Sexual harassment is despicable, demeaning behavior with no place in any job, and it must be taken seriously in order to be eliminated as a threat to employees. Sadly, employers do not always see it that way and often times supervisors abuse their authority and perpetrate these types of acts themselves, which makes exposing it all the more difficult for the…
As a matter of public policy, state and federal governments encourage individuals with intimate knowledge of fraud, waste, and abuse of governmental programs to step forward and report the wrongdoing. Under federal laws like the False Claims Act, these whistleblowers may be entitled to a portion of money recovered if the case is successfully prosecuted. Despite being able to file many…
If you or a family member should ever be struck by a serious illness or medical condition, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives you certain rights to take time off from work. Employees must meet certain conditions to be granted this type of leave, but if they do meet these conditions, they are eligible to return to work at an…
A new federal overtime law signed into law by the president could potentially give millions of Americans a pay increase by raising the salary threshold for overtime exempt employees . The new overtime exemption law takes effect December 1st, 2016, and because of the law most hourly workers making less than $47,476 annually could be eligible for overtime pay under the Fair…
When joining a new company, employees often have the power to negotiate over their contract to produce an agreement more favorable to their economic interests, and one that is fair to both sides. Employees may be in a particularly good bargaining position if they are experts or highly skilled in a particular employment field. While navigating through the various clauses…
The Illinois Human Rights Act affords all state residents certain rights and protections from discrimination. Included in the act are provisions against employment discrimination for various protected classes. Employees who feel they have suffered discrimination may file claims with the Illinois Department of Human Rights to investigate claims and hold wrongdoers accountable. The list of protected classes under the Illinois…
When issues between employers and employees arise, they do not always have to end in costly litigation or go through lengthy investigations. Often times, issues can be worked out between parties utilizing an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process and each side may come away feeling as though the resolution was amicable. ADR can refer to any number of ways to settle disputes.…
As a right to work state, employees in the private sector are under an “at will” employment policy and may be terminated from their job for any reason at anytime. Civil service employees, on the other hand, must be fired for cause and have the ability to appeal their termination or discipline with the Illinois Civil Service Commission. Employees wishing…
When workers in Illinois feel they have been discriminated against, they often have questions about what, if any, their legal recourse might be. Often times, employees feel as though they face an uphill battle against a powerful employer with access to high caliber legal representation. Fortunately for workers, there are a number of different routes that may be pursued to…
The Illinois Department of Labor investigates a variety of wage claims made by employees against their employer. The types of claims employees may bring to the attention of IDOL include owed wages, vacation pay, bonuses, commissions, and final compensation. Employees thinking about these types of claims should understand there are various forms, documents, and time deadlines they must navigate in order to…