Oct 27, 2020
by Christine Self Illinois Sexual Harassment Training The Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) was amended by P.A. 101- 0221 to require that all Illinois employers, regardless of size, provide annual sexual harassment training to all employees. The initial training must be completed and documented by December 31, 2020 and annually thereafter. The Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) developed a model training program (available via this link), which may be used for this purpose. Alternatively, employers
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Oct 26, 2020
by Veronica Potter On September 22, 2020 the Department of Labor announced a proposed rule relating to the definition of employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), specifically clarifying the distinction between employees and independent contractors. The FLSA does not include a definition of “independent contractor.” The distinction is important, as the minimum wage and overtime requirements under the FLSA apply only to employees and not to independent contractors. Because there is no statutory definition,
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Oct 16, 2020
Tueth Keeney’s Jim Layton is the author of a chapter in the ninth edition of the Eighth Circuit Appellate Practice Manual, released in October 2020 . The Manual takes a comprehensive look at current practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. That court, based in St. Louis, hears appeals from U.S. district courts in seven states. Along with authors of other chapters, Jim also spoke at a continuing legal education program on
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Oct 14, 2020
by Betsey Mooney On Friday, October 9, 2020, the United States Department of Education announced the rescission and replacement of the 2016 Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting (the “2016 Handbook”). In its announcement, the Department asserted the 2016 Handbook and its predecessors had improperly created additional requirements and expanded the scope of the Clery Act and its accompanying regulations, providing guidance that was “unnecessarily voluminous.” In response to these concerns, and in keeping with Executive Order 13891 (stating
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Oct 12, 2020
The American Academy of Appellate Lawyers has issued recommendations for lawyers arguing by remote video link (Zoom, Teams, Webex, etc.), prepared by the Academy’s Task Force on Remote Oral Argument. Tueth Keeney’s Jim Layton, a Fellow of the Academy, chairs the task force. The recommendations are available here https://www.appellateacademy.org/publications/Counsel_AAAL_Remote_Task_Force_Recommendations_for_Counsel_Final.pdf. The recommendations emphasize that argument by video is a new form of argument-not just a different venue for the same thing. For example, arguing counsel must consider
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Oct 7, 2020
After being passed by Congress and signed by the President in the wee hours of October 1, 2020, a new law will make USCIS’s Premium Processing service more widely available, potentially benefiting employers and individuals who have previously been subject to long and unpredictable processing times for USCIS benefits. Premium Processing services allow a petitioner to pay an additional fee and receive faster processing of the petition within a guaranteed timeframe. Under the new law, USCIS will make Premium Processing
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Sep 9, 2020
The Department of Homeland Security has submitted a new H-1B visa regulation to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for final review. Though the contents of the regulation will remain confidential until released for publication, the proposed rule is expected to provide a more restrictive definition of a “specialty occupation” for H-1B visa holders and make it more difficult for H-1B professionals to work at third-party customer locations. Once OMB reviews and approves the proposed regulation, we anticipate that
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Sep 1, 2020
by Christine Self The Public Access Counselor (PAC) determined that the Board of Education of Bloomingdale School District 13 (Board) violated section 7(e)(4) of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) by improperly restricting access to its July 27, 2020 regular meeting. Section 2.01 of OMA, as amended by Public Act 101-0640, requires all public meetings be “held at specified times and places which are convenient and open to the public.” Section 7(e)(4), added to OMA on June 12, 2020, created a
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Aug 31, 2020
by Christine Self The opening of the 2020-2021 school year looks very different than previous school years for many school districts, students, and families. While some school districts are starting the school year fully in-person, others are opting for a fully virtual return to school, offering a hybrid schedule, or offering options for families to choose between some combination of those. As schools reopen in these varied formats, parents may be requesting leave from their employers under the Families First
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Aug 21, 2020
On March 19, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced its deferment of the in-person verification of identity and employment eligibility documentation for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, due to precautions associated with COVID-19. On August 19, 2020, DHS announced its extension of this policy for an additional 30 days, through September 19, 2020. Please note, this policy only applies to employers and workplaces that are operating remotely. Employees physically present at a work location are not exempt from
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Veronica E. Potter
James R. Layton
Elizabeth J. Mooney
Diane E. Metzger
Laura E. Hemmer
Melanie Gurley Keeney