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Hope Harriman is an associate in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm's Chicago office.

Chicago’s recent enactment of its Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance (“Ordinance”) marks some of the country’s most progressive paid time off legislation and also imposes robust requirements upon Chicago employers. On November 9, 2023, Chicago’s City Council passed the Ordinance, effective December 31, 2023, touting it as a benefit to low-wage workers previously lacking vacation time.Continue Reading Chicago’s Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance Ushers in Some of the Nation’s Most Generous Employee Leave Entitlements

At the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows Of Harvard College, Nos. 20-1199 & 21-707, 2023 WL 4239254 (U.S. June 29, 2023), outlawed race-based affirmative action in higher education. Splitting along ideological lines, the Court’s conservative supermajority ruled, 6-3, the college admissions programs of Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The monumental decision, which dispensed with 45 years of precedent allowing race-conscious admission policies to achieve a diverse student body, has upended the world of higher education.Continue Reading What Does Affirmative Action’s Death Knell Mean for Employers?

Recently, Illinois became the third state to pass a mandatory paid time off law called the “Paid Leave for All Workers Act” (the “Act”), which grants employees a minimum of 40 hours of paid time off per year for any reason. Only Nevada and Maine provide similarly sweeping mandatory paid leave. Governor Pritzker has indicated he will sign the legislation. This new law, which would be effective January 1, 2024, will have a major impact on the landscape of paid leave in Illinois. It affects nearly everyone, its uses are unlimited, and it comes with new reporting and record-keeping requirements, as well as civil penalties for non-compliance. Though employers may provide more generous paid leave than the Act requires, the Act sets the new minimum standard for paid time off across the state.Continue Reading Time to Update Your Policies: Illinois Passes Sweeping Paid Leave Legislation

The United States Supreme Court is currently considering two cases concerning whether race-conscious admissions programs are permissible under federal law. While these cases are limited to the relatively narrow universe of university admissions, the Court’s decision may be instructive to private employers and will likely have implications beyond the classroom.Continue Reading Could the Supreme Court’s Decision in the Harvard and UNC Cases Indirectly Affect Corporate Diversity Initiatives?

In January 2020, Illinois legalized the use of recreational marijuana through the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (“the Act”).  Two months later, many employees began working remotely because of the pandemic.  Today, work-from-home continues to blur the lines between “work” and “home” in countless ways, and employee drug policies are no exception.  The new world of remote work has left many employers wondering what to do with their drug policies now that cannabis is legal and their employees are remote or hybrid.  Can an employer lawfully prevent their employees from using cannabis while working from home?
Continue Reading What Do I Do With My Workplace Drug Policy Now That Cannabis Is Legal in Illinois and My Employees Are Remote?