her I had childcare but couldn’t work Wednesdays, she told me they were going to go with someone else and didn’t want to take a risk because I had kids and unreliable child care. Isn’t that discrimination? A lot of people say I may have a lawsuit. Do I? — Anonymous
Answer: Unfortunately for you, Illinois is an “at-will” state, which means employers can let you go for any reason, so long as bias against a legally protected group is not involved. The law states that employers cannot discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, age, or disability. And, though it wasn’t too bright