Illinois temporary staffing agencies are already highly regulated under the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act. New legislation passed under House Bill 2862 goes leaps and bounds further in the regulation of...more
In a rare win for employers, on March 23, 2023 the Illinois Supreme Court issued its decision in Walton v. Roosevelt University, affirming dismissal of claims brought under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by a...more
2022 is now “in the books” and organized labor has to be reeling seeing the latest news. Despite all of those sensational headlines involving a few high profile employers facing union organizing drives last year, the union...more
As labor unions continue to target banks and credit unions – employers that, as mentioned in our previous blog, unions historically avoided – employers in the financial industry must be aware of labor law developments....more
In today’s world, management and human resource personnel must be on their A-game in all things relating to employees. With the new phenomenon upon us and continuing to “go viral,” management should have the latest tools to...more
Proposed Amendment 1 to the Illinois Constitution (the so-called “Workers’ Rights Amendment”), on the November 2022 ballot, formally reads as follows:
Employees shall have the fundamental right to organize and to bargain...more
Legislation aimed at expanding green energy construction projects is spreading throughout the United States. With it, prevailing wage mandates and project labor agreements tied to such projects are becoming more common....more
Employers with 100 or more employees in Illinois have begun receiving notice that it is time for their business to comply with obtaining their Equal Pay Act Registration Certificate (“EPRC”). In order to obtain the EPRC from...more
Treat ‘em like mushrooms is an expression that is never actually uttered out loud by union organizers, but it’s certainly implied when it comes to organizing a workforce. Keeping the worker in the dark concerning key facts...more
Although labor unions have historically not targeted banks and credit unions for organizing, desperate times call for desperate measures as union membership continues to fall in the United States with only 6.1% of the...more
Court decisions dealing with and interpreting the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act do not occur with great regularity. So when an interesting decision comes down, we feel it is worth reporting on and should be noted by those...more
Last year Illinois enacted amendments to its own Equal Pay Act, which requires unprecedented reporting of race, gender, and ethnicity statistics along with pay data of Illinois based employees. This reporting requirement is...more
On December 17, 2021, in a 2-1 decision, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dissolved the stay of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) previously ordered by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Therefore, OSHA’s ETS mandating...more
If you have frequented the SmithAmundsen Labor & Employment Blog, you may recall that we previously reported on one of the very first actions taken by Governor Pritzker immediately following his inauguration in January 2019....more
Good, bad or otherwise… no matter your own personal or professional viewpoint, the fact is the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is poised to usher in new reforms and implement pro-labor priorities with the intent of...more
On September 24, 2021, as instructed by President Biden’s Executive Order 14042, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (“Task Force”) published its COVID-19 Workplace Safety for Federal Contractors Guidance. We first...more
9/28/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Joe Biden ,
Masks ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Service Contract Act ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations
Employers of all sizes and industries, operating anywhere in the U.S., need to conduct HR Audits regularly. In 2021 and beyond, it is critical to carefully evaluate all aspects of how to properly and lawfully administer and...more
Contractors beware – the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) has ramped up audits of contractors as labor unions and related organizations flood the IDOL with “complaints. Remember, under the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act...more
5/7/2021
/ Audits ,
Compliance ,
Contractors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Illinois ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Non-Union ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Public Works ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
State and Local Government
With Governor Pritzker’s signature to Senate Bill 1480 on March 23, 2021, the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) now prohibits any employer’s use or reliance on a criminal conviction to support an adverse employment action...more
Big Labor continues to use local, state and federal prevailing wage laws to target contractors they have a “beef” with. Since most prevailing wage audits are triggered by a complaint (including 3rd party complaints), trade...more
As we previously blogged about, the Illinois legislature passed Senate Bill 1480, which, in relevant part, provides that unless otherwise authorized by law, an employer may only consider an individual’s criminal conviction...more
Private employers in Illinois now have more landmines to navigate as the state’s legislature pushed through SB1480 during its most recent “lame duck” session. Gov. Pritzker just signed the legislation into law today! While...more
3/23/2021
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Governor Pritzker ,
Illinois ,
New Legislation ,
Secretary of State ,
State and Local Government ,
Title VII
The Biden administration is signaling significant policy shifts. Business owners and C-Suite executives are encouraged to join us for a series of complimentary webcasts discussing these likely changes and how they will impact...more
3/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Business Operations ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Executives ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Unions ,
Webinars
Contractors, developers, architects, owners, project managers and even public bodies often ask the same obvious question when dealing with any type of prevailing wage ordinance or law, “what are my obligations?” While...more
Illinois has long limited employers from considering the criminal history of an applicant or employee in making employment decisions. The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits employers from considering an employee’s arrest...more