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We at Case + Sedey love employment law, mainly because we love helping employees but also because the news that comes out of the workplace is always interesting and, oftentimes, hilariously unbelievable.  In a new (hopefully) weekly installment of the Workplace Week in Review we will highlight the best of that news.  This week, we learned how *not* to manage employees, …

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Despite what many employees think, you may not record workplace conversations.

Illinois is one of only eleven states that require two-party consent to the recording of a private conversation.  In the rest of the 39 states, only one party’s consent is needed.  And, despite what many think, workplace conversations are often “private conversations” for purposes of the law.

I wrote about the …

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In 2016, the Illinois legislature passed the Illinois Freedom to Work Act which banned non-competes, one type of restrictive covenants, for employees earning minimum wage or less.  If you recall, this Act was a direct response to the Jimmy John’s non-compete debacle.  In that instance, the Illinois Attorney General sued Jimmy Johns and the sandwich-maker relented.

While that Act was a good …

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With the recent rollouts of the first available vaccines, one of the questions we have heard a lot of lately is: Can my employer require me to get the COVID-19 vaccine?

Late last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released updated guidance on the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees related to the COVID-19 vaccine. You might remember this …

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An unprecedented number of employees have found themselves needing unemployment benefits during this time of crisis.  Many employees we have talked with have been temporarily laid off or “furloughed” but expect to return to work.  Others, still, have lost their jobs entirely.  The Illinois Department of Employment Security has published a list of Frequently Asked Questions that is helpful in …

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We’ve received lots of questions from employees about the coronavirus and their rights under the new Coronavirus Response Act.  To say that things are murky right now would be an understatement.  It’s no wonder employees are confused.  Below are some answers to common questions:

Q: Can my employer force me to come into the workplace?

A:  It depends.  If you work in …

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For those bored at home and needing a little “light” reading, the EEOC has issued Covid-19 guidance for employees and has also updated its 2009 Pandemic in the Workplace Guidance (who knew there was such guidance?)  These two pieces basically explain how the EEOC anticipates the Americans with Disabilities Act applying to Covid-19 situations in the workplace and answers some …

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Congress passes Coronavirus Response Act to help employees weather this storm.

In addition to changing the way we work, the coronavirus has also created tension and unease (to put it mildly) for employees and business owners everywhere.  The fact that we are all in this together does little to ease the mind of an employee worrying about losing her job or …

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I love reading books and listening to podcasts about workplace happiness.  I am fascinated by the microcosms that are our offices and what makes people happy or unhappy in them.  In our business, we see a lot of what makes people unhappy.  Oftentimes the issues our clients come to us with are blatant (discrimination, retaliation, etc) but, other times, we …

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Employees can be the first line of defense against workplace violence but only if they know what to look for and what to do about it.

On February 15 an employee at an Aurora, Illinois manufacturing plant walked into work believing he was going to be fired that day.  Those of us in the Chicagoland area know what happened after that–he …

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