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Last Wednesday, I was excited to watch as thousands of Chicago workers marched across the Jackson Boulevard bridge and past my office window in support of a protest to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour.  The protest was led by fast food workers, home care, child care, security, and retail employees all of whom struggle to provide for …

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Are part time workers’ hours being cut because of ObamaCare?

It has now been five years since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), more commonly known as ObamaCare.  The White House celebrated this legislative anniversary by emphasizing how this massive health care reform has propelled major increases in insurance coverage for millions of Americans.  On its Twitter feed, the …

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Consideration for Transgender Employees

If your Facebook feed is anything like mine, I suspect you were met Monday morning with a huge number of posts and conversations about Bruce Jenner’s two hour interview with Diane Sawyer discussing his experiences as a transgender person.  I admire Mr. Jenner (he asked that Ms. Sawyer continue to use male pronouns for now, so I will …

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A Supreme Court Victory for Pregnant Employees 

We have been watching the case of Young v. UPS for some time now.  UPS refused to provide its pregnant employees who had physically demanding jobs with light duty work.  The Plaintiff in this case was a delivery driver and was required to lift up to 70 pounds.  When she became pregnant, her doctor told …

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A closer look at Millennials and the Workplace

Millennials, those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s, have garnered special attention as a topic of study and discussion in that they are the largest and most dynamic cohort of the population since the Baby Boomers.  The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that this year, Millennials, who comprise about one-third of the population …

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The Vanishing Earned Bonus: Part II

Just wanted to post a quick update to our ongoing blog series addressing the ways in which employers and courts have been eating away at earned bonuses by reliance on language providing employers with absolute discretion in awarding incentive compensation.

Yesterday, in McCleary v. Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, 2015 Ill. App. (1st) 141287-U (Ill. App. 1st Dist. …

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A Worker’s Guide to the Chicago Mayoral Run-Off

In anticipation of the upcoming mayoral runoff election, we thought we’d delve into where the candidates (Rahm Emanuel and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia) stand on issues facing Chicago workers.  Unfortunately, because they have such different political experience – with incumbent Emanuel coming largely from work in the federal government and challenger Garcia being more …

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Yesterday was International Women’s Day which was created to celebrate the achievements of women while calling for greater equality.

Women in the United States have a lot of achievements to celebrate–certainly more so than many other countries.  That being said, the United States still has a ways to go with respect to women’s rights and that is most apparent in the employment …

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Patricia Arquette’s Oscar speech highlights unequal pay for women 

Last Sunday, over 36 million people in the U.S. tuned in to watch Hollywood’s biggest annual awards show – the Oscars.  More than just a venue to celebrate film, we know the Oscars as an iconic world stage for celebrity fashion, pop culture, and even, at times, provocative social and political declarations.  

This year, …