Wage and hour violations in Illinois just got a lot more expensive. On Friday, July 9, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed an amendment to the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act that increases the penalty for underpaying wages from 2% of the amount of the underpayment per month to 5%. That may not sound like a
On February 19, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1, which increases the minimum wage in Illinois to $15 per hour by 2025. Under the new law, the minimum wage will increase from $8.25 to $9.25 on January 1, 2020, to $10.00 on July 1, 2020. Thereafter, the minimum wage will increase
Back in 2008, Illinois enacted what at the time must have seemed like a relatively obscure law to address privacy concerns associated with biometric information – the Biometric Information Privacy Act or “BIPA”. At the time, biometric devices existed, but they weren’t terribly common. Today, many of us carry a sophisticated fingerprint reader or face
Last week, outgoing Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez released a farewell “Memorandum to the American People.” It mostly reads as a recap of the DOL’s news releases over the past several years, touting various DOL initiatives and advocating for further changes, like increasing the minimum wage and mandating paid family leave. The memo
Whenever I discuss federal law here on the blog, I usually add a disclaimer that reminds employers to check state and local laws before proceeding. With the proliferation of minimum wage increases, minding state and local laws is more important than ever. However, state laws can affect more than just the minimum wage. For instance
Unless you are living under a rock, you are probably aware of the uproar in Indiana about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that the state passed, triggering an incredible backlash inside and outside the state and a rush by legislators to revise the newly-enacted law. When even NASCAR is criticizing legislation instead of
Recently, the Maryland Court of Appeals took the position, albeit in dicta, that the state’s Wage Payment and Collection Law reflects a “strong” public policy of Maryland and urged Maryland courts to reject as unenforceable any future out-of-state forum selection provisions contained in employment agreements. While just one decision, employers with Maryland-based employees should review
With the election season behind us and 2015 fast approaching, employers need to start looking ahead to the new year when, traditionally, a host of new laws take effect. As we discussed after the election, 2014 was a busy year for wage and hour laws, and 2015 will be no different. Four states—Alaska, Arkansas
Before the election, we talked about minimum wage and paid sick leave initiatives on the rise, including some important ballot issues. With most of the results tallied, it appears that the Republicans weren’t the only big winners in the 2014 midterm elections last night. While the GOP retaking the Senate majority and reaching historic
Those of you who attended our annual Employment Law Conference this past February know that failing to complete Form I-9 for all new hires can lead not only to civil fines and penalties, but to criminal penalties (If you missed the conference, all of the materials and audio are available here). That’s true for