Legal News

The Illinois legislature recently passed a law modifying the Contractor Prompt Payment Act, impacting retainage on all private projects (except residential projects involving twelve units or less). The law sets the ceiling for retainage at 10%, and...By: SmithAmundsen LLC

In 2014, the Seventh Circuit Federal Appellate Court that covers federal courts in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, held that an employee’s trip to Las Vegas qualified for FMLA leave and was protected by the FMLA because he was providing daily care...By: SmithAmundsen LLC

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), retaliation claims continue to be the most frequently filed charges of discrimination at the federal agency by far. According to the EEOC’s Fiscal Year 2018 Enforcement and...By: SmithAmundsen LLC

The recent decision in Dyer v. Ventra Sandusky, LLC, issued by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (which has jurisdiction over Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee), should motivate employers to take another look at whether their attendance...By: SmithAmundsen LLC

As is the case in most merger transactions, both the buyer and seller retain their own counsel. Generally speaking, pre-closing communications between the buyer or seller and their counsel are subject to the attorney-client privilege....By: SmithAmundsen LLC

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees must be properly classified as either exempt or nonexempt, and nonexempt employees must be paid overtime (1½ times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek). All...By: SmithAmundsen LLC

On August 13, 2019, Illinois Comptroller, Susana Mendoza, signed an Executive Order (EO) aimed at enforcement of the state’s prevailing wage law (aka mandatory top line union wage/benefits scale) for “construction” projects receiving state money. On...By: SmithAmundsen LLC

MAJOR CHANGES TO ILLINOIS EMPLOYMENT LAWS: NEW MANDATORY SEXUAL HARASSMENT TRAINING, REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS, RESTRICTIONS ON EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS, & SEVERAL OTHER MANDATES....By: SmithAmundsen LLC

This past February we reported that the Supreme Court agreed to review the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in Fort Bend County v. Davis on the viability of claims brought in federal courts where the claimant had not first filed her claim with the Equal...By: SmithAmundsen LLC

With much fanfare, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law major amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act (IEPA) that now bar Illinois employers from asking job applicants or their prior employers about salary, wages or benefits history. On...By: SmithAmundsen LLC