It’s time to get off the hammock!  Summer is ending and Illinois business owners and HR Pros should get ready to learn what to do NOW about the new Illinois Equal Pay Act heading our way,
Join us August 28 at 12:00 p.m. CT for this month’s Do It Now! webinar to get ready NOW for new pay transparency rules.
Register here!
Why join us?  The time is NOW!  In just 4 months – January 2025 – the rules go into effect.
We’ll cover what you need to do NOW to comply with the new pay transparency rules.  We’ll also…
Continue Reading Join Us For Our 4th Do It NOW! Webinar: Illinois Equal Pay Act

July’s DO IT NOW! Webinar Is A Must For Illinois Employers With Freelancers
Before you leave for your summer vacation, be sure your business complies with the new Illinois laws regulating freelancers and is prepared for new risks the law poses to even employers in compliance.  
In just fifteen minutes we can get you started for free, On July 30, 2024, at 12:00 pm CT, we’re hosting our third in a series of “DO IT NOW!” webinars. 
The third session will focus on the Illinois Freelance Workers Protection Act (IFWPA). 
 IFWPA went into effect July 1 and raises the …
Continue Reading Illinois Freelance Workers Protection Act

Your Employment Lawyer Can Help You Strategize In A Changing Climate
This week, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the lead NLRB attorney responsible for the prosecution of unfair labor practice cases, announced that most non-compete agreements likely violate the National Labor Relations Act, absent limited “special circumstances.”  Here’s a quick review of non-competes and what your employment lawyer can do to help your business in this changing climate.
What Are Non-Compete Agreements?
Non-compete agreements typically prohibit employees from competing against their former employer in a designated geographic area for a specific period.  Employers have long…
Continue Reading MOST NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS ARE UNLAWFUL, NLRB GENERAL COUNSEL ANNOUNCES

1/11/23: Last night, the Illinois Legislature passed the Paid Leave for All
Workers Act. The Act requires almost all private employers to provide
paid leave to employees to use for any purpose.
“This is a significant expansion of the legal obligations facing Illinois employers,” says Gary Savine, Principal, Savine Employment Law, Ltd. “Proper compliance will require careful advance planning.  Chicago and Cook County employers should be aware that the new legislation does not mirror existing sick pay ordinances.  The new law expands on rights afforded under those ordinances by providing paid time off for any personal reason, even if it’s…
Continue Reading NEW ILLINOIS PAID LEAVE LAW!

On June 10, 2022, Illinois signed and amended the Family Bereavement Leave Act (“FBLA”), formerly known as the Child Bereavement Leave Act.  The act will take effect on January 1, 2023.  With the FBLA, employees can take bereavement leave for the deaths of immediate family members, in addition to children, and the act expands to address grief related to pregnancy loss and failed adoptions.
New Procedures
The FBLA expands the Child Bereavement Act in several of the following ways:

• FBLA guarantees bereavement leave following the death of a:
  • child
  • spouse
  • domestic partner
  • sibling
  • parent
  • mother-in-law or father-in-law
  • grandchild,
  • grandparent,
  • stepparent.

…
Continue Reading Illinois Bereavement Act Expands

Illinois Gender Violence Act Amendments To Clarify Employers’ Responsibility For Gender-Related Violence, Underscore Risk For Ignoring Workplace Violence
The Illinois Gender Violence Act imposes liabilities against “persons” who commit gender-related violence; that much is clear.  But, as we previously reported, what remains unclear for Illinois employers is whether a “person” can include an employer, and under what circumstances.   Earlier this month, proposed amendments to the IGVA passed the Illinois House that, if signed into law, will bring needed clarity to these questions.   

Under what conditions will employers be considered liable for gender-related workplace violence?

The current draft amendments, if…
Continue Reading Workplace Harassment Focus Of Changes To Gender Violence Act

Illinois Employers Must Now Inform Employees of Availability of Essential Health Benefits
Illinois’  “Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act” is now in effect for all employers who provide group health insurance coverage to their employees.  This new law requires employers to share a comparison of their plans’ health benefits against the essential health benefits (EHBs) regulated by the State of Illinois.
Employers’ plans do not need to contain all EHBs.  The reason for the comparison is simply to show how employer coverage stacks up against the State’s list of essential benefits.  The State of Illinois provides a template for use in complying…
Continue Reading Tell Them About It: Essential Health Benefits

Chicago Employers Must Plan for Phase-in of New Fair Workweek Ordinance This Summer!  
Starting July 1, 2022, Chicago employers covered by the Fair Workweek Ordinance (CFWO) face stricter limits on their ability to change certain workers’ work schedules, and on their ability to command workers to work heavy schedules without meaningful breaks between shifts. 
Specifically, covered workers may not be forced to work any scheduled hours for which they did not receive at least 14 days’ advance notice.  If they accept work scheduled after the 14-day deadline, they must be paid one hour of “predictability pay” for each shift…
Continue Reading Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance Heats Up

Starting March 2022, Illinois companies must submit Equal Pay Certificates to IDOL. 
Recent amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act (EPA) take effect this month.  Beginning in March, private employers that file EEO-1 reports with the EEOC and that have more than 100 employees in Illinois, must apply for and obtain an equal pay registration certificate from the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL).  

The application requires compiling wage and demographic information and certifying in writing there are no pay disparities for minority and female employees.

Companies will receive notices from IDOL setting a deadline for filing their first certificate between…
Continue Reading Illinois Equal Pay Act: Important Update

 As of January 1, Illinois law prohibits employers from placing workers who earn or are expected to earn less than $75,000.00 per year under non-compete agreements, and similarly prohibits placing customer non-solicitation obligations on workers who earn or are expected to earn less than $45,000.00 per year.  The law adds a slew of other requirements that must be met to render non-competes and non-solicitation agreements enforceable and authorizes the Illinois Attorney General to investigate and sue employers that violate the law.  Contact us to schedule a free assessment of your employment agreements and protect your business.  
Never miss an…
Continue Reading Illinois’ New Freedom to Work Law Dramatically Regulates Non-Competes

Employers in Illinois who use employees’ biometric data (e.g., fingerprint swipes, temperature screens and retina scans, to name a few) should check their compliance with the state’s biometric privacy law, or face getting crushed in a wave of lawsuits expected to follow a State’s Supreme Court’s February 3, 2022 ruling that clears the way for employees to bring more claims.   Contact us for a free checklist of signs that your business might be at risk.  
Read more about this topic here: 
https://www.law360.com/articles/1461918 
https://www.venable.com/insights/publications/2021/05/dos-and-donts-of-using-biometric-data-in-the-work 
https://www.isba.org/barnews/2022/02/quicktakeonillinoissupremecourtopin
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Continue Reading Tsunami of Biometrics Lawsuits Headed Towards Illinois Employers