Back in 2012, facing extreme reluctance from employers, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (“EEOC”) published guidance on whether and when to hire workers with criminal backgrounds who had done their time and were, hopefully, ready to be productive citizens and workers. But employer reluctance to consider hiring ex-cons has waned…
Employers: Be cool with Pot Policies! With Illinois adopting medical marijuana and looking to legalize recreational marijuana, lots of questions will be arise about what policies employers should adopt. Imagine workers passing a joint (or a bag of spiked gummy bears) around the water cooler or sharing a joint after…
When the Americans With Disabilities Act passed in 1990, the World Wide Web was only a year old and was not even a commonly used term yet, much less a commonly used medium. Although the ADA is most commonly associated with the inclusion of wheelchair ramps, elevators and handrails in…
An arbitration agreement is a contract, in which two or more parties agree to settle a dispute outside of court. Usually, an arbitration agreement is a clause in a larger contract. The arbitration clauses are often subjects to hotly disputed litigation, stemming from the vague verbiage and possible inconsistencies with…
Employee expense reimbursement is now required by law in Illinois, at least under certain circumstances, making the Land of Lincoln the ninth U.S. jurisdiction to statutorily impose such a requirement. In doing so, Illinois joins the company of other states with similar rules. Employers of all shapes and sizes should…
Can a business ban guns from the business and workplace? If a customer walked into your Chicago area retail business or professional office carrying a gun, would you be comfortable with that, or would it feel a little too much like the O.K. Corral? What if they were carrying their…
A Legal Guide to Holiday Parties Alas, the holiday season is upon us! It’s time to celebrate the successes of the prior year with a festive holiday party, where employees can let off steam, socialize and spread cheer. So, who should you contact first? A caterer… or a DJ… or…
In late September, the social media behemoth Facebook told the World Wide Web that about 50 million accounts had suffered a security breach. Hackers had stolen password tokens for signing into Spotify, Instagram, Yelp and thousands of other third-party applications. Facebook Security Breach Facebook automatically logged out the 50 million…
Workers Classification – Employees or Independent Contractors Independent Contractor or Employee? As a business owner or an employer, when you hire a new worker, you will be reintroduced to the question – should you classify the worker as an employee or an independent contractor? In order to make this huge…
Generally speaking, illegal immigrants have the same protections under labor laws as American citizens, with some minor exceptions. Minimum Wage Laws: addition to federal laws, each state has its own minimum wage requirements; where federal and state laws differ, the higher wage applies. Minimum wage laws apply to all workers the…