Protecting Employers Since 1985
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…
Read MoreUnder the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act (hereinafter “Act”), there are certain kinds of workers (for example, real estate appraisers, direct sellers, certain kinds of newspaper delivery people) who are exempt from employment (i.e., independent contractors) as long as the specific legal requirements are met. If your company uses any of these types of workers, it…
Read MoreIf an employer is planning on terminating an employee whom the employer feels may be litigious or a “high-risk termination,” then the employer may want the employee to sign a carefully prepared severance and release agreement. Giving an employee severance (i.e., money or something of value) in exchange for the employee signing a release of…
Read MoreAfter a two and one-half year span of time covering two (2) administrations and pitting business interests against those of labor, the City of Chicago on July 24, 2019 passed the Fair Workweek Ordinance. This legislation will require companies in the covered industries to give all of their covered workers ten (10) calendar days of…
Read MoreOn June 2, 2019, the Illinois General Assembly approved the Workplace Transparency Act providing certain protections concerning sexual harassment in the workplace and imposing significant new obligations on Illinois Employers. This Bill was signed into law by Governor Pritzker in June 2019 and the provision of the new bill become effective January 1, 2020. The…
Read MoreThe Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in a recent decision (June 12, 2019) in the case of Richardson v. Chicago Transit Authority has joined the Second, Sixth and Eighth Circuit in finding that Obesity, standing alone, is not an impairment under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) absent an underlying psychological cause. This is an…
Read MoreIf an individual is found to be an independent contractor under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that individual cannot sue for discrimination under that law because they are not an employee. Only employees can claim legal protection under Title VII. A surgeon recently discovered this legal reality when she sued the…
Read More◊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…
Read MoreIn the Boeing Company case (365 NLRB No. 154 (2017)), the National Labor Relations Board established a new system for interpreting Employer policies and whether or not they would have a negative impact on an Employer’s ability to exercise their Section 7 rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Specifically in the Boeing Company case,…
Read MoreOn May 31, 2019, the State of Illinois approved House Bill 1438 which created the “Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act”. This Bill was signed, with a lot of “fanfare and publicity,” by Governor Pritzker on June 24, 2019. The Act provides that, effective January 1, 2020, Illinois Residents who are 21 years of age or…
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