Protecting Employers Since 1985

THE NLRB ACCUSES WALMART OF UNLAWFULLY “SUPPRESSING” EMPLOYEE COMPLAINTS ABOUT ITS COVID-19 SAFETY RULES, AND OF MAINTAINING AN “ILLEGAL RULE” BARRING EMPLOYEES FROM MAKING RECORDINGS IN THE WORKPLACE

By Wessels Sherman / February 23, 2024

Those employers who have previously had the pleasure of “making the acquaintance” of the NLRB, probably already know that today’s NLRB is not your parents’ NLRB. Precedent that has stood for decades is being rewritten by the current Board at a frenetic pace. Case in point – a recent complaint issued by the NLRB’s Regional…

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Seventh Circuit Reverses Course In The Case Of A Teacher Fired For Objecting, Based On His Christian Faith, To Using Transexual Student’s Preferred Pronoun

By James B. Sherman / August 31, 2023

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…

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No Shortage Of Controversy When It Comes To First Amendment Free Speech

By James B. Sherman / July 7, 2023

The 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…

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U.S. Supreme Court Issues Several Monumental Decisions

By James B. Sherman / June 30, 2023

As 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…

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NLRB Reverses Course and Holds that Dues Checkoff provisions of a labor contract survive contract expiration

By Richard H. Wessels / October 4, 2022

Once 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,…

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What The Dobbs Decision Means for Employers in Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa

By James B. Sherman / June 28, 2022

Last 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…

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Vaccines Finally Arriving – The Legality of Employer Vaccine Mandates

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / December 18, 2020

On 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…

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IDES Audits: Burden of Proof is on the Company – Don’t Take a Passive Approach!!

By Nancy E. Joerg / December 16, 2020

When 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…

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Unions – What’s Happening During the Pandemic?

By Richard H. Wessels / July 29, 2020

First, 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…

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City of Chicago – Office for Labor Standards

By Walter J. Liszka / December 17, 2018

As 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.…

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