Today, the Supreme Court kicks off its new term with several employment cases, including cases on appeal from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals right here in Chicago. Illinois employers should keep tabs on these cases and anticipate how the Court’s rulings will add to a bevy of new compliance obligations going into effect in 2019-20.
Category Archives: Employment
Illinois Expands Employment Rights For Workers With Criminal Histories
In his inaugural address, Governor Pritzker promised to expand “true justice in our criminal justice system” and advance “economic inclusion” for Illinoisans who have previously been incarcerated. Two new laws carry out this promise and build on the efforts of 2015’s “Ban the Box” law to make it easier for the estimated 42 percent of Illinois residents with criminal backgrounds to avoid automatic disqualification and to get jobs.
Illinois Employers Must Make Radical Changes To Hiring Practices This Month
Many Illinois employers returning from summer holiday are facing a rude awakening as they discover that they now have less than a month – until September 29, 2019, to be precise – to revamp longstanding hiring practices or face sizable liability.
New School Year, New FMLA Opinion Helps Parents Of Students On IEPs
In an FMLA opinion letter addressed to an anonymous inquiry, the DOL said that the wife of the inquirer can take intermittent leave from her job under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to attend meetings related to their children’s individualized education programs (IEP). IEPs are plans for education and other services that are created for student with special needs and are mandated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Gary Savine to Speak Online to HR Executives on Workplace Investigations
Gary Savine, founder of Savine Employment Law, Ltd. will speak on workplace investigations as part of "I Know What You Did Last Summer: Workplace Investigations", a webinar for HR professionals presented by Financial Poise.
Illinois’ New Recreational Marijuana Law ‘Blunts’ Employers’ Drug Testing Practices
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.
Smartwatch Users On Alert As Illinois Mulls Privacy Law Expansion
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.
Illinois Takes The Lead In Regulating AI In Employment
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.
Illinois #MeToo Bill Passes, Heads To Pritzker’s Desk To Become Law
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.
Springfield Spring Roundup: Illinois Workplace Rights Expand
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.