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Remember back in January when we announced the Weekly Employment Law Update?  And how I said I would update….weekly?  And for a good while I did that.  Then, however, work got in the way.  In March and April, our firm was busy in court with a variety of cases, including equal pay, age discrimination and unpaid wages claims.  As a …

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 Is it High Time to Protect Cannabis Users?

On March 3rd, 2022, the Illinois House approved a bill containing workplace protections for employees who are legal cannabis consumers. This bill aims to ensure that workers are not fired for legally using cannabis during off hours.

Many employers still choose to drug test employees.  Since Illinois legalized recreational marijuana use, employees have been …

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More great news for workers in Illinois! Last week, Illinois passed legislation which prohibits employers from asking applicants about their pay history during the hiring process. The No Salary History law is an important step in closing the racial and gender wage gaps.

Before this law, employers could ask an applicant questions about their salary history. This helped to perpetuate lower …

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Why you should actually read your employment agreement before you sign!

We recently had an employment agreement related issue arise here at the firm that reminded me how unequal the bargaining power can be in employment relationships. A very large Bank here in Chicago slipped into an equity incentive agreement-a provision which altered the statute of limitations for our …

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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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Gender Gap Persists in the Tech Industry

Undoubtedly tech companies continue to make their mark as employment visionaries. In recent months, tech companies have chartered the way for creative, employee-favorable practices such as paid parental leave, unlimited vacation time, and open pay policies to name just a few commendable achievements.  Yet, while these innovators stride ahead in many notable areas of …

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Argues Sexual Orientation Discrimination Prohibited by Title VII

Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) took a big step forward in protecting employees from sexual orientation discrimination and harassment in the workplace.  In U.S. EEOC v. Scott Medical Health Center, P.C. and U.S. EEOC v. IFCO Systems North America, two cases filed last week in Pennsylvania and Maryland respectively, the …

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On January 29, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced a major proposed regulation change that would increase pay transparency for employers with 100 or more employees and help fight pay inequities based on a person’s protected status.

The EEOC is the government agency responsible for enforcing the federal anti-discrimination laws, including the laws that prohibit discrimination based on …

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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 …

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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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