For a non-compete to be valid it must meet the three basic requirements of an ordinary contract: offer, acceptance and consideration. Consideration is a legal term that essentially boils down to whether the parties have agreed to exchange something within the contract terms. When you purchase a gallon of milk, you are agreeing to pay the store for […]
Fired Before Christmas – Can I still Get Paid My Christmas Bonus?
Every year without fail we get at least one call from someone who was fired in the weeks before Christmas. What worse time is there to lose a job? Why does it happen? For some companies it looks like a great way to avoid paying Christmas bonuses. Of course the first question we get is […]
SUPREME COURT RULES THAT SECURITY SCREENINGS DO NOT NEED TO BE PAID
The United States Supreme Court issued a 9-0 opinion in a FLSA lawsuit, Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk. We discussed the case and its implications in a previous blog post here. This decision also has potentially major ramifications on a much talked about class action lawsuit filed against Apple that we discussed here. In each of these cases the question was […]
Illinois Appellate Decision May Require Employers to Retain Attorneys for Unemployment Hearings
Although employment lawyers handle unemployment hearings as a matter of course, it has been a common practice for larger companies to have non-attorneys representing them in administrative hearings, including at the Illinois Department of Employment Security (unemployment hearings.) An opinion from the Illinois Appellate Court in Chicago may change that. While individuals are permitted to […]
Excessive Non-Competes: The Jimmy Johns Problem
While non-compete agreements do have their purpose, they are over used and abused by employers. As a general proposition, they are disfavored in most states as a restraint upon trade. Most recently, a non-compete agreement that Jimmy Johns’ Sandwich shop has used with even its low wage workers has caused a stir in the employment […]
Are You Owed Overtime For Working Through Your Meal Break?
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA, as well as various state wage laws, an employer must pay for time worked, even if it is done during your lunch break. Just because you eat does not mean that you are taking a lunch break. The real question is whether you are doing work for […]
Supreme Court Hears Overtime Arguments on Pay for Security Checks
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that employees be paid time and a half for overtime. But there is an exception for activities which are not part of the job. Historically the test for determining whether an activity is part of one’s job and therefore “work” for which the employee must be paid is whether […]
New FLSA Claim against Apple Seeks Unpaid Wages for Time Spent Going Through Security Check
A new Fair Labor Standards Act case alleges that Apple employees are owed overtime for time spent waiting in line at security check points to leave the premises. The lawsuit alleges that Apple has a uniform policy which requires all employees to be subject to a “personal package and bag search.” Failure to abide to the policy […]
EEOC Lawsuit Emphasizes Limits on Requests for Medical Records under the ADA
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed a lawsuit on behalf an employee that was allegedly fired for not executing a medical release relating to a Fitness-for-Duty examination to return to work. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) an employer may require an employee to submit to a medical examination if the employer has a reasonable belief that the employee […]
EEOC Critical Of Federal Government’s Self-Policing Of Discrimination—And It’s Getting Worse
When an employee or job applicant believes he has been discriminated against by a private employer he can file a charge with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (or a state or municipal agency like the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Cook County Commission on Human Rights or the Chicago Commission on Human Rights). But if the employer […]