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Are Certain Forms of Discrimination Based Upon Sexual Orientation Prohibited By Title VII?

Title VII

Although federal law does not directly prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation, a recent decision from the Southern District Court of Florida illustrates how an employee may be able to state a claim under Title VII for discrimination based upon sexual orientation if the alleged discriminatory conduct was based upon the employee’s failure [...]

To Pay or Not to Pay? Beware When Hiring Interns

Hiring Interns

The current economic situation in this country has led to an increase in the use of unpaid internships by companies, especially unpaid internships for young people who have been hit particularly hard by unemployment.  However, employers need to be extra careful in this regard since the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently announced [...]

IRS Creates A Form Affidavit For Payroll Tax Exemption Under The Hire Act

HIRE Act Payroll Tax Exemption

In conjunction with the recently-passed Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (“HIRE”) Act, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) just issued a form Employee Affidavit that employers can use to claim a payroll tax exemption.  You can view and print out the form affidavit at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw11.pdf

As we detailed in our earlier posting [...]

Make Sure Your Non-Competition, Non-Disclosure And Non-Solicitation Agreements Have Extension Clauses.

The Illinois Appellate Court for the First District ruling

In order to ensure that an employer gets the full benefit of the restrictive time period in its non-competition, non-disclosure or non-solicitation agreements, employers in Illinois should make sure that such agreements contain “extension clauses.”  An extension clause states that the time period of the restrictive [...]

New Bill Would Alter Non-Compete Law in Illinois

Illinois General Assembly considers Illinois Not to Compete Act

Illinois businesses should be aware that Illinois House Bill 4923 would radically alter the law regarding non-competition agreements in Illinois by creating the Illinois Not to Compete Act.  This Act would restrict the enforceability of non-competition agreements in several key respects and create numerous rebuttable presumptions [...]

Jobs Bill Passes the Senate and Moves to the House

U.S. Senate passes HIRE Act

News reports say that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expects the House will soon consider the Senate-passed $15 billion jobs bill (H.R. 2847), known as the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, that passed the Senate by a 70-28 vote on Feb. 24.  The bill passed by the Senate and [...]

Government Set To Crack Down on the Use of Independent Contractors

Employment Contact being signed by the employee

The legal landscape regarding the use of independent contractors has dramatically changed over the past several years.  For decades, employers’ use of independent contractors was not only rarely challenged, but it was also a way they could save significantly on labor and other costs associated with hiring employees.  [...]

2010 Just the Beginning for ENDA?

Legislative Update: Employment Non-Discrimination Act

ENDA

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would create federal protections against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  The first version of the bill was introduced in 1994.  The latest version, introduced in June 2009, is currently in committee. The House Education and Labor Committee held a full committee [...]

The Beginning of the End for Employment Arbitration?

A New Law Prevents Defense Contractors from Arbitrating Employment Disputes with Employees and Subcontractors

On December 19, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act. In this $63 billion spending measure is a provision, known as the “Franken Amendment” because it was originally introduced by Senator Al Franken of [...]

Employers Need Blogging and Social Networking Guidelines

Social Media in the Workplace

As an attorney working with companies whose employees use social media on a daily basis I have observed that companies often react after problems occur instead of dealing with new technology proactively through sensible employee policies.  Whether employees are twittering, texting, facebooking, or blogging, employee handbooks may now need social [...]