Protecting Employers Since 1985

Election Day Voting Laws 2022

By Wessels Sherman / November 2, 2022

Someone said there are elections next Tuesday? Here are some helpful tips for employers to minimize election day disruptions Next Tuesday, November 8th is Election Day. Each state has voting laws that provide employees with time off work to vote. While generally the same, each state’s statute has its own nuances employers in those states…

Read More

Some Minnesota Businesses Allowed to Resume Operations

By Wessels Sherman / May 27, 2020

Governor Walz issued Executive Order 20-56 authorizing some businesses to reopen provided that they comply with OSHA, MDH, and CDC guidelines. The Order went into effect on May 17, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. and remains in effect until May 31, 2020. Reopened non-critical business must establish and implement a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan that provides for…

Read More

OSHA Issues Guidance on Recording COVID-19 Cases

By Wessels Sherman / May 25, 2020

On May 19, 2020, OSHA issued an Enforcement Guidance on recording cases of alleged Coronavirus illnesses in the workplace. Given the difficulty of establishing the causation of many alleged work-related illnesses, and these unprecedented times, this Guidance should prove helpful. According to OSHA, COVID-19 is a recordable illness if: The case is a confirmed case…

Read More

New Federal Covid-19 Legislation And Its Dramatic Impact On Independent Contractor Status: How Have Things Changed?

By Wessels Sherman / May 21, 2020

The independent contractor “legal world” is quickly transforming in many ways! It is hard to keep up with the flood of new laws and court cases impacting independent contractor status on both the Federal and State levels. FEDERAL COVID-19 LEGISLATION AFFECTING INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS: Recently Congress passed two major bills (signed into law by President Trump)…

Read More

COVID-19 and Hazard Pay

By Wessels Sherman / April 7, 2020

As COVID-19 spreads throughout America, companies are deciding whether to give pay raises to employees, especially those clearly exposed to COVID-19 risks. This is a really hot topic, so much so that we decided to spend a bit of time looking at what is happening. Most of our information is a result of internet searches…

Read More

Illinois Residents Ordered to Shelter in Place due to COVID-19

By Wessels Sherman / March 21, 2020

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has issued Executive Order 2020-10 which directs Illinois residents to remain in their homes except for essential activites (such as grocery shopping and going to medical appointments), essential government functions or to operate essential businesses and operations from March 21 through April 7, 2020. Non-essential businesses must cease all activities within…

Read More

New Illinois Laws in the New Year

By Wessels Sherman / December 30, 2019

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…

Read More

Unions Continue to Win Significant Percentage of Representation Elections in 2017

By Wessels Sherman / March 18, 2018

According to a report just issued by Labor Relations Institute (LRI), unions won 71% of the representation elections conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in 2017. This is consistent with union success rates in recent years and has resulted in over 54,000 newly organized union members last year. Meanwhile, unions lost approximately 4,000…

Read More

Not if, But When: Employers Must Have Plan in Place to React to; Data Breaches Compromising Employee Records

By Wessels Sherman / June 24, 2017

On behalf of Wessels Sherman posted in Other on Saturday, June 24, 2017. Last year U.S. companies and government agencies reported 1,093 data security breaches, a 40 percent increase from 2015. The high-profile breaches include the hacking that affected more than 1,000 Wendy’s Co. chains in July 2016. Just last week, McDonald’s Canada announced that…

Read More

Common Mistakes Found in Illinois Employee Handbooks

By Wessels Sherman / June 22, 2017

By Anthony J. Caruso Jr. of Wessels Sherman posted in Employee Handbooks on Friday, October 27, 2017. Beware Illinois employers! Just because a policy is in or not in your employee handbook does not make it legal under employment laws. After reviewing literally hundreds of Illinois employee handbooks, I have noted some common mistakes and…

Read More

COVID-19 Resources

Stay up-to-date about developments in the Midwest.

Categories

Schedule your confidential consultation

Contact Wessels Sherman if you would like to speak with one of our experienced labor and workplace attorneys, contact any of our four office locations and schedule a consultation.