As Illinois (with the exception of Chicago) reopens today, Illinois employers should be aware of Governor Pritzker’s released Phase 3 Guidelines for Reopening Business and Returning People to Work Safely. The guidelines are...more
The worldwide demand for personal protective equipment (“PPE”) has drawn many new entrants to the market and opportunities for fraud and other illegal activity abound. In particular, there has been a rise in resellers,...more
Illinois and other states are now on the second week of the extraordinary executive orders colloquially referred to as the “shelter in place” or “stay-at-home” orders. Illinois’ version, COVID-19 Executive Order 8 (the...more
As COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to spread globally and governments and companies take efforts to slow and contain the virus, no company is able to continue “business as usual.” ...more
Compliance Failures - On March 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a consent order assessing a $450,000 civil money penalty against Michael LaFontaine, former Chief...more
Last week, the Chicago City Council passed the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance (“the Ordinance”), which requires employers to give workers early notice of their schedules or face penalties if they change shifts without...more
On June 25, 2019, Governor Jay B. Pritzker signed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (HR1438) (“Cannabis Act”) into law. When the law goes into effect on January 1, 2020, Illinois will be the second largest state (after...more
In August 2018, Illinois governor Bruce Rauner signed House Bill 1595 (“HB 1595”) amending the Illinois Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act (the “Act”) to provide paid break time to nursing mothers “as needed” to express...more
Medical marijuana occupies a gray space within the United States. Marijuana is an illegal drug under federal law and is included on the Drug Enforcement Administrations’ Schedule I, along with heroin and LSD. The drugs on...more
On July 31, 2018, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) announced that it will begin accepting applications for special-purpose national bank charters from financial technology companies (“fintech”). A...more
On May 11, 2016, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) adopted final rules which codify customer due diligence requirements for financial institutions (the “CDD Rule”)[1] under the Bank Secrecy Act (the “BSA”). ...more
FinCEN Exchange to encourage information sharing
In December 2017, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced the creation of a platform to facilitate information sharing on a voluntary...more
Take action now to meet the new policy, training, and certification requirements.
Beginning January 1, 2018, Illinois lobbyists and their employers must comply with new sexual harassment compliance rules. Governor Bruce...more
The recent Equifax breach data and public missteps in handling the breach has companies revisiting their cybersecurity measures and refreshing their breach response plans. Although not every company has consumer data likely...more
On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit became the first federal appellate court in the country to extend the protections afford by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The 8-3...more
In May 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published “Employer-Provided Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act” The EEOC published the guidance as it observed a “troubling trend:” employment...more
It is a fact: employees leave. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker currently holds ten different jobs before age forty. Because employee transitions are inevitable, businesses must prepare to...more
Your colleagues are on social media. Ninety-seven percent of online adults aged 16-64 say they have visited or used a social network within the last month. Because social media continues to grow and constantly evolves,...more
Employers have long understood that what their employees do on company time is directly linked to the company’s own potential liabilities. When employees using mobile electronic devices cause harm, their carelessness isn’t...more
On July 28, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (“Seventh Circuit”) ruled that Title VII does not protect against sexual orientation discrimination. See, Hively v. Ivy Tech Cmty. Coll., 2016 BL...more
As of January 1, 2016, Illinois’s Equal Pay Act (the “Act”) expanded to prohibit all employers, regardless of size, from paying unequal wages to men and women for doing the same or substantially similar work, except if the...more
In recent years, state and federal courts have consistently ruled in favor of those seeking to define their gender identity. However, the Supreme Court has yet to weigh in — a situation that is about to change as the...more
On May 11, 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) Final Rule codifying new and existing customer due diligence (“CDD”) requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) was...more
On May 11, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) finalized a recordkeeping and reporting rule to “modernize injury data collection to better inform workers, employers, the public, and OSHA about...more
On April 7, 2016, a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) ruled that five Dan Gilbert companies, including Quicken Loans Inc., Fathead LLC, In-House Realty LLC, One Reverse Mortgage LLC,...more