Federal Court Decides Covid-19 is Not a “Transitory and Minor” Disability Exempted from ADA protections
What happens if fired for testing positive for COVID

First, trust that you are not alone in worrying about this.  Employment lawyers have been wondering the same thing.  Since the expiration of the FFCRA last December, there has been nothing explicitly prohibiting termination of a Covid positive …

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Chicago Passes COVID-19 Anti-Retaliation Ordinance

When COVID first hit, the federal government passed the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (“FFCRA”). The FFCRA provided all kinds of protections for employees, including paid and protected leave for those diagnosed, quarantining and/or caring for someone diagnosed or quarantining for COVID. Unfortunately, the FFCRA expired in December of 2020 and Congress did not bother to …

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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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Kristin Case and Kate Sedey have once again been recognized by their peers and the Illinois Super Lawyers Association.  Ms. Case and Ms. Sedey were rated  “Super Lawyers” for their work in the field of employment and labor and for their work in litigating employment-related matters.  Kristin has now been recognized by Illinois Super Lawyers every year since 2010 and …

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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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Today is a big day for workers in Illinois and Chicago! The Illinois minimum wage has increased for the second time since January and Chicago’s Fair Workweek Ordinance is also in effect beginning today. We hope that these changes will help provide financial stability to hard working employees throughout our city and state!

As a part of a multi year-plan to …

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To simplify things for employees looking for guidance and answers in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, we’ve put together a COVID-19 resource page on our site.  We’ll keep it active on the website as long as the information remains useful, and we will update it regularly to ensure you have access to the most up to date answers and …

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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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In follow up to our Coronavirus Q&A for Employees from earlier this week, we wanted to tackle some FAQs from healthcare workers that are specific to the medical industry.

Doctors, nurses, techs and other healthcare workers are on the front line of the COVID-19 crisis and the medical industry is the quintessential “essential business” right now.  As a result, there are …

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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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