In April, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released two long-awaited final documents aimed at strengthening worker protections: the final rule implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA, or...more
5/8/2024
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Labor Reform ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
Earlier this month, the EEOC released proposed regulations to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA,” or the “Act”), which we initially wrote about. (The proposed rule can be found on the Federal Register’s...more
8/30/2023
/ Breastfeeding ,
Comment Period ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill into law. Buried in the legislation were two new laws providing additional protection for pregnant and nursing employees in the workplace: the...more
1/12/2023
/ Breastfeeding ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation
City Council approved the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance by unanimous vote on July 24, 2019. This past May marked the third time such an ordinance was proposed in City Council, and the language ultimately approved by City...more
7/25/2019
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Covered Employees ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Workweek ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Local Ordinance ,
Manufacturers ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Over the last few days, we’ve been sending you updates on the key provisions of SB75, the anti-harassment legislation awaiting approval by Governor Pritzker. Previously, we wrote about the Workplace Transparency Act. In this...more
6/14/2019
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Casino Employee ,
Casinos ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
Workplace Safety
Amid the flurry of activity late in the legislative term in Springfield, the General Assembly passed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, making possession and consumption of cannabis legal in Illinois. Governor Pritzker is...more
The City of Chicago has flirted with enacting a “Fair Workweek” ordinance, aimed at ensuring predictable work schedules for workers, for several years. While the ordinance failed to gain traction in its prior iterations, this...more
Last night, an updated version of the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance was introduced in the Chicago City Council. Prior versions of this ordinance were proposed in 2017 and 2018, but failed to gain traction. ...more
House Bill 8, now Public Act 098-1050, was recently signed by Governor Pat Quinn. As we reported in June of this year, the resulting amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act expand upon the anti-discrimination protections...more
As the legislative session drew to a close at the end of May, the Illinois General Assembly approved several new laws that will affect Illinois employers beginning January 1, 2015. The laws are now awaiting approval by...more
6/6/2014
/ Background Checks ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wage and Hour
If there is a secret to avoiding or, if necessary, winning lawsuits involving employee requests for religious accommodations, it is this: be reasonable. Two recent federal appeals court rulings highlight this seemingly...more