The Illinois General Assembly and Governor JB Pritzker have been busy in 2024, enacting significant changes to existing statutes like the Illinois Human Rights Act (the “IHRA”), the Personnel Records Review Act (the “PRRA”),...more
9/16/2024
/ Amended Legislation ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Rights ,
Freelance Workers ,
Governor Pritzker ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Legislation ,
Personnel Records ,
Political Speech ,
Right to Privacy ,
State Labor Laws
Over the past several months, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has concluded several aggressive enforcement actions related to supposed violations of Rule 21F-17 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,...more
Illinois employers are likely still reeling from the thousands of biometric privacy class action lawsuits that have flooded court dockets over the last 5 years. Another wave is coming—this time, under the Illinois Genetic...more
10/26/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Genetic Testing ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
OSH Act ,
State Privacy Laws ,
Title VII
Shortly after beginning his second term, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (“PLAW”), adding Illinois to a still small but growing list of states which require employers to offer paid leave to...more
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “Proposed Rule”) proposing a rule that would ban “non-compete” agreements. Finding that non-compete clauses reduce competition,...more
The City of Chicago has amended its Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), providing news reasons for taking paid sick leave under the Ordinance, and adding a new remedy for Chicago employees alleging...more
The Illinois General Assembly has enacted sweeping changes to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act, 820 ILCS § 90, et seq. (the “Act”), which will limit the use of covenants not to compete (“non-competes”) and covenants not to...more
As employers make plans to modify pandemic-related work-from-home arrangements and require employees to come into the workplace, many have wrestled with “the vaccination status question.” Should employers ask employees...more
6/15/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker recently signed into law an amendment to the Illinois Employee Sick Leave Act (ESLA), permitting employees to take leave for a covered family member’s “personal care.”
...more
Pursuant to the Chicago Vaccine Anti-Retaliation Ordinance that took effect on April 21, 2021, Chicago workers – including both employees and independent contractors – now have certain protections designed to safeguard access...more
Employers in recent months have understandably been laser-focused on COVID-19. However, Illinois employers – including employers who are largely based outside of Illinois but have even one employee who works in Illinois –...more
Now that wearing gloves has become the new normal because of the COVID-19 pandemic, biometric privacy litigation, which in recent years has centered on employers’ use of finger-scan timekeeping technology, may ultimately...more
Employers preparing to reopen their places of business have many logistical considerations, including compliance with state and local health orders relating to face coverings, temperature and wellness screenings, and other...more
Across the country, state and local governments are considering safe ways to “reopen” their economies and revise some of their strict shelter-in-place orders. One such consideration includes masks and “face coverings,” with...more
As state and local governments begin to ease restrictions on businesses and increasingly look to “reopen” economic activity, employers are evaluating how to safely return employees to the workplace. This preparation must...more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently issued new guidance to employers regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, and in a significant departure from prior guidance, the EEOC advises that employers...more
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) recently issued guidance applicable to “critical infrastructure workers,” and safety precautions employers should take when those workers are potentially exposed to...more
On April 15, 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (“PDOH”) issued an order mandating that essential businesses (other than healthcare providers) which remain open and operational during the COVID-19 pandemic implement...more
The notion that U.S. employers would engage in broad-scale temperature screening of employees would have once been essentially unthinkable. But the realities of COVID-19 are changing the workplace, as least for the...more
In light of concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus in the workplace, employers are confronting important questions pertaining to the screening of employees for COVID-19 symptoms, including as it pertains to taking...more
As companies increasingly look to artificial intelligence (“AI”) solutions to streamline their business practices, a new area has popped up: the use of artificial intelligence in analyzing videos of job interview applicants....more
Illinois employers must begin preparing now for the host of new legal requirements impacting the workplace beginning in 2020. With legal changes on topics ranging from hiring practices and pay equity to drug testing and...more
9/20/2019
/ Amended Legislation ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Human Rights Act ,
Military Service Members ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Over the past half century, employers have made great strides in protecting employees and applicants from conscious bias on the basis of race, gender, age and other protected characteristics. But what about unconscious – or...more
Responding in part to the #MeToo movement, state and local governments have begun expanding protections for those alleging discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Last month, the Illinois General Assembly passed a...more
On April 12, 2018, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the New York state budget into law. Beyond the dollars and cents associated with a typical budget bill, the legislation included new requirements for private and public...more