Illinois Employment Legislation

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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 New Year will usher in several new Illinois employment laws. These laws cover a myriad of topics and will require revisions to employee handbooks and general employment policies. …

Continue Reading New Year Brings New Laws for Illinois Employers

For those larger Illinois employers who have not yet reported payroll and diversity data to the Illinois Department of Labor (the “IDOL”), now may be the time.  The IDOL recently issued guidance to help employers navigate their reporting requirements (the “Guidance”).…

Continue Reading Now is the Time for Employers to Report Pay Equity Data to the Illinois Labor Department

Illinois recently passed legislation amending the Freedom to Work Act (the “Act”), following a growing trend of states imposing greater restrictions on employers’ use and enforcement of non-competition and non-solicitation covenants.
Continue Reading Illinois Imposes New Restrictions on Non-Competes and Non-Solicits

On August 13, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed into law a bill amending the Illinois Freedom to Work Act governing restrictive covenants and non-competition agreements.  On May 30, 2021, the Illinois General Assembly passed a bill codifying existing noncompete law in some respects and modifying it in others.  We detailed the Bill in a prior blog here.  The Bill is now the law.  The amendments become effective on January 1, 2022 and will not apply retroactively.
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Continue Reading Illinois Governor Signs Non-Compete Legislation

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?
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Continue Reading What Do I Do With My Workplace Drug Policy Now That Cannabis Is Legal in Illinois and My Employees Are Remote?

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is expected to sign into law the City Council’s recently passed Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance (the “Ordinance”).  The Ordinance, which includes predictable scheduling provisions, will dramatically affect workweek scheduling for many Chicago employers beginning on July 1, 2020.

We previously wrote about Emeryville, California’s Fair Workweek Ordinance.  Emeryville became the third municipality to enact predictive scheduling legislation (Seattle and San Francisco being the others).  In an effort to enact “fair and equitable employment scheduling practices”, the Chicago City Council now passed its own Ordinance, which requires certain Covered employers (as defined below) to provide Covered employees (as defined below) with at least two weeks’ advance notice of their work schedules and to compensate employees in the event of certain schedule changes.
Continue Reading Predictable Scheduling Makes Its Way To Chicago

Last August, we wrote about a Chicago ordinance requiring hotel employers to, among other things, equip hotel employees assigned to work in guestrooms or restrooms with portable emergency contact devices. The emergency contact devices, referred to as “panic buttons,” may be used to summon help if the employee reasonably believes that an ongoing crime, sexual harassment, sexual assault or other emergency is occurring in the employee’s presence. The Chicago ordinance took effect July 1, 2018. …
Continue Reading “Panic Button” Laws Make Their Way Across The U.S.

In the aftermath of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Rosenbach decision, Illinois employers have faced a wave of class action litigation filed under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). Employers hoping for relief from the statute’s private right of action must wait for another day (or another session) as Senate Bill 2134 (“SB 2134”) did not report out of committee by the March 28, 2019 deadline.
Continue Reading The Potential For Stemming BIPA Suits Waits Another Day

On August 19, 2016, Governor Bruce Rauner officially signed into law the Illinois Freedom to Work Act (the “Act”), with an effective date of January 1, 2017.  The Act, while short and to the point, will have a significant impact on private sector employers who routinely require all employees, regardless of job level or wage, to enter into non-competition agreements.
Continue Reading Illinois Limits Non-Compete Agreements Yet Again