Our Blog: Sick Leave

We’re coming in late with this Workplace Week in Review but only because there was so much news to sift through!

First, Happy Martin Luther King Day.  I hope everyone is at home, resting and reflecting on Dr. King’s teachings.  One of my favorites, which I try to remember during trying times, is in the image above.

If you read any news …

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In these tough times, most of what we are seeing in our newspapers and news feeds is negative and dark.  I won’t repeat the staggering numbers and scary predictions here because we’ve all seen them.  Instead, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some uplifting news and to report on the remarkable steps some members of the business community …

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A Problematic Start with Good Intentions

While many are against some of the cuts that President Trump introduced last week in his budget proposal, others are enthusiastic about the included paid parental  leave plan. Trump’s paid parental leave plan gained him supporters during his campaign. However, prior to his budget proposal last week, the plan remained a mystery. Even though Trump’s plan will …

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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 …

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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 …

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City Task Force Recommends that Chicago Employers Adopt 5 Days of Paid Sick Leave Annually

Last February 2015, 82 percent of Chicago voters supported a non-binding city referendum to adopt paid sick leave for workers. After this, the City formed a task force, called the Working Families Task Force, consisting of 27 members representing business, government, and employee advocacy interests to …

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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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The FAMILY Act Would Provide Paid Sick Leave for All Workers – Voice Your Support!

Many months ago, I posted about my shock and disappointment in learning that a number of states were passing legislation whose sole purpose was to prohibit future state-level legislation which would provide paid sick leave to employees.  Considering that cynical trend in state legislatures, I cannot …

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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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