Sexual harassment cases happen fairly often in today’s workplace. And, since sexual harassment can come in a variety of forms, it is critical to understand if you are being sexually harassed or not. What Does Sexual Harassment Look Like? The most common forms of sexual harassment are as follows: Unwelcome sexual advances made by supervisors or co-workers. Requests […]
What Is FMLA? The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal program that was developed for full-time employees that allows them to take time off for specific familial or medical reasons, and allows them to be reinstated in their current position upon their return from their leave. What Is Covered Under FMLA? Under FMLA, eligible […]
What Is An Exempt Employee? Most employers are required to pay their employees overtime, according to federal and state laws, however, these laws often times contain exceptions, meaning that some employees are not qualified to receive overtime pay and are considered “exempt” employees. Businesses that have more than $500,000 in sales each year or is considered […]
While there are a variety of reasons one may wish to consult with an employment attorney, here examples of situations in which one should consider doing so: If You Are Experiencing Issues With Your Employees: There may be many occasions in which you may need to consult with an employment attorney, especially when running your own business. […]
While there are federal laws in place to protect employees from various types of discrimination in the workplace, there are also anti-discrimination laws in the state of Illinois that are in place order to further protect employees from workplace discrimination. In the state of Illinois, employers are required to abide by the following federal laws: Fair Labor Standards Act […]
When an employee requires an accommodation in order to perform his job duties, an employer is generally required to engage in a discussion with the employee (called the “interactive process” in legalese). However, the law is far from clear as to when an employer (or an employee) has met the obligation to discuss with an employee about […]
Last week President Obama announced via Huffington Post proposed changes to the overtime regulations. We discussed this proposal in our previous blog post here. The announcement focused on the changes to the salary threshold employees would need to be paid to be non-exempt (not paid overtime). Last week, the Department of Labor (the agency in charge […]
Most companies have a process in which an employee must follow when he or she has a workplace concern. Typically, the first person that your concern must be addressed to is your direct supervisor. While many people feel comfortable speaking with their supervisor, many others may not, especially when it comes to addressing concerns like workplace […]
Most jobs, in most states, are considered at-will employment. While this is a common practice, many employees do not understand what at-will employment really means. What Is At-Will Employment? At-will employment means that your employment is exactly that, at will, and your employer can terminate your employment at any time, for any reason. However, the […]
The white collar exemptions to overtime pay — the Administrative, Professional, and Executive Exemptions — require among other things that the relevant worker be paid a fix minimum per week. Currently that salary must be at least $23,660 per year (we discussed this issue in more detail here). When that regulation was originally passed, $23,000 went a lot […]
