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Attorneys Licensed in Illinois and Washington State
Super Lawyers 2007-2022
Top Lawyers in Illinois as selected by their peers
Top Lawyers in Chicago as published in the National Law Journal
AV Preeminent Rating (View) – Martindale Hubbell
For over 37 years, Kinoy, Taren & Geraghty, P.C. was at the forefront of civil rights employment and fair housing litigation. Its partners represented individuals and groups in securing their rights to work and live free of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, age and disability. KT&G has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of a employees who were discriminated against and harassed on the basis of their gender, race, national origin or disabilities. The firm has enforced wage and hour laws on behalf of employees and has provided counseling and representation to not-for-profits and small businesses in the area of employment and fair housing law. For decades, Kinoy, Taren & Geraghty, P.C. has been recognized as one of the premier federal civil rights litigation firms in the Chicago area.
Jeffrey L. Taren is now joining his son, Jordan A. Taren and the law firm of Shishido Taren and Goldsworthy to offer representation, arbitration and mediation services in the Chicagoland area concentrating in the following areas of law:
Mediation and Arbitration Practice: Attorney Jeffrey L. Taren is an experienced neutral who serves on the Employment and Consumer Law Panels of the American Arbitration Association for the Chicago and Midwest area and for the Seattle, Washington and Pacific Northwest areas. Mr. Taren is available to privately arbitrate and mediate both individual and class action matters. He served as a Hearing Officer for the Chicago Commission on Human Relations for over 25 years. As a neutral, Mr. Taren was appointed by the Special Master in the McReynolds v. Merrill Lynch class action to assist in the adjudication of claims in the $160,000,000.00 employment discrimination settlement. Mr. Taren has personally participated in over 100 individual and class action mediations throughout his career.
Severance Negotiations and Executive Contracts: Jeffrey L. Taren continues to negotiate severance agreements and employment contracts for individuals in the Chicago area at all levels of employment. He has negotiated million-dollar severance agreements and executive contracts for employees in Fortune 500 companies and not-for-profit corporations.
Employment Discrimination: During his career Mr. Taren has successfully pursued claims alleging race, sex, age, national origin and disability discrimination in employment. Highlights include:
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- Settlement of claims for deaf employee wrongfully denied the right to bring her hearing dog to her workplace.
- Successful resolution of pregnancy discrimination case on behalf of social media manager terminated after announcing her pregnancy.
- $400,000 jury verdict in the U.S. District Court for emotional injuries for the former Director of Nursing at an Illinois nursing home who was fired after the new owners discovered that she had breast cancer.
- $10 million recovered for class of African American dockworkers in racial harassment and discrimination suit. William Bandy et al v. YRC, Inc.
- $1 million recovered for class of managers who claimed race discrimination in promotions. Acie Moore et al v. Menard, Inc.
- Numerous private settlements of individual racial and sexual harassment cases.
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Fair Housing Litigation: For almost 40 years, Jeffrey Taren has served as General Counsel to Chicago area Fair Housing organizations and has litigated some of the leading cases involving discriminatory housing practices including, racial discrimination and steering, discriminatory lending, reasonable accommodations and modifications, access to handicap parking and group home litigation.
Mr. Taren recently announced the $4,000,000 settlement of a fair housing lawsuit brought against the nationwide realtor Redfin that will expand housing opportunities for consumers of color in major cities throughout the United States. MHB, along with the New York law firm of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady & Mazel, LLP, representing the National Fair Housing Alliance and 9 Fair Housing Centers throughout the country, brought disparate impact claims under the Fair Housing Act alleging that Redfin used home price thresholds that denied their services to persons seeking to sell or buy lower priced homes. This effectively redlined Black and Hispanic communities in major metropolitan areas and deprived these home seekers from using Redfin’s services. |
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- In the past several years Mr. Taren has successfully resolved numerous housing discrimination cases alleging the failure to provide handicap parking spaces, the refusal to allow emotional support animals and the failure to accommodate the physical needs of persons in wheelchairs
- Mr. Taren has co-counseled nationwide class action lending discrimination cases that have recovered over $20,000,000 to minority homeowners. e.g. Payares v. Chase, CV 07-05540 (C.D. CA.)
- Mr. Taren has litigated the leading cases against condominium associations and developers who have refused to provide handicap parking spaces to residents in need. Jafri v. Chandler Condominiums, et al.
- Mr. Taren has litigated numerous cases against architects and developers involving obligations to design and construct multi-family housing accessible to residents with disabilities, including the recent settlement in Open Communities v. Focus Development et al. which resulted in the complete retrofitting of an 8-story, 175 unit apartment complex in Evanston, Illinois.
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Mr. Taren also represents several developers of multi-family housing, assisting them with compliance issues concerning their obligations under local, state and federal civil rights laws with regard to accessibility and other fair housing obligations. |
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Police Misconduct Litigation: Attorney Taren has recently obtained a $450,000 recovery on behalf of a military veteran who was beaten by prison correctional guards after being arrested for a misdemeanor. He has been counsel for two of the Fairbanks Four, seeking justice after spending 18 years in prison for a murder that they did not commit. |
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- $175,000 excessive force settlement on behalf of young man forcefully restrained without probable cause.
- $150,000 settlement on behalf of passenger in vehicle riddled by police bullets while leaving the scene of a police stop.
- MHB obtained a landmark $15,000,000 jury verdict on behalf of Leonard Thomas, an unarmed man shot and killed by police while holding his young son.
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Wage and Hour Litigation: KT&G enforced federal and state wage and overtime laws on behalf of groups and individuals. |
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- Recent settlements of wage and hour claims on behalf of remote employees being paid less than City’s minimum wage ordinance.
- $6.8 million recovered in overtime case for Sergeants, Lieutenants and Captains of Chicago Police Department. Tracy et al v. City of Chicago.
- $1 million recovered for Illinois class of employees not paid wages in a timely manner.
Hlas v. Menard, Inc.
- Thousands recovered in individual claims for unpaid overtime. Judgment obtained against Illinois employer under new Employee Classification Act making it illegal to misclassify employees as independent contractors. Perez v. Midway Overhead Door, Inc.
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Vacation Pay and Bonuses: The firm represented individuals and groups in securing their rights to vacation pay and bonuses upon termination from employment. |
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- $4 million obtained for former employees who claimed they did not receive bonuses and vacation pay in compliance with Illinois law. Ronny Cunningham et al v. Menard, Inc.
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Family and Medical Leave Act: KT&G was at the forefront of FMLA litigation, winning important decisions in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. See, Stevenson v. Hyre Electric, 505 F.3d 720 (7th Cir. 2007); Shaffer v. American Medical Association, 662 F.3d 439 (7th Cir. 2011)
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