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Happy 30th birthday, you wonderful old FMLA! 

Break out the band aids and ace bandages! It’s time to celebrate a special birthday for our favorite federal statute.

All weekend, I’ve been singing Harry Styles’ song “As It Was” to the Nowak kids:

You know it’s not the same without medical leaveIn this world, it’s just FMLA. . .

And as predictable as my god-awful FMLA songs are, we even broke out the 30th birthday cake last night in honor of the FMLA.

Where Have We Been, Where are We Going?

In all seriousness, as our world comes out of a…
Continue Reading Happy 30th Birthday, FMLA! Where Do We Go from Here?

The BIPA hits keep coming for employers and companies in Illinois. Today, in a long-awaited opinion in Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, Inc., the Illinois Supreme Court found that a five-year statute of limitations applies to all BIPA claims. This is not welcomed news for employers as it broadens the potential exposure under this biometric law that comes with the heaviest penalties for failure to comply—even if no injury is suffered.
Continue Reading Illinois Supreme Court Confirms a 5-Year Statute of Limitations Applies to
All BIPA Claims

Synopsis: The first Covid-19 ruling has been dispatched by the IL WC Commission, affirming the Arbitrator’s finding of work-related exposure.  Editor’s Comment: Nearly three years into the Covid-19 pandemic, the IWCC has considered and now published the first litigated IL OccDisease Covid-19 claim. In Lucero v. Focal Point, LLC, 20WC018985, 22IWCC0231, the Commission affirmed the Arbitrator’s finding of occupational workplace exposure, ruling Petitioner’s Covid-19 infection/illness arose out of employment. We note the ruling was correctly classified as an Occupational Disease Act case vs. a Workers’ Compensation Act matter; a relatively minor, but proper distinction. Petitioner worked as a machine operator for an…
Continue Reading 1-31-2023; First Covid-19 Ruling from IL WC Comm; New IL Laws (with one old one) and more

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We enlisted the services of Chuck Krugel to handle a delicate HR matter between a company executive and employee, and we couldn’t be more pleased with his performance. Chuck’s professionalism, expertise, and collaborative approach made him a valuable asset. His sincerity, communication skills, and prompt responses were greatly appreciated. I highly recommend Chuck without reservation. We will enlist his services as needed in the future.
Mark Hollingsworth
COO
LoSasso Integrated Marketing
losasso.comThe post New Client Testimonial – LoSasso & Hyperscope Integrated Marketing & Media first appeared on Charles A. Krugel.
Continue Reading New Client Testimonial – LoSasso & Hyperscope Integrated Marketing & Media

2022 is now “in the books” and organized labor has to be reeling seeing the latest news. Despite all of those sensational headlines involving a few high profile employers facing union organizing drives last year, the union membership rate dropped to a new historic low in 2022.
Continue Reading Breaking News: Union Membership Rate Drops to Historic Low in 2022

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Leading Professionals to Teach About Protecting Your Employee Assets: The Life Cycle Of The Employment Relationship 2023
Financial Poise Webinars announces “Welcome to the Team! Recruiting and Hiring, Including Restrictive Covenants,” a live webinar premiering  January 25th at 2:00 PM CST. This webinar is co-produced by West LegalEdCenter and part of the “Protecting Your Employee Assets: The Life Cycle Of The Employment Relationship 2023” series. It will feature Charles Krugel (Law Offices of Charles Krugel); Matthew Christensen (Garfinkel Group, LLC); Helen Bloch (Law Offices of Helen Bloch, P.C.); and Cynthia E. Fruchtman (Law Offices of Cynthia E Fruchtman).
Continue Reading Protecting Your Employee Assets (23/24 Ed.)–Webinar Premiering 1/25/23

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Can You Keep a Secret?
At the federal level, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 created a pathway for civil action due to misappropriation of trade secrets; federal courts also can rule on criminal trade secret actions based on the Economic Espionage Act of 1996.
The UTSA defines a trade secret as information with actual or potential independent economic value, based on the facts that potential competitors don’t know about it and don’t have the proper means to obtain it; and that “reasonable” efforts are being made to keep that information secret. The information in question can take…
Continue Reading Can You Keep a (Trade) Secret?

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  • PLLC owners must register their business with the IDFPR, in addition to their personal registration.
  • The IDFPR started cracking down on PLLCs a couple years ago.
  • The registration process is obscure and hard to navigate, and help is hard to find.

So, you have a new PLLC. Congratulations! Whether you just formed it with the Secretary or recently converted your LLC into a PLLC, you will need to register the new entity with the IDFPR. While we can’t help with your IDFPR PLLC application because it’s behind a login screen for the business owner’s individual license, you will find below…
Continue Reading How to register your PLLC with the IDFPR

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In 2022, Illinois significantly restricted the use of non-competition agreements. The new Illinois law, the Freedom to Work Act, restricted the use of non-competition agreements (aka “covenants not to compete”) and other related agreements in several ways. Notably, the Act prohibited non-competition agreements for workers making less than $75,000 (adjusted upwards every five years), prohibited non-solicitation agreements for workers making less than $45,000 (again, adjusted every five years), required certain notices to accompany non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, and restricted the use of such agreements for many COVID-related layoffs and for most construction workers and for public workers or educators covered…
Continue Reading FTC May Ban Non-Compete Agreements

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed an omnibus appropriations bill into law that includes expanded protections for pregnant and nursing employees through two new acts: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP).
Continue Reading Expanding Workplace Protections for Pregnant Workers: New Federal Law
Explained

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I’m excited to be moderating this seven webinar series for 2023!
About This Series
If you have employees or advise employers, these webinars are for you!
No employer—whether large, medium or small—is immune from the reach of federal, state and local employment laws and regulations. Now, more than ever, employers should consider taking a proactive approach to auditing their employment practices and policies so that they can better respond when issues arise.
This webinar series approaches the employer-employee relationship from beginning to end, with programs covering the most important steps along the way, including hiring and onboarding, policy and procedure…
Continue Reading Financial Poise’s “Protecting Your Employee Assets: The Life Cycle of the Employment Relationship 2023” Webinar Schedule

The long-awaited SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”), containing sweeping changes to workplace retirement plans, was signed into law on December 29, 2022 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. SECURE 2.0 builds on the revisions to retirement plan rules enacted by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the original SECURE Act), and makes even more aggressive changes. 
Continue Reading SECURE Act 2.0 Makes Significant Changes to 401(k) and 403(b) Plans

Synopsis: Will City of Chicago WC Claims Start to Make Sense Under this Mayoral Administration?Editor’s comment: For decades, City of Chicago WC claims were mis-managed by a former Alderman who is now facing federal criminal charges. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and trial is set for the fall.In my opinion, this Alderman used the WC system along with the police/fire disability program to recruit and help political cronies—he is not facing any charges for those actions. The saddest and most obvious example of this mis=management technique was a police cadet who was placed on disability while in…
Continue Reading 1-13-2023; Will City of Chicago WC Claims Start to Make Sense Under this Mayoral Administration?; PFLAW Coming to the IL Workplace; New IRS Mileage Rates and more

While we continue to absorb the impact of the National Labor Relations Board’s recent expansion of its authority to include awards for consequential damages in unfair labor practice (ULP) cases, there are  other significant pro-union decisions and directives that need to be on your radar. 
Continue Reading But Wait, There’s More – Additional Labor Law Developments You Need to Know
About

File this in your “Sometimes, People are Really Awful” folder.

The story is a very simple one.

An associate working at a Cleveland law firm – we’ll call her Sue to protect the innocent – returned from maternity leave.

Should have been a relatively happy time, yes? Hugs all around, maybe even some donuts, but at least a kind word and a thoughtful check in with Sue on how parenthood was going, right?

Not this story.

A few days after her return, Sue informed the firm’s brass that she would be resigning to work elsewhere.

In response, she got a…
Continue Reading When an Employee Returns from FMLA Leave, Don’t Be This Employer