Illinois Governor, J.B. Pritzker, recently signed the Employee Background Fairness Act into law, bringing significant changes to the hiring practices of employers in the state under the Illinois Human Rights Act. This law aims to ensure fairness in the employment process by prohibiting employers from disqualifying job applicants based solely on their conviction records, [...]
Business owners often want their employment contracts to contain the most restrictive covenants. Yet, overzealous restrictive covenants may backfire if deemed overly restrictive, unreasonable, and going further than necessary to protect the “legitimate business interests,” which is an elusive concept. A restrictive covenant is a type of contractual arrangement. It is a clause in an [...]
Chicago requires wage increase starting annually. On December 2nd, 2014, the city of Chicago passed an ordinance to raise the minimum wage to $13 per hour. Under this ordinance, the minimum wage will be increased annually to the $13 limit by July 1, 2019. The incremental raises are scheduled for July 1 of each [...]
Timing of Employers’ Criminal Inquiries and Background Checks An Illinois legislature has recently adopted the Job Opportunities For Qualified Applicants Act (the “Job Opportunities Act”). Effective January 1, 2015, the Job Opportunities Act prohibits certain employers from inquiring into or considering a job applicant’s criminal history or background prior to considering such applicant’s qualifications. The [...]
