The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) Office of Labor Standards (COLS) recently posted updates to its website regarding minimum wage obligations, paid leave and paid sick and safe leave,...more
6/10/2024
/ City of Chicago ,
Deadlines ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Workweek ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Guidance ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Safe Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
The National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel recently published a memo, along with other resources, to clarify parts of the Board’s recent decision dealing with union organizing demands for bargaining orders.1 The...more
11/14/2023
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
On June 1, 2023, in Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters, the United States Supreme Court ruled for the employer in a case with significant implications for the right of unions to strike and the right of employers to respond to...more
6/8/2023
/ Economic Damages ,
Employees ,
Glacier Northwest v International Brotherhood of Teamsters ,
NLRA ,
Preemption ,
Property Damage ,
Protected Activity ,
Right to Strike ,
SCOTUS ,
Strike ,
Teamsters ,
Unions
On May 23, 2023, Evanston, Illinois joined the state of Oregon and cities in California (Berkeley, Emeryville, Los Angeles, and San Francisco); Illinois (Chicago); New York (New York City); Pennsylvania (Philadelphia); Texas...more
5/26/2023
/ Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Workweek ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Illinois ,
Labor Reform ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
On November 4, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), soliciting public comments regarding potential revision of the Board’s rules and regulations to...more
Executive Summary -
The COVID-19 pandemic required nearly every employer around the globe to take stock of its workforce, policies and practices, and adapt to a rapidly changing and unpredictable environment. COVID-19...more
On March 12, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) announced that it is withdrawing a rule proposed in September 2019 that would have excluded undergraduate and graduate students at private colleges and...more
After over 25 years of proposals and negotiations among key stakeholders—including Ohio employers and their supporting associations, the Ohio plaintiffs’ employment law bar, and various employee-rights advocates—on December...more
In the past two weeks, the city of Chicago has undertaken several actions related to the COVID-19 pandemic’s continued effects on the city. Specifically, the city is considering a proposed ordinance that would prohibit...more
Chicago passed the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance in July 2019. This Ordinance, which is set to take effect on July 1, 2020, requires covered employers to provide advance notice of work schedules to their covered employees,...more
After COVID-19 abates, employers may determine that they cannot return all employees to the workforce. Some employers may need to recall employees on a slower timeline depending on demand, social distancing imperatives, and...more
5/4/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Form I-9 ,
Furloughs ,
Layoffs ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
Update: On April 27, 2020, a Clay County Circuit Court Judge granted a restraining order temporarily blocking the extension of Illinois’ stay-at-home order, which was set to become effective on May 1, 2020. Governor Pritzker...more
Following an afternoon press conference on March 20, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued an Executive Order requiring all individuals currently living within the State of Illinois to “stay at home or at their place...more
On July 31, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 834 into law, strengthening and amending the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 (“IEPA”). Key changes to the IEPA take effect on September 29, 2019 and include...more
8/5/2019
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
NLRA ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Section 7 ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The Chicago City Council approved the “Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance” on July 24, 2019. The Ordinance goes into effect on July 1, 2020. The Ordinance will require employers covered by the Ordinance to provide advanced...more
On April 12, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) signed legislation effectively banning local governments from passing right-to-work ordinances. Public Act 101-0003, titled the “Collective Bargaining Freedom Act,”...more
On February 19, 2019, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the “Lifting Up Illinois Working Families Act,” which raises the state’s minimum wage, in increments, to $15 per hour by 2025....more
The National Labor Relations Board recently issued a new Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2019 through 2022, extended until January 14, 2019 the comment period on its proposed joint-employer rule, and announced the appointment...more
On October 31, 2018, the Chicago City Council unanimously approved the formation of the Office for Labor Standards (OLS)....more
On September 4, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division released the long-awaited new Family Medical Leave Act notices and certification forms. The new forms are now available for download from the DOL...more
For years, Illinois employment lawyers have had the frustrating experience of trying to explain the quirks of Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) practice before the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) and Illinois Human...more
The Chicago City Council currently has before it a proposed ordinance entitled the “Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance,” which, if passed, would severely limit Chicago employers’ ability to change employees’ posted schedules,...more
As anticipated, the new National Labor Relations Board Republican majority has begun a dramatic shift in labor policy. As the clock ticked down on Chairman Philip Miscimarra’s term, which expired on December 16, 2017, and...more
When drafting a collective bargaining agreement, employers often insist on a management-rights clause. That clause reserves to the employer the right to take unilateral action, with respect to certain terms and conditions of...more
Illinois employers had been able to rely upon Illinois' prohibition against all non-consensual recording of conversations, whether private or not. As of March 20, 2014, that prohibition no longer exists. ...more