Protecting Employers Since 1985

Illinois Supreme Court Finds that IDES was Mistaken in Denying Unemployment Benefits

By Nancy E. Joerg / September 8, 2016

In this case, American Airlines looks like a harsh and unreasonable employer. The Claimant was an American Airlines employee who was fired by American Airlines for merely helping a passenger obtain a seating upgrade and also giving the passenger some champagne for the flight. REASON AMERICAN AIRLINES WAS UPSET: American Airlines decided that the Claimant…

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End of Summer Labor Law Checklist

By Richard H. Wessels / September 7, 2016

1. Defunct Labor Contract? Construction industry employers are particularly vulnerable to this issue. It may not be defunct! A typical fact pattern is that years ago the contractor signed an assent agreement which typically has language binding them to successor agreements. Later, the company assumed that the contract was stale because they had employed no…

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Avoid Religious Discrimination in Your Workplace

By Nancy E. Joerg / August 25, 2016

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law which prohibits employers (with at least 15 employees) from discriminating in the workplace based on such issues as religion. Title VII specifically forbids companies from any of the following actions concerning religion in the workplace: failing to hire or promote applicants or…

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Employer’s New Dilemma – Working With Others?

By Walter J. Liszka / June 1, 2015

There are a vast number of employers who have had to deal with employee issues related, in some way, to an “employee disability”. There are very few situations arising under a workman’s compensation scenario that do not require the employer to make “reasonable accommodation” to an individual who is returning to work from a workman’s…

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The Birds and the Bees

By Walter J. Liszka / May 10, 2015

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…

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Unions Still On the Prowl

By Walter J. Liszka / February 18, 2015

While 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…

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Department of Labor Still Very Active

By Walter J. Liszka / December 15, 2014

In 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…

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Employee Wage Deductions

By Walter J. Liszka / November 19, 2014

In 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…

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Employee Debt – The Bane of Employers

By Walter J. Liszka / November 15, 2014

While 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,…

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Illinois Prevailing Wage Act – Extended Coverage???

By Walter J. Liszka / October 10, 2014

With 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…

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