Protecting Employers Since 1985
Many jobs require regular overtime or some minimum number of hours per day or week. If working a certain number of hours amounts to an essential function of a job, employees or applicants who cannot work those hours are generally unqualified. Even under the ADA, excusing a disabled individual from regularly working the hours essential…
Read MoreEffective Date: President Biden signed it into law on December 7, 2022. What It Does: Renders unenforceable non-disclosure and non-disparagement provisions in employee/employer agreements. Type of Agreements: Related to allegation of sexual assault and/or sexual harassment and that are entered into “before the dispute arises.” “Before the Dispute Arises” Defined: Before a lawsuit is…
Read MoreThe pro union Board has returned to the Specialty Healthcare appropriate unit standard. This pretty much means that Unions will get whatever they want as the voting unit for a union organizing election. Click here for the NLRB’s press release. Questions? Contact Richard Wessels at 630.377.1554 or by email
Read MoreYesterday, the National Labor Relations Board reversed Trump-era Board precedent, and arguably expanded its precedent from the Obama administration, to declare unlawful two clauses commonly used by employers when offering severance packages. The decision in McLaren Macomb, Case No. 07-CA-263041 (2/21/2023) held that the employer, a Michigan hospital, violated the National Labor Relations Act by…
Read MoreThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming an employer violated the FMLA by suspending its employee over his use of intermittent leave. The case involved a married couple who worked for the same employer. Both were certified and approved for intermittent FMLA leave, but for…
Read MoreOn June 29, 2022, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act, effective January 1, 2023. What is changed: The CROWN Act amends the Illinois Human Rights Act in an expanded definition of protection due to race. What is the new definition of race: “Race”…
Read MoreOn January 10, 2023, the Illinois Legislature passed the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (the “Act”). This Act is awaiting Governor Pritzker’s signing, but he has clearly indicated strong support of the Act and his intent to sign the Act into law. This Act will not go into effect until January 1, 2024. There…
Read MoreWhen politics work their way into the field of labor law, as they often do in an election year, things tend to go a little sideways. 2022 is no exception, as demonstrated by these two recent developments. Constitutional Amendment: Tuesday’s ballot in Illinois includes a proposed amendment to the State’s Constitution to ban Right-To-Work laws.…
Read MoreSomeone 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 MoreOnce again, the NLRB has reversed course and overruled prior case law. This time, the holding is that an employer cannot unilaterally stop union dues checkoff when a collective bargaining agreement ends. Reversals such as this can be expected because union-leaning members of the Board have a three-two majority. The issue is whether an employer,…
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