Protecting Employers Since 1985
With the advent of the Me Too Movement and the extensive number of harassment complaints that have been played out in the public forum by the news media, an Employer, on a daily basis, can be confronted with an internal harassment complaint that requires prompt and accurate action by the Employer. Since the Complaint allegedly…
Read MoreThe IRS SS-8 Program allows either a Company or a Worker to request that the IRS evaluate and determine whether the Worker is an employee or an independent contractor for Federal/IRS Purposes. The resulting Determination by the IRS SS-8 Unit is just the SS-8 Unit’s “opinion” (not an actual audit!). Either party can start the…
Read MoreAs many readers may be aware, there are several new and significant employment laws that were recently passed in Illinois which become effective January 1, 2020. One of these new Illinois laws, the Workplace Transparency Act, places certain strict legal requirements on Illinois employers in the use of Severance and Release Agreements. 21 DAYS TO…
Read MoreOver 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…
Read MoreWessels Sherman Attorney Alan Seneczko, managing shareholder of the Wisconsin office, recently won a huge decision in a claim against a former executive for breach of his duty of loyalty to the company (among other claims). The company, Storage Battery Systems, suspected its director of sales was using his position and the confidential information he…
Read MoreOur clients and friends are familiar with many of our firm’s client services, including our skilled litigation team they rely on to handle every sort of workplace litigation when things go bad. Many people also know about our one-of-a-kind phone consultation program, started in the 1980s to help employers avoid workplace issues from winding up…
Read MoreIn July 2019, a state appeals court, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court (hereinafter “Court”), decided that psychological counselors (who provided services to clients) had been properly classified as independent contractors. [The case is Pathways Counseling Services LLC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania et al., Case Number 1332 CD 2018.] Pathways Counseling Services LLC (hereinafter “Company”) referred clients…
Read MoreIn recent years, a number of Federal Appellate Courts have issued opinions finding that the single use of a racial slur would be sufficient to constitute a hostile and offensive working environment based on race. On August 21, 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reached the opposite conclusion in concluding that the single alleged…
Read MoreOn July 24, 2019, the United States House of Representatives passed a measure designed to rescue troubled Multiemployer Pension Plans. The Rehabilitation For Multiemployer Pension Act (House Bill No. 397) would provide loans and grants to insolvent and near-insolvent Multiemployer Pension Plans. The measure would create a new Treasury Department Agency-The Pension Rehabilitation Administration, to…
Read MoreNLRB statistics and filings often do not reveal the true activity level of Operating Engineers Local 150. Frequently, Local 150’s strategy is more focused on picketing and boycotts, rather than traditional NLRB elections. The reality is that Operating Engineers 150 is probably the most active private sector union in Northern Illinois. They are exceedingly well…
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