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States Passing Preemptive Bills to Prevent Passage of Paid Sick Leave Laws

I am consistently surprised by the number of people I speak with (friends, family members, and clients alike) who simply assume that employers are obligated to provide employees with paid sick leave.  I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by this.  For those who have been lucky enough to work …

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States Passing Preemptive Bills to Prevent Passage of Paid Sick Leave Laws

I am consistently surprised by the widespread assumption that employers are obligated to provide paid sick leave.  For those whose employers generously offer paid time off for sick employees, it seems a basic right.  And a reasonable one, at that.  And there is a very common misconception that the …

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In a case of first impression, obtained favorable decision for Plaintiff regarding retroactivity of statutory 2% interest penalty to Plaintiff’s jury award

The Case Law Firm recently won an important victory regarding the retroactive application of amendments to an Illinois state statute. In Brandl v. Superior Air Ground Ambulance Services, Inc., Case No. 09-CV-06019, a jury awarded our client payment for hours of accrued vacation time for which the Defendant had refused to pay at the time of her termination in violation …

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Plaintiffs in Unsuccessful Class Action Pursue Individual Claims

After seeing their nation-wide gender discrimination class action dismissed by the Supreme Court of the United States, the Wal-Mart Plaintiffs did not just throw up their hands and concede defeat.  Instead, they’ve decided that if the highest court will not allow them to proceed as one large nation-wide class, that they will simply have to enforce their …

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Voluntary Classification Settlement Program Aims to Resolve Employee Misclassification as Independent Contractors

The IRS has recently implemented a program called the “Voluntary Classification Settlement Program” (“VCSP”).  The program allows eligible employers to pay a small sum in order to obtain partial relief from federal employment taxes for previous mis-characterizations of workers as “independent contractors” when such individuals should have received classification …

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Add Your Voice to the Call to End Unemployment Discrimination in Illinois

As appalling as it may be, a shocking number of employers these days are publishing job listings with the caveat that the unemployed need not apply.  This unemployment discrimination is so backwards and plain old wrong that I have a hard time wrapping my mind around it.  We are …

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An Inspiring Article about the Struggles of Coming Out at Work

Earlier this week Rick Welts, the former Executive Vice President of the NBA and the current President and Chief Executive of the Phoenix Suns professional basketball team, opened up about his sexuality.  After decades of living what the New York Times refers to as a “shadow life,” he felt it was time …

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Vote Yes for SB 128 – Healthy Workplace Act – Senator Sandoval

This bill would provide for paid sick leave for Illinois workers.

Requires an employer to provide an employee up to 7 sick days with pay during each 12-month period. Provides that an employee may use the sick days care for physical or mental illness, injury, medical condition, professional medical diagnosis or care, …

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Unjustified “For Cause” Termination Leads to Significant Jury Award in Workplace Defamation Claim

The Appellate Court for the First District of Illinois recently upheld a jury verdict awarding the plaintiff $2 million dollars in compensatory damages and $6 million dollars in punitive damages for a workplace defamation claim.  Leyshon v. Diehl Controls North America, Inc., 2010 WL 5480668 (Ill. App. 1st …

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