Dec 17, 2020
by Jim Layton On a 3-2 party-line vote, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently proposed a substantial revision of Section 12: Religious Discrimination in the EEOC Compliance Manual. The Manual provides comprehensive guidance to EEOC investigators, employers, and employees with regard to EEOC enforcement of the Civil Rights Laws. The current version of the Manual notes that the number of religious discrimination claims filed with the EEOC has “increased significantly” – from 1,709 claims in 1997 to 2,880 claims in
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Dec 10, 2020
by Christine Self Tueth Keeney provided an Insight on Tier 3 Mitigations imposed statewide starting November 20, 2020 by Governor J.B. Pritzker (linked here). While the ISBE initially opined that Tier 3 Mitigation Measures applied to school board meetings, it later reconsidered and on November 24, the ISBE updated its Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigations FAQ (linked here). ISBE states in those FAQs that the Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigation measures do not apply
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Dec 7, 2020
As recently reported in our firm insight, on December 1, 2020, a federal judge struck down certain policies proposed by the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and Department of Homeland Security affecting the H-1B visa program, including changes to the H-1B visa program’s required wage system. In some instances, the new policies resulted in a more than 50% increase in the wages required for certain H-1B positions. In response to this court ruling, however, the DOL has
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Dec 3, 2020
by Kristine Nazir On December 1, 2020, a federal judge struck down the policies proposed by the Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security regarding H-1B visa holders, finding the policies were created in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). The first policy, unveiled by the Department of Labor on October 6, 2020, proposed to increase wages for foreign workers based on surveys of salaries in each profession. The second policy, published by the Department of Homeland Security
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Nov 19, 2020
by Christine Self In a press briefing on November 17, 2020, Governor Pritzker announced that Tier 3 Mitigations would be imposed statewide, starting November 20, 2020. Tier 3 Mitigations (linked here) substantially limit capacity for gatherings, close some in-person activities in indoor settings, and reduce capacity at indoor venues allowed to remain open, such as retail stores. According to Tier 3 Mitigations, schools may continue to operate in compliance with guidance previously issued by the Illinois
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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 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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James R. Layton
Diane E. Metzger
Melanie Gurley Keeney
Veronica E. Potter
Elizabeth J. Mooney
Laura E. Hemmer