Protecting Employers Since 1985
The new Biden administration signaled an aggressive approach to changes at the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” and/or “Board”). On his first day in office, President Joe Biden made good on a threat to fire National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Peter Robb, who had rebuffed an earlier request to resign. Robb’s firing ends a…
Read MoreDuring this horrible pandemic, there is a concern among employees about the risk of an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine. Health care professionals are trying to alleviate these fears by emphasizing that any reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine is usually very minor or rare. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, Section 11, states as follows:…
Read MoreEmployers often like to use Severance and Release Agreements when terminating employees because this process brings closure to what could be a potentially litigious situation. A Severance and Release Agreement is a contractual exchange between the two parties: the employer and the employee who is being let go. The employer gives the employee severance (money…
Read MoreOn December 16, 2020, the EEOC issued the anticipated guidance for employers relating to the COVID-19 vaccine. There is nothing particularly surprising in the guidelines. The EEOC confirms that the laws that it administers do not, as a general matter, prohibit an employer from requiring employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or from requiring proof…
Read MoreWe see the same fact pattern time after time. A construction company signed a union contract (or perhaps several union contracts) years ago to finish a job under threat of union pickets. The company assumed that the dormant contracts were a dead issue years later because they had not been used for many years. Perhaps…
Read MoreWhen companies are suddenly audited by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), these audited companies start out assuming that they are “innocent until proven guilty” on the independent contractor issue. WRONG! The legal requirement for an audited company using independent contractors is that the company is presumed by the IDES to be the legal…
Read MoreWe are seeing Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) audits starting to resume! When an Illinois company who uses independent contractors is audited by the IDES, the company often thinks they are “innocent until proven guilty” on the independent contractor issue. WRONG! WORKERS ARE PRESUMED TO BE EMPLOYEES: The legal requirement for a company using…
Read MoreBoth the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago have been very active in creating new Employment Law Employer Responsibilities in Calendar 2020: Model Training Program for Mandatory Sexual Harassment Prevention: The Illinois Department of Human Rights has released its Model Training Program for the prevention of Sexual Harassment. Under the Illinois Human Rights…
Read MoreHealthcare institutions are prohibited from discriminating against their employees and their PATIENTS under federal civil rights laws, the Affordable Care Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Employers in the healthcare field should do the mandatory annual harassment training, as required by the Illinois Human Rights Act focused not only on employee,…
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