By Danielle R. Rabie, Megan P. Toth, and Erin Dougherty Foley
Seyfarth Synopsis: On February 19th and 26th, 2021, Illinois legislatures introduced new bills that, if passed, would get rid of at-will employment, only allowing employers to terminate employees for just-cause, and require severance pay for terminated employees, effective January 1, 2022.
On February 19th and February 26th,
Continue Reading An End to At-Will Employment in Illinois? Newly Introduced Legislation Seeks to do Just That
Seyfarth Synopsis: Illinois currently has a ban-the-box law restricting employers from asking about criminal history generally until after an interview and the state’s Human Rights Act makes it unlawful for an employer to take action against an applicant or employee based solely on the fact that the person has been arrested for 
Seyfarth Synopsis: The 4th Circuit rejected a punitive damages award won by a male AutoZone worker who accused the Company of blatantly ignoring complaints of sexual harassment by his female co-worker, finding that managers who failed to act on his complaint, without proof of intentional conduct, did not warrant a punitive 
Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective January 1, 2020, the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (WTA) amended the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) to, among other items, require all employers in Illinois to provide annual sexual harassment prevention training to all employees, and further require additional, industry-specific sexual harassment prevention training for restaurants and bars. The 
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Illinois General Assembly passed 
Seyfarth Synopisis: Illinois recently enacted legislation that changes the rules for withholding income tax from non-resident employees. The new rules replace the current, somewhat more complicated rules with a more straight-forward method that is based on, among other things, the number of working days that an employee spends in Illinois.
Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 31, 2019, the Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed 
Seyfarth Synopsis: Last week the Chicago City Council passed the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance, arguably the most expansive law of its kind. When the law takes effect in July 2020, it will require covered employers to publish employee schedules at least ten days in advance 
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Illinois Senate unanimously passed an all-encompassing sexual harassment bill, which hits all of the big ticket workplace sexual harassment hot topics, including imposing sexual harassment training and extensive reporting requirements, bans on non-disclosure agreements, arbitration clauses and non-disparagement clauses, and hefty penalties for non- compliance. Whether the House will 
Seyfarth Synopsis: Since 2001, Illinois has required that employers provide unpaid nursing or lactation breaks for working mothers. Effective last week, at least some of those breaks must now be paid.