Kate Sedey January 31, 2017 Blog, Employee Benefits 0
The annual Open Enrollment period for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ends TODAY, January 31. This may be your last chance to protect yourself from the possibility of future discrimination by insurers based on preexisting conditions.
There is every reason to believe that the ACA will be repealed or, at a minimum, thoroughly stripped of important protections in …
Kendra Kutko November 28, 2016 Blog, Employee Rights, Legislative Advocacy 0
Illinois Employees’ Social Media Privacy Protections Expand in the New Year
Company Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media pages have become the new norm. And having employees actively participate on those employer-created pages can be a very effective marketing platform. Active social media pages help to broadcast the employer’s brand and showcase a strong community culture to prospective clients and …
Becca Nesslar October 13, 2016 Disability Discrimination and Failure to Accommodate, Employment Law, Workplace Discrimination 0
Dollar General Stores learn a hard lesson about the cost of failing to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
On September 16, 2016, a federal jury awarded a teenage ex-employee of the chain, Dollar General Stores, more than $277,566.00 in back pay and compensatory damages for her former employer’s violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The teenager was a cashier who was an …
Kendra Kutko October 12, 2016 Blog, Employment Law, Non-Compete Agreements and Restrictive Covenants 0
Illinois Freedom to Work Act Bans Non-Competes for Low-Wage Earners
Illinois lawmakers are on a roll with expanding employee rights. On the heels of enacting several important laws for employees in the past few months, including the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Act and the Child Bereavement Leave Act, our State has continued this positive trend, this time with …
Kendra Kutko September 19, 2016 Blog, Employee Pay and Compensation, Gender Discrimination 0
Newly Proposed Congressional Bill Targets Wage Gap
Just after returning from summer recess, Congress is off to a promising start with exciting proposed legislation for employees. On September 15, 2016, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, democratic delegate from the District of Columbia, introduced the Pay Equity for All Act of 2016 (H.R. 6030). The Bill aims to narrow the wage gap for …
Kendra Kutko August 29, 2016 Blog, Employee Rights, Legislative Advocacy 0
Illinois Passes Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Act
As Summer nears its close, we celebrate another advancement for Illinois employees. Notably, on August 12, 2016, Illinois passed the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Act. This new law gives employment rights to nannies, housekeepers, caretakers, and other domestic workers. This Act comes just weeks after Illinois adopted the Child Bereavement Leave Act. Hence, our home …
Kendra Kutko August 10, 2016 Bereavement Leave, Blog, Employment Law 0
Illinois Expands Leave Protections for Employees
We are pleased to report that on Friday, July 29, 2016, Illinois enacted the Child Bereavement Leave Act, which took immediate effect as new law, expanding leave protections for Illinois employees by allowing qualifying employees to elect ten days of unpaid bereavement leave upon suffering the death of a child.
This law is a major stride forward …
Kate Sedey June 29, 2016 Blog, Practical Tips, Sick Leave 0
An Employee’s Guide to Chicago’s New Paid Sick Leave Ordinance
We are thrilled to report that Chicago has joined the growing ranks of local governments ensuring paid sick leave for local employees! This is a huge victory for single parents and low wage workers who, prior to this ordinance, were regularly faced with the awful risk of losing pay or, worse …
Kristin Case May 18, 2016 Blog, Employment Law, Overtime, Uncategorized 0
Doubling the overtime income threshold will make hundreds of thousands of new employees entitled to overtime pay.
Vice President, Joe Biden, says the “middle class is getting clobbered” and predicts the Department of Labor’s revised overtime regulations (which are expected to be signed today) should go a long way to fixing that.
Amending the Department of Labor’s overtime regulations has been on President Obama’s …
Kate Sedey May 3, 2016 Blog, Employment Law, Parental Leave, Sick Leave 0
A Mother’s Day Shout Out in Celebration of the Parent Friendly Workplace!
There is a whole lot to say about the shortcomings of American workplace policies and laws as they apply to working parents and, particularly, working mothers. And from time to time, we join the chorus in calling out those problems. But today, with Mother’s Day around the corner, we at CLF …