Labor & Employment Law Update

On May 26, 2024, the Illinois Legislature passed Senate Bill 3649 – titled the “Worker Freedom of Speech Act.” The legislation prohibits virtually all Illinois employers from discharging or disciplining any employee, or from threatening to take such actions against any employee, who refuses to attend meetings related to unions (aka “the Captive Audience Meeting”). In short, employers cannot require or give the impression to anyone that they are compelling workers to attend meetings that touch on labor unions. While the restrictions cover anything “political” or “religious” in nature (and union issues fall under “political”), the true intent is to shut up employers while union representatives are already legally allowed to say just about everything and anything to dupe the worker into “signing up” with a labor union. To be more clear, the legislation specifically aims to prevent employers from educating employees on the pros and cons of union membership in general or in a particular union or labor organization. Once signed by the governor (he’ll sign it), it will become effective.

With the summer travel season around the corner, we are fielding many travel and visa application questions. Here are answers to your most frequently asked questions.

Join Sara Zorich, Karen Tobin and Alice Lin on June 11 at 10 AM as they discuss certain employment, corporate and tax considerations employers need to know about in order to effectively manage workers in multiple locations without exposing themselves to liability.

The first—and a significant—amendment to the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA) has just passed both chambers of the Illinois legislature and is headed to Governor Pritzker for approval. SB2979 amends BIPA to address the troubling trend of litigants seeking per-scan damages under BIPA, where a handful of enterprising attorneys have, and continue to file, single-plaintiff cases seeking damages on a per-scan basis that exceed six-figures for a single individual.

On April 22, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes that participate in Medicare and Medicaid. As we noted previously, the rule was announced on September 1, 2023 and was open for public comment until November 6, 2023. The rule was officially published on May 10, 2024. Although the rule becomes effective on June 21, 2024, implementation is phased in over the next five years. 

On May 6, 2024, California’s Supreme Court, in a rare and surprising “employer friendly” decision, held that an employer can avoid penalties under California’s wage statement law, Cal. Lab. Code § 226, if it reasonably and in good faith believed it was providing a complete and accurate wage statement in compliance with the requirements of Cal. Lab. Code § 226(a).

On April 29, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, which goes into effect immediately. For the past five years, over one-third of the charges of employment discrimination received by the EEOC included an allegation of unlawful harassment based on race, sex, disability, or another statutorily protected characteristic. Employers need to be aware of the EEOC’s new enforcement guidance because it expands the scope of conduct that constitutes unlawful “harassment” in the workplace which violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).

In the latest round of state employment law updates family leave and religious accommodations are in the spotlight. We also highlight wage and hour laws relating to compensable time. Read the full article to see if any of these updates apply to you.