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David B. Ritter

When it comes to discrimination, the customer isn’t always right

09/16/2010
Employment discrimination has been illegal for decades, but prejudice lives on. Even if bigoted customers insist on discriminating because of race, employers must still comply with the law.

What are the new regulations on paying for time employees spend changing clothes?

08/18/2010
Q. How has the recent DOL interpretation letter addressed an employer’s obligation to pay employees for time spent changing clothes?

Do we have new public works hiring rules?

08/18/2010
Q. What are the new hiring preference requirements on Illinois public works projects?

What are the rules for flexible spending accounts under the new health reform law?

08/18/2010
Q. How do the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and the Health Care and Education Tax Credits Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively known as the PPACA) affect health flexible spending accounts?

Does the FMLA apply when an employee has to care for a child she isn’t related to?

08/18/2010
Q. We have an employee who cares for a child but does not have a legal or biological relationship to the child. The employee wants to take a child-related leave under the FMLA. Is she eligible?

Reasonable accommodations under the ADA in the 7th Circuit

08/06/2010

The ADA requires employers to provide a reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with a disability, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship. A recent 7th Circuit case sheds light on the extent of an employer’s obligation to accommodate an employee’s accommodation request.

Do I now have to provide long-term care insurance to my employees’ same-sex domestic partners?

07/09/2010
Q. I recently heard that same-sex domestic partners of employees are now eligible for the long-term care insurance. Is that true?

How do we know if we must pay interns?

07/09/2010
Q. Our company would like to hire interns to work in our office this fall, but we’re not sure if we have to pay them. What are some guidelines as to whether or not we need to put them on the payroll?

Are there special requirements for training employees who do not speak English well?

07/09/2010
Q. Our company recently hired some employees who do not speak English as their first language. What are our obligations in training these employees?

Are we eligible for new state job tax credits?

07/09/2010
Q. Our company wants to apply for tax credits under Illinois Senate Bill 1578. How do we know if we’re eligible?