Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employee has 180 days from the date of a discriminatory act to file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. That 180 days is expanded to 300 days in those states which have their own Human Rights Act. But Title VII is not the only law against race […]
Are Car Dealership Service Advisors Entitled to Overtime?
The Supreme Court is currently reviewing whether to accept a case out of California that found that service advisors or parts advisors are not exempt from the FLSA and are therefore entitled to overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. This decision Navarro et al. v. Encino Motorcars, LLC – was in stark contrast with […]
I Need to Attend My Kid’s School Conference But I cannot Get Time Off? What do I do??
Illinois (as well as California and D.C.) requires that an “employer must grant an employee leave of up to a total of 8 hours during any school year, no more than 4 hours of which may be taken on any given day, to attend school conferences or classroom activities related to the employee’s child if […]
President Obama Announces FLSA Rule Change — More Workers Will Be Entitled to Overtime
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 […]
Is a Non-Compete De Facto Restraining Order Preventing you From Getting Your Next Job
Employees often sign non-compete agreements as a matter of course when they take a job. They then work for a period of time for the employer without concern about the non-compete agreement. At some point the employee leaves the job. Whether this is because she saw a better opportunity, was no longer happy at the […]
DOL Issues Final Rule for FMLA Leave – Same-Sex Marriage Will be Recognized (UPDATE: Texas Court Has Issued an Injunction Halting DOL’s Enforcement
The FMLA provides leave to care for serious medical conditions of certain family members including spouses. In the past, it was clear that a husband could take FMLA leave to care for his wife (assuming her condition met the requirements of the FMLA) and vice versa. But for same-sex couples, the answer to that question depended on […]
Supreme Court Backs the Department of Labor: Interpretations by the DOL are Not Subject to A Notice and Comment Process
In March 2010 the DOL of Labor issued the Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2010-1 (the “Interpretation”), which provided an interpretation that employees who perform the “typical” duties of a mortgage loan officer employee do not satisfy the duties requirements of the FLSA’s administrative exemption. In so doing, the 2010 interpretation withdrew a 2006 opinion letter that reached […]
Common Workplace Violations That You Should Be Aware Of
The most important things to all employees are wages and benefits. Since there are laws in place to protect employees, when it comes to these, it is important for employees to know what their rights are, as well as the workplace violations they should be aware of. Wage Theft When an employee does not receive earned pay, […]
Illinois Employers to Offer Voluntary Retirement Plan in 2017
Among the many changes to laws impacting Illinois Employers, one of the most novel changes in Illinois is the “Secure Choice” Law that goes into effect on June 1, 2017. In a time when people are concerned that Social Security won’t be there when they retire, and the State of Illinois declares its budget is in crisis […]
UPDATE: Change in FLSA Overtime Exemption for Domestic Service Workers is Put on Hold
As we discussed at length in our a previous blog post the Department of Labor issued a new rule that updated the definition of “companionship services” which would have entitled many more domestic service workers to overtime pay. The proposed rules have now be vacated by a Judge in Washington DC. In making his ruling, the Judge […]