Protecting Employers Since 1985

Illinois Legislature Passes Paid Leave for All Workers Act Providing Annual Paid Leave Which May be Used for any Reason

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / January 13, 2023

On January 10, 2023, the Illinois Legislature passed the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (the “Act”).  This Act is awaiting Governor Pritzker’s signing, but he has clearly indicated strong support of the Act and his intent to sign the Act into law.  This Act will not go into effect until January 1, 2024.  There…

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ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT HOLDS BIOMETRIC PRIVACY CLAIMS ARE NOT PREEMPTED BY WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / February 3, 2022

Today, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision on whether the “exclusive remedy” provision of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act bars BIPA claims against Illinois employers. Unfortunately for employers, the Court ruled that workers’ compensation exclusivity does not bar BIPA claims against employers, thus leaving the floodgates open for further costly, and usually class action,…

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Vaccines Finally Arriving – The Legality of Employer Vaccine Mandates

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / December 18, 2020

On December 16, 2020, the EEOC issued the anticipated guidance for employers relating to the COVID-19 vaccine. There is nothing particularly surprising in the guidelines.  The EEOC confirms that the laws that it administers do not, as a general matter, prohibit an employer from requiring employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or from requiring proof…

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Illinois Restaurant and Bar Owners – Good News: The IDHR Has Released Its Supplemental Model Training PowerPoint for Restaurants and Bars

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / December 18, 2020

For Illinois restaurant and bar owners who have experienced an overwhelmingly difficult year due to COVID-19 shutdown orders and service restrictions, undertaking the new required employee sexual harassment training may seem unnecessary.  However, even if you are running on a lean staff and only providing take-out/delivery service, this training must still be completed by year…

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For Employers: Coronavirus Leaves and Consequences; Lawful Emergency Payroll Reductions

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / March 19, 2020

Employers are scrambling to find an equitable and lawful plan to manage reduced or eliminated revenue resulting from mandated closures, illnesses, and quarantines and to understand newly enacted laws. On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). With respect to employment concerns, the FFRCA provides for expanded coverage under…

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Employers: EEOC Guidelines regarding Covid-19

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / March 17, 2020

The EEOC has issued the following guidance regarding the difficult issues facing employers in their efforts to identify and control Covid-19. While the ADA still, of course, applies to employers’ conduct, limited exceptions have been made to allow employers to, for example, take employees’ temperatures to identify those who may have the virus. The guidelines…

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Employers: Preparing for the Coronavirus/Covid-19

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / March 6, 2020

This flu season is here along with a very unwelcome relative: the coronavirus (covid-19). While the impact of the coronavirus in the United States is still unknown, the workplace, (like schools), are places where disease has an opportunity to easily spread; it has been estimated that each infected person will infect 2-3 more people. Scientists…

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Employers: Under Final DOL Rule, As Of January 1, 2020, Most Employees Earning Less Than $35,568 Annually Will No Longer Be Exempt From Overtime

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / September 25, 2019

As most of you will recall, in 2016, under the Obama administration, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) increased the salary level required for exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) from $23,660 to $47,476. However, the Obama DOL rule was invalidated by federal courts (because the salary level was so high as to supplant…

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Illinois Adopts Salary History Inquiry Ban

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / August 6, 2019

◊The Impact On Your Business Practices ◊ Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 834 last week which amends the Illinois Equal Pay Act to prohibit Illinois employers from seeking an applicant’s compensation history as a condition of employment. The Bill also prohibits an employer from requiring employees to sign agreements which would prevent them from disclosing…

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Illinois Supreme Court’s Decision on Biometric Information Privacy Act Opens Door to More Litigation

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / February 28, 2019

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) is yet another Illinois law drafted with ambiguities which beg, unfortunately, for litigation. Where a statute is drafted with holes of ambiguity, (and this one has many), it is up to the judiciary to fill those voids, and that, of course, means costly litigation. One ambiguity was recently…

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