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Chicago Partners Jason Tremblay and Jenifer Caracciolo, and former partner Paul Starkman, recently obtained a significant victory on behalf of a global travel technology company. The client was sued by a former employee for gender and disability discrimination, as well as retaliation, after the employee was terminated for his violation of the company’s medical leave policy.
As previously reported, the Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”) was passed into law by President Bush in 2008 and became effective on November 21, 2009. On November 9, 2010, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published its final regulations that interpret and implement Title II of GINA. The final GINA regulations take effect on January 10, 2011. This article summarizes GINA and some of its significant regulations, as well as provides constructive guidance to employers in order to help them comply with GINA.
In today's day and age, when social media and networking have become an everyday occurrence, legal issues continue to arise. One such recent issue that has reared its head before the National Labor Relations Board is whether postings by employees on social media sites such as Facebook are protected activities under the scope of the National Labor Relations Act. As discussed in the November 8, 2010, New York Times article Company Accused of Firing Over Facebook Post
The 2010 edition of Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Jason Tremblay’s handbook, Employment Law Toolkit, is now available. The handbook is a comprehensive resource highlighting the significant employment and labor issues facing Illinois employers. It provides practical and cost-effective advice on avoiding employment and labor-related liability and complying with state and federal laws facing employers. [...]
While the use of pre-employment credit checks has increased over the past few years, on August 10, 2010, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law the Illinois Credit Privacy Act (“ICPA”). The ICPA significantly limits Illinois employers’ ability to obtain any credit history information for employment applicants, as well as for current employees. The ICPA applies to virtually all Illinois employers, only excluding banks and financial institutions, insurance companies, state law enforcement units, state and local government agencies and debt collection agencies.
Chicago Partner E.
The current economic situation in this country has led to an increase in the use of unpaid internships by companies, especially unpaid internships for young people who have been hit particularly hard by unemployment. However, employers need to be extra careful in this regard since the U.S.
The legal landscape regarding the use of independent contractors has dramatically changed over the past several years. For decades, employers’ use of independent contractors was not only rarely challenged, but it was also a way they could save significantly on labor and other costs associated with hiring employees. In this tough economy, employers may be tempted to use the services of independent contractors instead of employees in order to reduce their bottom-line costs. However, now more than ever, employers need to be extra careful in this area since both state and fede
On May 27, 2009, the Illinois legislature approved a significant overhaul to the Victims' Economic Security and Safety Act, also know as VESSA, which requires covered employers to provide leave and other accommodations to employees and their family members who are victims of domestic abuse or sexual violence. Once signed into law by the Governor, which is expected to be within the next several weeks, VESSA will be significantly broadened, not only increasing the protections offered to eligible emp
I recently defended a case involving allegations that our client, a service industry provider, took equipment and other purported trade secrets from his former employer. The Internet proved to be an extremely valuable tool in challenging the plaintiff's claims that the equipment design was proprietary and confidential. Among other things, we were able to find similar equipment available for sale on eBay, videos of similar equipment being used on YouTube and many other competito
Introduced just recently into the House and Senate, the Federal Oversight, Reform, and Enforcement of the WARN Act (“FOREWARN Act”) would dramatically amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN Act”). The FOREWARN Act was introduced in response to the significant rise in factory closings and mass layoffs currently being implemented in the United States.