Illinois employers have been truly shell-shocked with many new (and sometimes vague or confusing!) employment laws that became effective January 1, 2020. One big and somewhat surprising change in Illinois law is the new requirement that Illinois employers give certain special treatment to Separation and Release Agreements. The following are five commonly asked questions from…

As 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…

If 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…

◊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…

On May 23, 2019 the Illinois Supreme Court ruled, in Jane Doe v. Chad Coe et al. – a case of first impression for the court – what elements are necessary to pursue a lawsuit for “negligent supervision” of an employee. Most state courts recognize claims against employers for negligence regarding their employees who harm…

Many times clients/employers struggle over whether they should graciously offer the option of resigning to an employee whom they actually wish to fire. The client/employer reasons that the fired employee might prefer to tell “the world” that he himself has resigned from his job, rather than admitting that he was fired. But the client/employer sometimes…

HR professionals that conduct criminal background checks on prospective employees are well aware of (or should be) the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act’s prohibition against discrimination on the basis of an individual’s arrest or conviction record. Under the WFEA, an employer may not discriminate against an employee or prospective employee on the basis of a pending…

While the author is seventy-two (72) and probably will be out of the workforce in a few years (?), according to the United States Census Bureau (National Population Projection Statistics), Employers will be facing some interesting changes and challenges in their future workforces. Those “changes and challenges” will not only deal with technological issues, but…

While there may be disagreement as to the current status of the work environment, most intelligent/competent people would agree that unemployment is low and the job market is beginning to tighten. The U.S. unemployment rate is at a sixteen (16) year low – 4.3%. In fact, there are 73 counties in the United States with…

In the March, 2017 Client Alert, the Author submitted an Article on giving guidance to Employers in the creation of good documentation to substantiate and defend Employment Decisions when those Decisions are called into question. While the presence (or lack thereof) of good documentation can be the success or failure in any Employment Litigation, there…