The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on July 25, 2024, ruled that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, companies can be held liable for claims of a hostile work environment if an employee shares...more
8/1/2024
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
New Guidance ,
Protected Class ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Social Networks ,
Title VII
In Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, Missouri, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court held on April 17, 2024, that an employee bringing a claim for discrimination under Title VII related to a job transfer need only show some employment...more
In Groff v. De Joy, Post Master General, No. 22-174 (June 29, 2023), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upended decades-old precedent that set the standard for undue hardship in the context of an employee's request for a...more
7/11/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a rule on Jan. 5, 2023, prohibiting non-competition clauses ("non-competes") in employment agreements. For purposes of the rule, non-compete provisions include explicit and de facto...more
President Joe Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (the Act) on March 3, 2022. The Act amends the Federal Arbitration Act and gives individuals asserting...more
3/17/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to soon sign into law a bill that will make significant changes to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act and affect the enforceability of employee non-competition provisions. The General...more
6/9/2021
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Consideration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforceability ,
Freedom To Work Act ,
Furloughs ,
Governor Pritzker ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
The long-awaited COVID-19 vaccinations are finally available, and the inoculation process has begun in the United States. Employers, with the anticipation of widespread availability of the vaccine in the coming months, are...more
12/23/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
In the unprecedented circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, employers contemplating bringing employees back to work are confronted with a world very different from the one that existed just over two months ago....more
As federal, state and local stay-at-home orders begin to roll back restrictions, more and more employers are faced with the prospect of bringing employees back to work in a dramatically different world than the one that they...more
5/20/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Sick Employees ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that Kronos Inc., a vendor of biometric time clocks that allow employees to sign in and out using a fingerprint or handprint, could be liable for violations...more
Illinois Public Act 101-0221 (Public Act) creates extensive and significant new protections for employees and imposes new obligations on all Illinois employers. This Holland & Knight alert identifies unique requirements...more
12/20/2019
/ Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
FOIA ,
New Legislation ,
Protected Class ,
Public Employees ,
Public Employers ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Statutory Penalties ,
Transparency
• The Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance will affect Chicago employers across a wide reach of industries.
• The Ordinance will impose a burden on employers to plan and notify employees of their work schedules up to two weeks...more
• A recent amendment to the Illinois Equal Pay Act generally prohibits employers inquiring about a job applicant's compensation history.
• There are severe penalties for violations of the amendment.
• By Sept. 29, 2019,...more
• The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an opinion letter on when workers in a gig economy are contractors or employees.
• The analysis turns on the economic reality of the relationship between the service provider...more
5/6/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Opinion Letter ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Virtual Marketplace Companies (VMCs) ,
Wage and Hour
• An amendment to the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act mandates reimbursement of certain employee expenses.
• Development of a detailed expense reimbursement policy for Illinois employees is strongly advised....more
• The number of class actions brought under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) has increased substantially each year since its passage in 2008.
• One of the main issues facing litigants is what constitutes...more
8/6/2018
/ Biometric Information ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Consent ,
Data Protection ,
Data Retention ,
Data Security ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
New Guidance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Preemption ,
Railway Labor Act ,
Standing ,
Unions
• In Troester v. Starbucks Corporation, the California Supreme Court on July 26, 2018, resoundingly rejected the de minimis doctrine commonly applied under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to claims for unpaid...more
7/27/2018
/ CA Supreme Court ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Starbucks ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
• The California Supreme Court's widely anticipated decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court sets a new standard for determining employee versus independent contractor status for purposes of California Wage...more
5/2/2018
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
IWC ,
Labor Code ,
Misclassification ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
• In Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Hector Navarro, et al., the U.S. Supreme Court decided 5-4 that service advisors at car dealerships are exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
• The Court held...more
4/3/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Over-Time ,
Sales Commissions ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Advisors ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that an employer's refusal to offer an employee a two- or three-month medical leave of absence following his exhaustion of his Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)...more
10/11/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination
An emerging area of the law has become the focal point in a new class action lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In Baron v. Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc., et al. (No....more
5/26/2017
/ Biometric Information ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Class Action ,
Data Collection ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fingerprints ,
Notice Requirements ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Private Right of Action ,
Statutory Damages ,
Supermarkets
The Cook County (Ill.) Board on Oct. 26, 2016, passed an increase to the county's minimum wage. The county's current minimum wage of $8.25 will increase to $10 per hour on July 1, 2017, then will rise to $11 on July 1, 2018,...more
A newly filed lawsuit in California and a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit serve as reminders to employers that the protection of sensitive employee information from cyberthreats remains...more
5/4/2016
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Hackers ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PF Chang's ,
Phishing Scams ,
Restaurant Industry ,
W-2
On August 26, 2014, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed House Bill 8, amending the Illinois Human Rights Act by placing new obligations on employers with respect to pregnant employees. The new changes take effect on January 1,...more
Illinois joins the growing number of states and localities across the country that have "ban-the-box" laws. Statutes that limit inquiry about criminal history during the application and hiring process are known informally as...more