Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in Illinois

Re: Retail workers use info on checks to ask for dates

I understand your concern. When I was in law school, I went to a pharmacy, purchased something and when home. Later, I received a telephone call from the clerk, asking to get together. He explained that he got my phone number from my check, was gay and found me attractive. I told him that, no, I was not gay and that I did not want to get together, even as "friends," as he was later suggesting. Fortunately, he did not call back.

I suppose, then, that the issue is one of harassment. If these retail workers have called once and, after you declined their respective invitations, did not call you again, I doubt there is a lot that can be done about it. Without conducting specific research on the issue, I cannot say with certainty whether their conduct violates some sort of privacy statute, i.e., one designed at the non-private use of personal information derived from a business transaction.

That said, I no longer have either my address or phone numbers on my checks, and I do not give out my telephone numbers at toy stores or to other merchants (which solves the independent problem of curbing phone solicitations).

If any of these individuals refuse to take "no" for an answer, I think you will have a stronger case.

Good luck.

-- Kenneth J. Ashman; Ashman Law Offices, LLC; [email protected]; www.lawyers.com/alo

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