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Come January 1, 2020, just as some Illinois residents are taking their first lawful (at least under State law) puffs of marijuana or bites of a cannabis-infused gummy bear, many employers in the Land of Lincoln will likely be facing the ramifications of an even more dramatic change -- their possible need to stop all forms of testing for marijuana use other than reasonable suspicion testing.

A recent article in Law360 presented the results of a new global survey that shows more in- house lawyers, especially employment lawyers, will be launching job searches in the coming years. Conducted by Euromoney Thought Leadership Consulting on behalf of EY Law (the “Report”), the report found that 74% of companies surveyed either have or are willing to consider outsourcing day-to-day employment law work, as part of a projected mass outsourcing effort across the private sector to cut corporate legal function costs.

A bill introduced in the Illinois House, HB 3024, would amend Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA or the Act) to expand the law to cover EKG results from wearable devices.Passed in 2008, BIPA originally was enacted to address technologies that rely upon fingerprints, retina scans and other “biometric identifiers” for time clocks and security access. The Act prohibits businesses from collecting, storing or using biometric identifier information without written policies, written notice to those from whom they collect the information, protocols to protect the information, and special disclosures if the information is shared with third parties.

The Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act is one of three pending bills in Illinois aimed at taming the risks posed by big data in the workplace.

While media coverage of the closing moments of the Spring legislative session focused on recreational marijuana, taxes and infrastructure, Illinois lawmakers quietly were leveraging the momentum created by the #MeToo moment to pass the Workplace Transparency Act.

The Illinois Legislature wrapped its Spring 2019 session by sending to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk several bills poised to substantially alter the workplace.At the same time, lawmakers left on the table a handful of items that, combined with initiatives expected soon out of Chicago City Council under new Mayor Lori Lightfoot, should make for an equally busy Fall legislative calendar.

an Illinois Court of Appeals ruled, for the first time, that a legal entity, such as a corporation, can be sued under the Illinois Gender Violence Act (IGVA or Act) for sex discrimination. By doing so, the court dramatically increased the possible liability a business could face when it mishandles employee complaints of harassment if the target of those complaints later sexually assaults a coworker.

In the past few weeks, Illinois Legislators have been working feverishly to advance SB1829, a bill dubbed the Workplace Transparency Act. In an already busy legislative session filled with worker-friendly initiatives, the bill has already passed the Senate and is advancing rapidly through the House, picking up scores of sponsors along the way.