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In springtime, it is a very good time for employers to give consideration of how to manage “office romances” and avoid potential liability that may result from them. Remember that in the current and constantly changing work environment, these “office romances” may not just involve the traditional male and female (they may involve two members…
Read MoreWhile it has not been a topic for a great amount of discussion, unions won more representational elections in NLRB monitored elections in the first half of calendar 2014 when compared to the same period in 2013. Unions have won a little over eight (8%) percent more elections in the first half of calendar 2014…
Read MoreIn October, 2014, the United States Department of Labor issued its fiscal year statistics, covering numerous Fiscal Years, in various areas of its responsibility and enforcement (Fair Labor Standards Act; Child Labor; Family Medical and Leave Act Enforcement). It is very interesting to note that these statistics clearly confirm a major increase in wage and…
Read MoreIn a rare and somewhat unexpected action, the Illinois Department of Labor, which is not perceived as an “employer-friendly agency,” recently amended the requirements that are imposed on employers when making deductions from employee wages. Under the prior requirements of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, there were extremely limited circumstances under which unilateral…
Read MoreWhile most of us believe that the “Great Recession” is finally at an end, millions of Americans are still experiencing the pressures of employee debt. Every state in the United States has legislation creating the opportunity for an organization to “legally collect the financial obligations owed by an employee through our legal system” (for example,…
Read MoreWith the recent amendments of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act (IPWA) and the decision of the Third District of the Illinois Appellate Court in the case of Department of Labor v. Sackville Construction Inc., 402 Ill.App.3d 195 (3 rd District 2010), all companies who are receiving public funds, and not just those in the construction…
Read MoreWith the recent problems that have arisen because of the Ebola virus’s extension to the United States and Spain (the death of Thomas Eric Duncan in Dallas and Madrid hospital issues), all employers may face a serious crisis in the future. With the first cases of Ebola transmitted outside the Western African countries of Liberia, Guinea,…
Read MoreThere is a very old adage that “numbers can’t lie, but liars can figure” and that adage may be applicable to the most recent statistics issued by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics with regard to union membership. Those “union statistics” indicate that the union membership rate – the percentage of wage and salary…
Read MoreOn August 26, 2014, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law House Bill 8 (HB8) that amends the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) by placing “new obligations on employers” with regard to their pregnant employees. While the law will not take effect until January 1, 2015, employers should be cognizant of the new obligations imposed…
Read MoreCertainly the last few weeks have not been very pleasant for the National Football League/Roger Goodell and for the Federal Judiciary. The NFL has had to deal with domestic violence/child abuse involving its stars (Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, Jonathan Dwyer, and, thanks to Gloria Allred, Brandon Marshall from a 2007 incident) and the Federal Judiciary…
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