Because 2020 is a year filled with new employment laws for Illinois with effective various dates, we thought our clients would appreciate having a simple list to serve as a reminder of some key changes:

New Illinois Law and Effective date

• Recreational marijuana legalized – January 1, 2020
• New legal requirements for separation and release agreements – January 1, 2020
• New legal requirements for arbitration agreements – January 1, 2020
• Add “gender violence” as another protected category to VESSA policies – January 1, 2020
• Add independent contractors, non-employees, vendors, consultants, and volunteers to harassment and discrimination policies and complaint protections – January 1, 2020
• Require special sex harassment training for restaurant and bar employees – January 1, 2020
• Add wording “perceived and actual” to Equal Employment Opportunity policies, which expands protection from discrimination – January 1, 2020
• Employers must report discrimination complaints and settlements that occur during the mandated reporting period to Illinois Department of Human Rights – July 1, 2020
• Employers to provide hotel and casino workers mandatory panic buttons to provide protection from sex harassment and/or assaults – July 1, 2020
• City of Chicago requires certain industries to provide employee work schedules in advance – July 1, 2020

If you have any questions or concerns about the new laws, please contact us.