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JUSTICE GALASSO delivered the opinion of the court:

The complainant, Michelle Anderson, appeals from a final order issued by the chief legal counsel (Chief Counsel) of the Illinois Department of Human Rights (the Department) sustaining the dismissal of a charge she filed with the Department pursuant to the Illinois Human Rights Act (the Act) (775 ILCS 5/1--101 et seq. (West 1996)) against her employer, Modern Metal Products, and Nancy Kolar. On appeal, the complainant raises the following issues: (1) whether the decision to affirm the dismissal of the complainant's charge of discrimination against the employer for lack of substantial evidence was an abuse of discretion; (2) whether the decision to affirm the dismissal of the complainant's charge of discrimination against the employer based upon the complainant's handicap for lack of jurisdiction was an abuse of discretion; and (3) whether the decision to dismiss the complainant's charge of discrimination based upon retaliation against Nancy Kolar for lack of jurisdiction was an abuse of discretion. The Human Rights Commission, originally a party in this appeal, was dismissed as such by order of this court on August 28, 1998.

On February 21, 1996, the complainant filed charges against her employer and Nancy Kolar, a supervisor with the employer. In her charge she alleged that she is a white female, suffering disabilities resulting from work-related injuries. She further alleged that she had been wrongfully disciplined and harassed by her male supervisors because of her sex and disabilities; that she had been unjustly disciplined and suspended for attendance problems while her male coworkers and nondisabled coworkers were not disciplined or harassed for similar attendance records; that she had complained about the discrimination; and that she believed that the employer was trying to have her fired based upon her sex, disabilities, and in retaliation for her justified complaints.

On May 14, 1996, the complainant filed an amended charge against the employer in which she alleged that on November 17, 1995, Nancy Kolar suspended her and that on April 4, 1996, Ms. Kolar threatened to fire the complainant in retaliation for filing the February 21, 1996, discrimination complaint. In that complaint, the complainant alleged that, due to the illness of her daughter, she requested time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (Family and Medical Leave Act) (29 U.S.C.