By: Jessica Jackler On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Groff v. DeJoy, No. 22-174 (June 29, 2023) in which it clarified and changed the standard for religious accommodations under Title VII. The new standard provides that “’under hardship’ is shown when a burden is substantial in […]

By: Jessica Jackler June is Pride Month, a celebration to honor the contributions of LGBTQI+ persons. This month also marks the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which affirmed that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis […]

By: Jessica Jackler The United States Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision this summer regarding under which circumstances employers will continue to be legally obligated to accommodate employees based on their religious beliefs. The pending case is Groff v. DeJoy, a lawsuit brought by an evangelical Christian postal […]

By: Jessica Jackler On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would ban employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers. The proposed rule would prohibit employers from entering into noncompete clauses with their workers including independent contractors. It would require employers to […]

By: Jessica Jackler On August 19, 2022, the Second District Appellate Court of Illinois in M.U. v. Team Illinois Hockey Club, Inc., et al., 2022 IL App (2d) 210568, held that plaintiff could maintain a cause of action for discrimination against a private organization under the section of the Illinois […]

By: Jessica Jackler On 10/12/22, an Illinois federal jury in Rogers v. BNSF Ry. Co., N.D. Ill., No. 19-cv-03083, awarded $228 million to a class of more than 45,000 truck drivers in the first biometrics privacy class action to go to trial in Illinois. In reaching its verdict, the jury […]

By: Cary Schwimmer Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), “disability” is a legal term, not a medical one. The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (also a person with […]

By: Jessica Jackler On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted an emergency stay of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring all employers with at least 100 employees to mandate that all employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or (on a voluntary basis) provide an option for employees […]

Cook County Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement & OSHA ETS Rule Status On December 21, 2021, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that beginning January 3, 2022, patrons age 5 and older will need to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 to enter restaurants, bars, indoor fitness facilities, and indoor […]

By: Storrs Downey & Jessica Jackler As we last reported in our December L&E Newsletter, OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring employers with at least 100 employees to mandate that all employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing was stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals […]