Protecting Employers Since 1985
Our readers may recall my June 30 E-Alert covering several significant Supreme Court decisions issued that day, including the ruling in Groff v. DeJoy. In Groff, the Court “clarified” (a better term might be “increased”) the burdens employers are required to endure before they may lawfully refuse a request for religious accommodations based on “undue…
Read MoreThe Supreme Court’s recent decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis has caused quite a stir. Boiled down to its simplest form, the Court essentially ruled that a Colorado web designer could not be forced to “speak” by creating a webpage about a subject the owner found objectionable. Had the designer refused to design a…
Read MoreAs the 2023 term of the SCOTUS comes to an end, the Court has today and yesterday issued several highly significant, precedential decisions that likely pose big changes in many aspects of Americans’ lives in the future. Among them: 1. Biden v. Nebraska – Writing for the majority, Justice John Roberts Jr. struck down the Biden…
Read MoreOnce again, the NLRB has reversed course and overruled prior case law. This time, the holding is that an employer cannot unilaterally stop union dues checkoff when a collective bargaining agreement ends. Reversals such as this can be expected because union-leaning members of the Board have a three-two majority. The issue is whether an employer,…
Read MoreLast week the United States Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated and controversial decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, overturning Roe v. Wade. Whereas Roe had held for nearly 50 years that the right to an abortion was guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution, Dobbs disagreed, giving the issue back to the states to…
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 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 MoreFirst, I want to say that we are here to help. COVID-19 has created some real challenges and never before seen issues. Here is some background as well as a few observations. National Labor Relations Board As of now, all NLRB offices are closed to the public. The NLRB is operational but most employees are…
Read MoreAs of October 31, 2018, the Chicago City Council unanimously approved the formation of the Office for Labor Standards (OLS). The OLS has been created to provide more rigorous enforcement of the City of Chicago Employment Ordinances and to promote investigation into alleged violations. This Law will come into effect as of January 1, 2019.…
Read MoreIt reached a similar conclusion with respect to her FMLA claim: With the ever increasing coverage and commentary regarding sexual harassment issues (even Speaker Mike Madigan’s office recently) there have been two (2) very interesting developments in the arena of sexual harassment/sexual abuse that Employers should be aware of. Our brilliant legislators in the Federal…
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