Pay your law firm employees properly or risk falling into a financial snakepitBy James B. ZourasLaw Office Management and Economics, Standing Committee on, October 2009As wage-and-hour practitioners who have represented thousands of employees in actions against employers of every size, from multi-billion-dollar corporations to small businesses, our firm is well-versed on the ways employers violate the labor laws.
Criminal prosecution under the Occupational Safety and Health ActBy MIchael R. LiedLabor and Employment Law, September 2009Employers do not typically think about the possibility of criminal liability under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. However, Section 17(e) of the Act punishes any employer convicted of willfully violating any standard, rule, order or regulation prescribed pursuant to the Act, if that violation caused an employee’s death.
Borrowed employee has retaliatory discharge claimBy Michael R. LiedLabor and Employment Law, June 2009In a case of first impression, the Illinois Appellate Court determined that an employee of a staffing company could sue the company’s customer for retaliatory discharge.
Court strikes down Illinois law prohibiting employers from using E-VerifyBy Cindy G. BuysInternational and Immigration Law, June 2009In late 2007, Illinois enacted Public Law 95-138 prohibiting Illinois employers from enrolling in the federal government’s Employment Eligibility Verification System or E-Verify until the federal government could certify that the results of the E-Verify system were 99% accurate.
Expanded liability for sexual harassment in IllinoisBy Kenneth W. Gage & Laura R. FeldmanLabor and Employment Law, June 2009On April 16, 2009, the Illinois Supreme Court expanded Illinois employers’ exposure to damages for sexual harassment and distinguished Illinois law from federal law.
International HR economic downturn toolkit: What you need to know to project-manage cross-border restructurings, pay-cuts, and reductions-in-forceBy Donald C. Dowling, Jr.Corporate Law Departments, June 2009When a U.S.-headquartered employer suffers economic difficulties and needs to cut back its human resources costs, the first strategies that will likely come to mind are U.S.-style retrenchments like restructurings, pay-cuts, and reductions-in-force. This “toolkit” addresses how American-based multinationals can project-manage a cross-border human resources retrenchment across operations outside the U.S.
The COBRA subsidy and what it means to employersBy J.J. McGrathCorporate Law Departments, May 2009The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law February 17. It expands COBRA by offering eligible individuals a 65 percent subsidy of their required COBRA premiums and an additional enrollment period to re-elect COBRA coverage and pay only 35 percent of the COBRA premium.
U.S. Supreme Court expands employees’ ability to pursue retaliation claimsBy Kathryn WoodwardLabor and Employment Law, May 2009The United States Supreme Court recently decided that an employee who answers questions about alleged harassment during an internal investigation may later pursue a retaliation claim even where the employee did not initiate the complaint.
Your IT personnel have become child porn copsBy Michael R. LiedLabor and Employment Law, May 2009Under a recent amendment to the Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, there is a new obligation on certain Illinois workers to report child pornography which they discover on the job.
Form I-9: Delay of another Interim RuleBy Maryann BullionInternational and Immigration Law, April 2009All employers, whether they are individuals, corporations, government entities, or a small family business, have an affirmative duty to ensure they are not hiring aliens who are unauthorized to work in the United States.
Employment agreementsBy Herbert J. KleinBusiness Advice and Financial Planning, March 2009Key points to consider in advising a client considering an employment agreement.
You’ve got to play to win: Employers and the H-1B visa lotteryBy Sonya SomAdministrative Law, March 2009Due to the statutory limits placed on issuance of new H-1B visas each fiscal year, businesses that want to take advantage of this option must be prepared to enter the annual H-1B visa lottery.
Two new laws require employers to extend health benefitsBy Jim McGrathCorporate Law Departments, January 2009Recently President Bush signed Michelle’s Law, prohibiting health insurance companies from terminating coverage for dependent college students who are forced to leave school due to a medical condition or serious injury.
Employment claims based on association with another personBy Michael R. LiedLabor and Employment Law, December 2008You can imagine the unseen narrator on Desperate Housewives, Mary Alice Young, saying something like this: Relationships: From birth we begin to form relationships with others. Our deepest relationships are usually with close family members. Those relationships can bring incredible joy, but sometimes also carry legal entanglements.
Illinois acts to protect biometric informationBy Michael R. LiedLabor and Employment Law, December 2008Illinois recently enacted the Biometric Information Privacy Act, Public Act 95-0994.
Employee has claim for harassing workplace behavior not directed at herBy Michael R. LiedLabor and Employment Law, September 2008Reeves worked as a Transportation Sales Representative for C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (“CHRW”) in its Birmingham, Alabama branch office. She was the only female TSR in the office.
Employee lawfully discharged after objecting to disclosing protected health informationBy Michael R. LiedLabor and Employment Law, September 2008Rockwell Lime Company, seeking competitive bids for group health insurance, requested its employees authorize the disclosure of their protected health information to insurance companies for the purpose of pre-enrollment underwriting and risk rating.
Employer’s confidentiality policy violates labor lawBy Michael R. LiedLabor and Employment Law, September 2008The NLRB alleged that Northeastern Land Services, Ltd. violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act by maintaining, in its employment contracts, an overbroad confidentiality provision, and by terminating employee Dupuy for breaching that policy.
Memorizing secret information may violate Trade Secrets ActBy Michael R. LiedLabor and Employment Law, September 2008Al Minor & Associates, Inc., (“AMA”) is an actuarial firm that designs and administers retirement plans and that employs pension analysts who work with approximately 500 clients.
Nondisclosure agreements: A discussion with useful examplesBy Eugene F. Friedman, J.D.,Ph.D.Business Advice and Financial Planning, September 2008Nondisclosure agreements find use in a wide variety of situations including employment, business sales, joint ventures, and other cooperative efforts.
Recent case involving the non-enforcement of non-solicitation agreementsBy Peter LaSorsaCorporate Law Departments, September 2008Last spring, the Third Circuit Appellate Court in Illinois upheld a Will County Judge’s decision and held an employment agreement, which restricted the ability of the employee to solicit customers of the employer post-employment, was not enforceable due to a lack of adequate consideration notwithstanding that it was signed at the time the employee was hired by the employer.
EEOC issues guidance on employment testingBy Michael R. LiedLabor and Employment Law, June 2008The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released a fact sheet that provides employers guidance on employment related testing and selection methods.
