The trickle-down effects of the Supreme Court’s endorsement of employee arbitration agreements in 2018 continue to inform judicial opinions across the country, most recently being used to invalidate a New Jersey prohibition...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the highly anticipated American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which provides additional measures to stimulate the economy and provide taxpayers with relief from the economic effects of the...more
3/18/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Benefits
In 2015, Illinois became one of the first states to enact a “ban the box” law, preventing employers from inquiring about criminal histories on employment applications. The “ban the box” law followed a general prohibition in...more
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, on December 29, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it will consider a telemedicine visit with a health care provider as an in-person visit when establishing...more
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which went into effect back in March, required covered employers (those with fewer than 500 employees, with some exceptions) to provide emergency paid sick leave and...more
In response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, on May 20, 2020, the City of Chicago passed the COVID-19 Anti-Retaliation Ordinance. The Ordinance prohibits Chicago employers from demoting or terminating an employee for...more
According to data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), in 2018, 6.9% of all sexual harassment charges submitted to the EEOC were filed in Illinois, representing the third highest concentration for any...more
As referenced in our prior WISE blog article, earlier this year Illinois enacted legislation legalizing recreational marijuana for adults, effective January 1, 2020 (the "Adult Use Act"). ...more
Undoubtedly, 2019 has been a year of change for Illinois employers, as businesses grapple with new minimum wages, legalized cannabis use, and a bevy of other legislative updates. Those changes are expected to continue, as the...more
Last week, the Illinois legislature passed a landmark bill authorizing recreational marijuana. Shortly thereafter, Governor J.B. Pritzker tweeted that he looks forward to signing the bill into law. ...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a decision limiting the time in which employers can raise certain defenses to claims brought under Title VII.
In Fort Bend County, Texas v. Davis, the plaintiff, Lois Davis, was an...more
6/5/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Amended Complaints ,
Appeals ,
Charge-Filing Preconditions ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Forfeiture ,
Fort Bend County Texas v Davis ,
Jurisdictional Requirements ,
Mandatory Claim-Processing Rules ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Title VII ,
Waiver Rule ,
Wrongful Termination
On Thursday, February 14, 2018, lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill that would make it easier for workers to bring discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), the federal statute that...more
On February 19, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker officially signed a bill that will raise the minimum wage in Illinois to $15 by 2025. The state's current minimum wage is $8.25, a level that has remained stagnant since...more
As a follow up to a recent post on this blog, Illinois Equal Pay Act Likely to be Amended to Prohibit Salary History Inquiries, and in a surprising turn of events, the Illinois Senate did not overturn Governor Bruce Rauner’s...more
Following the lead of many states and cities through the country, Illinois recently amended its Equal Pay Act to prohibit employers from asking job applicants about their salary history, screening job applicants based on wage...more
As sexual harassment becomes the subject of national conversation, some cities, such as Chicago, are making significant changes to laws in an effort to reduce harassment. A recent survey of hotels in the Chicagoland area...more
As employers throughout the country know, what constitutes a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) can be a difficult and very fact-specific inquiry. Frequently, employers are faced with...more