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February 8, 2024

Employee or Freelancer? New Rules for Independent Contractors

Employee or Freelancer?

Is a person who works for your business financially dependent on you, or can they potentially independently profit based on their skill set? Will they be part of your company indefinitely? Do they perform a central, daily, integral role? Do you dictate when, where and how they work? Do you limit their ability to work for others? Can the person apply what they do to other endeavors, widening their market reach and leading to other revenue streams?

Small businesses and other employers will need ask themselves this set of questions and consider the “totality of the circumstances” in determining whether to classify people who work for them as employees or independent contractors, in a rule change published by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division on January 10, set to take effect March 11.

December 7, 2023

Beware the Cryptocurrency Exchange Account

by Bellas & Wachowski - Attorneys at Law

Looking for a reason not to use a cryptocurrency exchange account?

If you are looking for a reason to use a cryptocurreny exchange account, you may now have a reason not to use one…..or at least check out the terms and conditions of the exchange.

One thorny question has arisen and needs the attention of everyone using an exchange account.

January 25, 2021

Small Business Second PPP Loans & Grants

by George Bellas

Small Business Pandemic Survival Information

The $900 billion pandemic relief package included relief for Small Businesses. The updated programs are intended to make it easier for small business owners to apply and gain funds.

The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) approved $5 billion in new Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans on January 19 and expanded the network of lenders who can make the loans. At least $25 billion is being set aside for Second Draw PPP Loans to eligible borrowers with a maximum of 10 employees or for loans of $250,000 or less to eligible borrowers in low or moderate income neighborhoods. More info is available on the SBA Website here.

October 23, 2020

Illinois Requiring Employee Training on Sexual Harassment Prevention

by George Bellas

State Requires Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

If you’re a small business owner and you haven’t trained your employees on sexual harassment prevention, you have until December 31 to stay in compliance with Public Act 101-0221, which amended the Illinois Human Rights Act to require such training this year and every year hereafter.

This recent law mandated that the Illinois Department of Human Rights put together a model training program for sexual harassment prevention, which the department has made publicly available to employers online.

June 3, 2020

Some Employees Can Refuse to Report to Work Under New Chicago Ordinance

by George Bellas

George Bellas Chicago Business Lawyer George Bellas answers questions for business owners.

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, or subject to its licensing requirements, must not take adverse actions against any employee following the COVID-19 dictates of the Chicago mayor, city Department of Public Health, governor of Illinois, or their own treating healthcare provider.

May 8, 2020

Expansion of Unemployment Under the CARES Act

by Bellas & Wachowski - Attorneys at Law

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:

Jillian Tattersall, Chicago Employment Lawyer Jillian Tattersall explains unemployment benefits under the CARES Act

Unemployment Benefits under CARES Act

February 18, 2020

Illinois Dispensaries Need Federal Law Changed So Banks Don’t Just Say No

by George Bellas

Marijuana became legal in Illinois on January 1, yet licensed cannabis dispensaries are generally forced to operate like their street-corner, black-market counterparts in at least one respect: They are cash-only businesses because they have no access to banking services.

Illinois Cannabis Laws create new issues

That’s because federal law still classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, and classifies marijuana businesses as illegal. And since banking is regulated by federal law, banks technically could be subject to charges like aiding and abetting, or money laundering, should they make loans, provide credit or otherwise service these businesses.

February 4, 2020

Is Your Business Prepared for the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’

by George Bellas

If you’ve watched any of the Democratic presidential debates, you might have heard candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang – you know, the guy with the $1,000 per month guaranteed income plan – talk about something called the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.” This is a recognition that technology is imploding and changing everything about our lives.

In describing the ways social media and technology have redefined communication, in 2009 journalist Graeme Wood said that “Change has never happened this fast before, and it will never be this slow again.”

Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, coined the phrase “fourth industrial revolution” in his 2016 best seller. This is techie-speak for disruptive technologies and trends like robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the Internet of Things – i.e. everyday devices like doorbells and thermostats that you can control remotely – that are changing how we live and work. This Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing together digital, physical and biological systems. It will open up our minds to all kinds of new things: Mobile supercomputing; Artificially-intelligent robots; Self-driving cars; Neuro-technological brain enhancements; Genetic editing. We can see the evidence of these revolutionary changes all around us – and it’s happening faster and faster.

November 6, 2019

Expunging Old Marijuana Convictions

by George Bellas

The new Illinois laws legalizing cannabis has a benefit to old stoners – expungement of criminal records.

Among the several provisions of the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act which takes effect on January 1 are provisions that include some dramatic criminal justice reforms. The most important of these provisions are the expungement provisions for certain past cannabis-related criminal convictions.

Illinois laws now permit expungement of prior cannabis related crimes.

July 16, 2019

What Laws apply to the use of Drones?

by George Bellas

Purchasing and flying a drone might seem like either a fun diversion or a new way of doing business. Professionals who do photography and videography, agriculture, weather forecasting, and increasingly construction are putting drones to commercial use, while they’re being piloted for package delivery through companies like Amazon and UPS.

Drones-Chicago-Business-Lawyer-Bellas-1-300x200

Legal issues regarding flying of drones.

Whatever use you have in mind for a drone, make sure you fully investigate federal, state and local laws on the subject, starting with those handed down a few years ago by the Federal Aviation Administration. For starters, drones being used for commercial purposes that weigh less than 55 pounds must have an Airworthiness Certificate, and the operator must have a Remote Pilot Airman Certificate.