Protecting Employers Since 1985

D.O.L. Wage And Hour Division Publishes Enforcement Bulletin On Pump Act Protections For Nursing Mothers

By Joseph H. Laverty / May 27, 2023

The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor just published a bulletin to provide its field staff with detailed guidance for enforcing amendments to the FLSA via the PUMP Act that was signed into law on December 29, 2022.  This law requires that employers provide nursing employees with reasonable break time and…

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Illinois Recreational Cannabis Law Is Raising Many Questions for Employers

By Joseph H. Laverty / November 18, 2019

Over the last month, nearly half the calls I receive are about Illinois’s new recreational cannabis law which takes effect on January 1, 2020. Employers have many questions about the new law. Below are some of the most commonly asked questions that I have received. QUESTION No. 1: When does the new law go into…

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What Happens if a Current or Former Employee Files a Charge of Discrimination with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR)?

By Joseph H. Laverty / June 24, 2019

The first thing to check is: Was the Charge of Discrimination filed “timely”? A Charge of Discrimination must be filed within 300 days after the alleged discriminatory actions, or one year for a fair housing case. Employers accused of discrimination are required to preserve any records pertinent to the Charge. Additionally, employers are prohibited from…

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Key Changes to the Illinois Human Rights Act (Which Will Affect Employers)!

By Joseph H. Laverty / April 15, 2019

The Illinois Department of Human Rights (“IDHR”) is the agency that administers the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”), the state law that outlaws discrimination, harassment and retaliation by most employers in Illinois. The IDHR’s federal counterpart is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), which administers the federal laws preventing the same type of violations. In…

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With Justice Brett Kavanaugh Appointed To The United States Supreme Court, The Court Is Likely To Issue Pro-Employer Decisions In The Years To Come.

By Joseph H. Laverty / October 24, 2018

No matter what your political view is regarding Justice Kavanaugh’s lifetime appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, employers can expect Justice Kavanaugh to be a strict constructionist of the many labor and employment statutes that employers must abide by. Prior to being appointed to the high court, Justice Kavanaugh was appointed to the U.S. Court…

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New Illinois Expense Reimbursement Law

By Joseph H. Laverty / October 15, 2018

Placing new legal burdens on employers in Illinois, on August 26, 2018, Governor Rauner signed into law an amendment to the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA), requiring employers to reimburse their employees for all expenses within the scope of “necessary expenditures incurred by the employee within the employee’s scope of employment and directly…

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Supreme Court’s Ruling Regarding Arbitration Clauses is Positive News for Employers

By Joseph H. Laverty / May 30, 2018

On May 21, 2018, in a 5-4 majority decision, the U.S. Supreme Court in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis ruled that employers can require as a condition of employment that workers waive their rights to participate in class action lawsuits by entering into a mandatory arbitration clause in their employment agreement. Supreme Court Justice Neil…

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Three New Laws Affecting Employers Became Effective January 1, 2018

By Joseph H. Laverty / January 24, 2018

I. Illinois Amends State Genetic Information Privacy Act Illinois has amended the state Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA). Amended Law Under the amendment, an employer is prohibited from penalizing an employee who does not disclose his or her genetic information or does not choose to participate in a program requiring disclosure of the employee’s genetic…

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Employers Need to Remain Diligent Regarding Discrimination/Retaliation Investigations in 2018

By Joseph H. Laverty / January 5, 2018

On November 15, 2017, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued its annual performance and accountability report. In the report the EEOC states that: “offices deployed new strategies to more efficiently prioritize charges with merit and more quickly resolved investigations once the agency had sufficient information. Together with improvements in the agency’s digital systems, these…

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Take Steps to Avoid Overly Inflated Performance Reviews

By Joseph H. Laverty / December 22, 2017

As 2017 comes to an end, many companies will perform their annual employee performance reviews. Companies typically do performance reviews at the beginning of the calendar or their fiscal year or at the employee’s anniversary with the company. No matter when you perform reviews, companies need to be careful that managers do not over rate…

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