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Employment Law

Illinois DOL announces first victory under Equal Pay Act

04/01/2008
The Illinois Department of Labor has won its first case under the state’s Equal Pay Act, which went into effect in 2004. A female clerk for Main Street Liquors in Chicago filed a complaint after she discovered she was earning less than a male clerk for performing the same work …

Wage-and-Hour suits hot

04/01/2008
Wage-and-hour lawsuits are growing exponentially, according to the fourth Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report from national law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Illinois was one of the states experiencing the most significant growth in wage-and-hour filings …

CVS fined for child labor, overtime and timecard violations

04/01/2008
CVS Caremark Corp. was fined $226,000 by the U.S. Labor Department for changing employee timecards and violating child labor laws. The department found 43 violations at stores in seven states …

Termination after maternity leave may violate the FMLA

04/01/2008
Not every employee wants to take FMLA leave, and employers sometimes don’t designate paid time off as FMLA time. But an employee doesn’t have to request FMLA leave in order to be protected by the law. That means you can’t refuse to reinstate an employee when she returns from leave. Doing so would amount to interference with the right to FMLA leave …

Bathroom breaks may be mandatory

04/01/2008
Welcome another set of employees to those covered by the ADA: employees who have bladder problems and can’t be far from a restroom at any given time. An employer will have to decide whether a particular employee’s need for bathroom breaks means she can’t perform the essential functions of her job or should be reasonably accommodated …

Caution on mandatory arbitration! Decisions almost impossible to overturn

04/01/2008
Lots of employers insist their employees sign agreements mandating arbitration to resolve employment law disputes. Conventional wisdom suggests that such alternative dispute resolution is less costly, less time-consuming and less risky than a jury trial. But conventional wisdom may be wrong …

Using an arbitration agreement? Keep detailed records of employee acceptance

04/01/2008
If you use an arbitration agreement or have any other contract-based arrangements with employees, make sure the company keeps all records showing when and how the agreement was presented or signed. You may need that information many years later …

Government employees’ union treasurer admits to theft

04/01/2008
Brad Richard Harper, former treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1629 in Battle Creek, will serve 14 months in prison and pay more than $75,000 in restitution for making false statements in union financial reports …

Disabled employee must be able to perform

04/01/2008
Chrysler hired Loretta Steward in 1997 as an hourly employee at its Viper plant in Detroit. In October 2004, Chrysler placed Steward on medical restrictions because of hand, shoulder and neck pain. The restrictions, which limited her lifting to 10 pounds or less, prevented Steward from performing her job …

Do nonunion employees have right to representation during disciplinary meetings?

04/01/2008
Q. I am working with my supervisory staff on how to deal with a difficult employee. He insists he has the right to be represented when his supervisor wants to discuss a performance problem. He recently asked to have another employee come with him for a meeting with his supervisor regarding his poor attendance. We are a nonunion company. Any suggestions? …