Margaret De Fer June 2, 2017 Blog, Family Medical Leave Act Discrimination, Parental Leave, Sick Leave 0
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 …
Kate Sedey September 15, 2016 Blog, Disability Discrimination and Failure to Accommodate 0
Under What Circumstances are Job-Related Medical Inquiries Allowed
We’ve all been hearing a lot this campaign season about the relative health conditions of the candidates for President of the United States. We have been privy to letters from doctors attesting to the well-being of both candidates as well as significant commentary about whether those letters are true and accurate. Everyone, from …
Kristin Case September 12, 2016 Blog, Firm News 1
Our Firm participated in a pediatric cancer fundraiser which was truly inspiring.
As many of you know, we represent a lot of employees who need medical leave for various reasons. Federal law gives certain employees the right to 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave to care for themselves, their spouse or children. Some employers are more generous than this and the federal …
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 …
Kendra Kutko May 23, 2016 Blog, Practical Tips 0
Legal considerations before job hopping becomes a habit
These days job hopping amongst employees is commonplace. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average employee stays in a particular job for only 4.4 years. Employees born between the years of 1977 and 1997 will have up to 15 to 20 jobs in their lifetime. The trends become even more pronounced …
Kendra Kutko April 4, 2016 Blog, Legislative Advocacy, Sick Leave 0
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 …
Kate Sedey February 11, 2016 Internal Complaints, Practical Tips 0
Making a formal internal complaint of inappropriate conduct in the workplace can be a scary proposition. So many employees are worried about whether they will be taken seriously, whether they’ll be perceived as a whiner or overly-sensitive, and – perhaps most scary of all – whether they will be retaliated against or pushed out of the workplace for taking a …
Kendra Kutko November 12, 2015 Blog, Personnel Records, Practical Tips, Workplace Discrimination 4
Negative Performance Reviews: Legitimate Teaching Tools or Cover-Ups for Unlawful Actions or Intentions?
Negative performance reviews can either be legitimate teaching tools or they can be mere documents to support what a manager already plans to do. In the plaintiff’s employment law world, we call the latter, “papering the file.” And, oftentimes, managers unfairly paper an employee’s file when planning to …
Kristin Case October 26, 2015 Blog, Disability Benefits, FMLA and ERISA, Disability Discrimination and Failure to Accommodate, Employee Benefits, Family Medical Leave Act Discrimination, Uncategorized 0
How to care for yourself without derailing your career
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month the following is the first part of a three-part series regarding coping with a serious health condition, like cancer, in the workplace.
This first part deals with the immediate: getting time off work for treatment without losing your job.
Oftentimes illnesses …