Law and the Workplace

Tag Archives: illinois

Illinois Appellate Court Addresses Statute of Limitations Period for BIPA Claims

By Steven J. Pearlman, Edward Young and Dakota D. Treece on Posted in Class/Collective Action
On September 17, 2021, an Illinois Appellate Court addressed the appropriate statute of limitations period for claims brought pursuant to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA” or the “Act”), 740 ILCS § 14/1, et seq., holding that (1) claims asserted under sections 15(c) and (d) of the Act are subject to a one-year statute of … Continue Reading

Illinois Governor Signs Restrictive Covenant Bill Into Law

By Steven J. Pearlman, Edward Young and Dakota D. Treece on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
On August 13, 2021, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law an amendment to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act (820 ILCS § 90), which imposes restrictions on the use of non-competition and non-solicitation (employee and customer) restrictive covenants for Illinois employees. The law takes effect on January 1, 2022, and only applies to restrictive covenants … Continue Reading

Chicago Introduces Wage Theft and Paid Secure Leave Ordinances

By Steven J. Pearlman, Edward Young and Dakota D. Treece on Posted in Wage and Hour
On May 26, 2021, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced a series of ordinances (the “Ordinances”) which seek to implement new wage theft protections and provide certain employees with the ability to take paid “secure leave.”  A copy of the Ordinances is available here. First, the Ordinances would amend the Chicago Municipal Code to provide that … Continue Reading

Substantial Changes Ahead for Illinois Employers in 2020 Relating to Sexual Harassment Training, Mandatory Arbitration Agreements, and More

By Caralyn M. Olie, Edward Young and Steven J. Pearlman on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Litigation and Arbitration, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Seal of the State of IllinoisOn August 9, 2019, Governor Pritzker signed into law Public Act 101-0221 (the “Act”), which enhances protections against workplace sexual harassment and discrimination.  The Act creates new laws and amends several existing ones, including the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”), as summarized below: NEW LAWS The Workplace Transparency Act (“WTA”).  The Workplace Transparency Act will … Continue Reading

Illinois Enacts Workplace Transparency Act

By Caralyn M. Olie, Edward Young and Steven J. Pearlman on Posted in Hiring/Background Checks, Workplace Policies and Procedures
On August 9, 2019, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed the Workplace Transparency Act (the “Act”) into law.  The Act will apply to all contracts, agreements, clauses, or waivers entered into, modified, or extended on or after January 1, 2020.  Here are the key features with respect to arbitration agreements, employment agreements and separation agreements that Illinois … Continue Reading

Illinois Expands Workplace Protections for Breastfeeding Employees

By Laura Fant and Steven J. Pearlman on Posted in Accessibility & Accommodation, Wage and Hour, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Governor Bruce Rauner has signed into law a bill that expands protections for employees needing to express breast milk in the workplace.  The law amends the preexisting Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act (the “Act”) in several significant ways—most notably that break time provided for the expression of milk “may not reduce an employee’s compensation” … Continue Reading

Illinois Senate Fails to Override Governor’s Veto of Salary History Ban

By Alex Weinstein, Connie Bertram and Emilie Adams on Posted in Hiring/Background Checks
Bucking the nationwide trend, Illinois was unable to pass a law prohibiting employers from asking job applicants about their salary history. On November 9, 2017, the Illinois Senate failed to override Governor Rauner’s veto of a salary history ban. As we previously reported, on August 25, 2017, Governor Rauner vetoed a bill that would have … Continue Reading

Chicago Passes Ordinance Requiring Hotels to Provide “Panic Buttons” To Certain Employees

By Edward Young and Steven J. Pearlman on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation
On October 11, 2017, the Chicago City Council passed the Hotel Workers Sexual Harassment Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which requires Chicago hotels to develop anti-sexual harassment policies and provide employees who work alone in hotel rooms with panic buttons. Employers who fail to comply with these requirements or retaliate against employees for invoking the Ordinance’s protections … Continue Reading

Chicago Sees A Major Uptick in FLSA Litigation, Consistent With National Trends

By Sunghee Sohn and Steven J. Pearlman on Posted in Wage and Hour
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has emerged as one of the nation’s busiest federal district courts with respect to wage-and-hour litigation.  As reported by Crain’s Chicago Business, in 2015 alone, 542 Fair Labor Standards Act actions were filed in the Northern District of Illinois.  Between 2011 and 2015, wage-and-hour actions … Continue Reading

Chicago Task Force Proposes 5 Days Of Paid Sick Leave For Employees

By Edward Young and Steven J. Pearlman on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Poised to join the increasing number of cities that require paid sick leave, the Working Families Task Force (commissioned by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel) recently recommended that employees in Chicago be allowed to earn at least 5 paid sick days each year. The task force is comprised of 27 members, including business, government and worker … Continue Reading

Cook County, Illinois Amends Human Rights Ordinance To Limit Credit Checks

By Daniel Saperstein and Steven J. Pearlman on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Hiring/Background Checks, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Cook County, Illinois enacted a bill (No. 15-3088) that amends the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance to restrict employers from asking about or otherwise considering a prospective or current employee’s credit history in employment decisions.  The new ordinance took effect yesterday.  It is nearly identical to laws in Illinois and Chicago that were enacted a … Continue Reading

Illinois and Chicago “Ban the Box” Laws Take Effect

By Daniel Saperstein and Nigel F. Telman on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Hiring/Background Checks, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Illinois’ and Chicago’s “ban the box” laws took effect on January 1.  Both laws prohibit private employers from making criminal inquiries until after an applicant has been notified of his or her selection for an interview (where the employer does not conduct an interview, it must wait until after making a conditional offer).  The two … Continue Reading

A Pregnant Pause For Illinois Employees?

By Katharine Parker and K.M. Zouhary on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Following a national trend, Governor Pat Quinn recently signed legislation amending and expanding the protections under the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) for pregnant applicants and employees, requiring reasonable accommodation of pregnancy, not just pregnancy disability. The amendment, which takes effect January 1, 2015, applies to all employers with at least one employee. Examples of … Continue Reading

Latest Criminal Background Check Developments Affect San Francisco, Illinois, and Alabama Employers

By Daniel Saperstein, Katharine Parker and Kelly Anne Targett on Posted in Hiring/Background Checks, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Employers should be aware of the following developments across the country before running a criminal background check: San Francisco’s new “ban the box” ordinance is set to take effect next week, including the requirement that employers post and distribute a notice of rights; the Northern District of Illinois recently granted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s … Continue Reading

EEOC Sues Over Common Release Language In Northern District of Illinois

By Katharine Parker on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Litigation and Arbitration, Workplace Restructuring and WARN
The EEOC recently filed a lawsuit challenging CVS Pharmacy’s (the “Company’s”) separation agreement, which, it asserts, was distributed to more than 650 employees in 2012.  EEOC v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., Case No. 1:14-cv-00863 (N.D. Ill.).  The agency alleges that the separation agreement had the effect of interfering with Title VII rights by purportedly failing to … Continue Reading

Unemployment Laws Have New Teeth Under the Integrity Act: Are You Ready?

By Fredric Leffler, Noa Baddish and Susan D. Friedfel on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
 In 2011, President Obama signed the Unemployment Insurance Integrity Act (the “Act”), which largely shifts the responsibility for unemployment insurance integrity to employers. The Act required states to adopt legislation implementing the provisions of the Act by October 21, 2013 and, in many states, employers are just starting to see the impact of the new … Continue Reading

Illinois Amends Social Media Law Enacted Just Last Year

By Daniel Saperstein, Katharine Parker and Kelly Anne Targett on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Hiring/Background Checks, Workplace Policies and Procedures
On August 16, 2013, Illinois amended its social media law that had restricted employer access to an applicant’s or employee’s social media account. The amendments clarify that the law’s proscriptions only apply to personal social media accounts, and add an express exception to permit employers to monitor professional accounts. Read this alert for more on the … Continue Reading

Illinois Expands Employee Classification Act

By Katharine Parker on Posted in Independent Contractor, Wage and Hour
On July 23, 2013, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (Dem.) signed into law two amendments to the Employee Classification Act, a law that regulates the classification of workers in the construction industry.  The Act imposes a three-pronged test to determine independent contractor status for individuals, along with a 12-part test for individuals operating as sole proprietors … Continue Reading

Illinois Restrictive Covenants Harder to Enforce Post-Fifield and Montel

By Gray Mateo-Harris and Nigel F. Telman on Posted in Litigation and Arbitration, Non-Competes and Protection of Corporate Assets
Illinois employers are still reeling from the Illinois Supreme Court’s refusal to review the decision in Fifield v. Premier Dealer Services, Inc., No. 1-12-0327 (Ill. App. Ct., 1st Dist. June 24, 2013).  In Fifield, the First District Appellate Court ruled that employee non-competition and non-solicitation agreements supported by consideration consisting of less than two years … Continue Reading
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