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
On March 23, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed into law amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) that substantially limit employers’ ability to consider an applicant or employee’s criminal history. ...more
3/29/2021
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
In week eight, the Administration’s labor and employment activity includes the passage of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, the House’s passage of the PRO Act labor law reform bill, and the upcoming Senate confirmation...more
3/15/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Credits ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Last week, Congress reached a deal on a second pandemic relief package which includes the enactment of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Business, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (Act), which has now been signed by President...more
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) requires employers with fewer than 500 employees and government employers to provide emergency sick and FMLA leave benefits to employees for reasons related to COVID-19....more
Over the weekend (March 28 and 29, 2020), the United States Department of Labor updated its Question and Answers webpage providing guidance regarding implementation of the paid sick and FMLA leave provisions of the Families...more
4/1/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EFMLA ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
New Legislation ,
Quarantine ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Small Business ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
On June 11, 2019, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a new law that prohibits wage discrimination based upon sex and protects workers who decline to share their salary history with a prospective employer. The new law takes...more
6/12/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
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
On February 19, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1, which increases the minimum wage in Illinois to $15 per hour by 2025. Under the new law, the minimum wage will increase from $8.25 to $9.25 on...more
If you’ve been paying attention to the news relating to wage and hour law (and really, who isn’t?), you may recently have heard quite a bit about new federal rules on tipped employees, and more recently Congress stepping in...more
4/12/2018
/ Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
A number of new state or local laws are set to take effect in Illinois in 2017 which will require employers to update their employee handbooks, employment agreements, and other policies and procedures. We address the key...more
12/23/2016
/ Bereavement Leave ,
Domestic Workers ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employment Contract ,
Forced Retirement ,
Human Trafficking ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Sick Leave Act ,
Passwords ,
Posting Requirements ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Media ,
State and Local Government ,
Victims' Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA)
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