Employment Law Landscape

Providing Insight into the Ever-Changing Landscape of Labor & Employment Law

Pending Major Worker Reclassification Law Aims to Burst California’s “Gig Economy” Bubble

By Kyle Jacob & Derek Barella on September 13, 2019

Book with title California law and a gavel.

On September 11, 2019, the California Senate passed Assembly Bill 5 (A.B. 5), which – if signed into law – will codify the so-called “ABC Test” utilized by the California Supreme Court in Dynamex v. Superior Court of Los Angeles to hold that the company’s delivery drivers were employees, not independent contractors, for the purpose of applying California Department of Industrial Relations Wage Orders. The bill, which California Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign,…

Employment Law Landscape

Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training and Other Sweeping #MeToo Protections to Take Effect in Illinois

By Julie Furer Stahr & Kyle Jacob on August 14, 2019

As the #MeToo movement continues to sweep the country, on August 9, 2019, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law Illinois Senate Bill 75 (now Public Act 101-0221) which will mandate statewide sexual harassment training for employers in Illinois and add other obligations and restrictions aimed at curbing sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Taking effect in just a few short months, the Act will require at least some policy, practice, and/or contracts revisions by…

Employment Law Landscape

Amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act

By Gregory Dickinson & Lauren S. Novak on August 7, 2019

Documents with title Salary history ban.

Last week, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law several amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act that are certain to have wide-ranging impacts. Most significantly, Illinois will join the growing number of states that prohibit employers from asking about or considering a job applicant’s prior salary history when making hiring decisions. The amendments will also modify an exception to the equal pay requirement that, in certain circumstances, allows employers to pay different wages to…

Employment Law Landscape

Chicago Fair Workweek Law Set to Impose Sweeping Predictable Workweek Requirements

By Julie Furer Stahr & Kyle Jacob on July 26, 2019

Paper with weekly time sheet on a table.

On July 24, 2019, the Chicago City Council voted to pass the Fair Workweek Ordinance that will require covered employers to, among other things, provide employees with at least 10 days’ advance notice of their work schedules and provide additional compensation to employees for any unscheduled changes to their scheduled work hours. Mayor Lori Lightfoot publically supported and is expected to sign the ordinance, which will go into effect on July 1, 2020.…

Employment Law Landscape

Weeding Out the Issues of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana in Illinois

By Lauren S. Novak & Paul D. Newendyke on June 10, 2019

The haze of Springfield’s recent legislative session has cleared, and Illinois has become the latest state poised to legalize marijuana. Like many other businesses throughout the country, Illinois employers will be faced with the complexity of enforcing their drug and substance abuse policies while their employees have the legal right to use marijuana outside of the workplace.…

Employment Law Landscape

EEOC Compliance Update: Employers Must Now Also Submit 2017 EEO-1 Component 2 Data by September 30

By Nora Kersten-Walsh on May 6, 2019

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated last week’s statement, described here, to confirm that in addition to 2018 “Component 2” pay data, it will now also be seeking data for calendar year 2017 by the September 30 deadline. While EEO-1 compliance for 2019 appears to be a moving target, employers should plan to heed the EEOC’s statement and prepare to comply with the September 30 deadline for Component 2 data for…

Employment Law Landscape

EEOC Compliance Notice: Employers Must File EEO-1 Component 2 Data by September 30

By Nora Kersten-Walsh on May 1, 2019

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC document and pen on a table.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a statement notifying covered entities to prepare to submit EEO-1 “Component 2” pay data for calendar year 2018 by the end of September. According to the Notice of Immediate Reinstatement of Revised EEO-1: Pay Data Collection, the EEOC expects to start collecting this data in mid-July, and in the meantime, filers must still submit their EEO-1 “Component 1” data for calendar year 2018 by the…

Employment Law Landscape

SCOTUS Deals Another Blow to Classwide Arbitration

By Lauren S. Novak & Kyle Jacob on April 25, 2019

Yesterday, in a 5-4 decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the United States Supreme Court held that ambiguous arbitration agreements do not provide the affirmative contractual basis required to send a dispute to classwide arbitration. In so ruling, the Court extended previous pro-business decisions holding that consent to classwide arbitration cannot be inferred from a contract that is “silent” on the issue. This decision is a business- and employer-friendly outcome that affirms the use…

Employment Law Landscape

DOL Releases Proposed Higher Salary Threshold for Federal Overtime Exemptions

By Nora Kersten-Walsh & Derek Barella on March 8, 2019

On March 7, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to increase the salary threshold for the so-called “white collar exemptions” from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime pay requirements. The proposed rule would raise the required salary level substantially for executive, administrative, and professional employee exemptions from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $679 per week ($35,308 per year). According to the DOL, more than one million…

Employment Law Landscape

Companies Walk a Fine Line Between Disciplining Staff and Violating NLRA

By Paul D. Newendyke & Lauren S. Novak on February 25, 2019

Above view of businessman walking on tightrope

For several years now, union and non-union employers have been stuck between a rock and a hard place because of dissonance between anti-discrimination laws and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Consider the following situation: An employer can discipline its employees based on discriminatory or harassing behavior and then face an unfair labor practice charge if the employees claim that their conduct was protected concerted activity under the NLRA. Alternatively, an employer can choose not…

Employment Law Landscape

Providing Insight into the Ever-Changing Landscape of Labor & Employment Law

Blog Authors

Pending Major Worker Reclassification Law Aims to Burst California’s “Gig Economy” Bubble

Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training and Other Sweeping #MeToo Protections to Take Effect in Illinois

Amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act

Chicago Fair Workweek Law Set to Impose Sweeping Predictable Workweek Requirements

Weeding Out the Issues of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana in Illinois

EEOC Compliance Update: Employers Must Now Also Submit 2017 EEO-1 Component 2 Data by September 30

EEOC Compliance Notice: Employers Must File EEO-1 Component 2 Data by September 30

SCOTUS Deals Another Blow to Classwide Arbitration

DOL Releases Proposed Higher Salary Threshold for Federal Overtime Exemptions

Companies Walk a Fine Line Between Disciplining Staff and Violating NLRA

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