Workman’s Comp for Essential Workers An emergency rule promulgated in April by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission gave certain classes of “essential” workers the ability to claim COVID-19 as an occupational disease vis-à-vis the ability to collect workers compensation. This is a change that every Illinois business should be aware…
Evictions Due to Pandemic Issues The moratorium is scheduled to end on July 31, 2020, it may very well be extended again. Once the moratorium period ends, Illinois landlords can file eviction suits due to the non-payment of rent. NOTICE TO LANDLORDS: Chicago residential tenants, who have lost income as…
Health and Safety Regulations On June 24, Virginia became the first state in the country to implement workplace health and safety rules to protect workers from coronavirus infections. Could Illinois be next? Whatever happens, these actions should serve as an example of what every business should do. Virginia’s health…
Small Businesses Reopening As of today June 26, Illinois has reached Stage 4 of coronavirus reopening, which allows essentially all types of businesses to reopen provided they observe public health safety guidance and capacity limits, with no more than 50 people allowed in one place. What does this mean for…
How concerned should small businesses be about wrongful discharge lawsuits from plaintiffs terminated after alleging publicly that their employer did not follow health and safety guidelines to combat the spread of COVID-19? The first clues may emerge from one of the first employment lawsuits related to the pandemic, filed in…
For the first time to our knowledge a judge has ordered rent relief for a Chicago restaurant. The bankruptcy judge ruled that the “Act of God” clause in the lease gives the restaurant rent relief when it was forced to closed during the the COVID-19 mandatory closings. CoronaVirus FAQs The…
Employment Issues in the Pandemic Employees who decline to show up to a physical work location based on a city, state or doctor’s coronavirus-related health order are protected from employer retaliation under a newly passed City of Chicago ordinance. Chicago-based businesses, defined as those with physical facilities in the city,…
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued an executive order on April 1 designed to protect health care providers from litigation arising out of COVID-19 cases. How does it do so, and how well would it work in practice if a lawsuit were filed? The Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act notes…
CoronaVirus FAQs Business owners are anxious to reopen their doors and revive their sales. But there are concerns that the proper precautions be taken to protect their employees and customers, at a time when no treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 appears imminent. As governors and mayors begin to ease restrictions…
By Jillian Tattersall, Chicago Employment Lawyer & Guest Blogger Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) was created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020. The United States Department of Labor has provided the following useful succinct summary of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance: Unemployment Benefits under CARES Act “Pandemic…