Some Illinois employers may not aware that as of January 1, 2016, they are required to post an official Illinois Human Trafficking Poster in their place of business (775 ILCS 50/5). The signage requirement applies to venues and industries that are frequently exposed to human trafficking. This includes: Restaurants that sell alcoholic beverages; Adult entertainment Read more
Last January 1, Illinois’ Pregnancy Accommodation Act, also known as the “Pregnancy Fairness Act”, went into effect protecting pregnant workers from employment discrimination and requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees, and job applicants, for conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or medical or common conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth. New administrative rules implementing Read more
The Illinois Human Rights Act was recently amended to strengthen the protection of pregnant women in the workplace and to require all Illinois employers to post the new notice of pregnancy rights to inform employees of the employer’s obligation to make pregnancy accommodations. The law goes into effect January 1, 2015. The law provides that Read more
Beginning January 1, 2015, Illinois employers will need to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees and new mothers – including leaves of absence. Under a new law that amends the Illinois Human Rights Act, employees will be able to request reasonable accommodations in the workplace for medical and other common conditions related to pregnancy or Read more
Payment of wages by payroll debit card is a growing trend. Now Illinois has amended state law to expressly sanction employers’ use of payroll debit cards to pay employees’ wages. Under the prior version of the law, employers were required to pay wages by check or direct deposit payment. Under the new law, paying employees Read more
Illinois’ new “Ban the Box” law will soon give workers a second chance when it comes to landing a job. The law prohibits private employers or employment agencies in Illinois from asking about the criminal histories of applicants until they are deemed qualified and selected for interviews or receive a conditional offer of employment. In Read more
The Illinois Department of Employment Security has announced a new initiative to hold employers that misclassify workers as independent contractors accountable. An independent contractor is considered to be self-employed, not an employee of the business or businesses with which they work. Therefore, misclassifying employers do not pay unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation for these workers. Read more
Beginning this year, all Illinois private and public institutions of higher learning must post a state-mandated sexual harassment poster. If your school hasn’t done so already, there is still time to comply. What is the law? The Illinois Human Rights Act (“Act”) makes it unlawful for teachers, professors, facility members and other employees of colleges Read more
Illinois lawmakers will soon decide whether or not the state’s minimum wage workers deserve a raise, but the issue isn’t as cut and dry as it seems. On the plus side for workers, the proposed law is one in a string of recent minimum wage changes. In fact, Illinois’ minimum wage rate has been rising Read more
