Archive
How the Paid Leave for All Workers Act and Chicago’s paid leave ordinance divide Illinois employees, how accrual, use, notice and payout differ, and when an existing PTO bank becomes payable at separation under the Wage Payment and Collection Act.
How the Workplace Transparency Act, as amended effective January 1, 2026, limits confidentiality, non-disparagement, arbitration and forum terms in employment and separation agreements, and what Illinois and Chicago require for harassment policies, annual training and training records.
A step-by-step list for Illinois employers when an employee resigns, is discharged, or is laid off: the final pay deadline and vacation payout, unemployment and health coverage notices, personnel record requests, noncompete limits, and the review periods for separation agreements.
Illinois employers with 15 or more employees must include pay scale and benefits in covered job postings. The rule reaches certain remote positions tied to Illinois, requires related promotion notices, and creates recordkeeping and enforcement issues that should be built into recruiting workflows.
Illinois law protects workers from retaliation for exercising rights under the Workers’ Compensation Act. Employers can still enforce legitimate performance, attendance, safety, and conduct rules, but the decision record must separate those reasons from the injury claim.
Illinois employers need more than a vendor assurance that a hiring product is “compliant.” The analysis follows the function: whether AI influences an employment decision, whether a recorded video interview is analyzed, and whether biometric identifiers or information are collected.
An Illinois workplace injury can raise workers’ compensation and immigration issues at the same time, but they are not the same legal question. Benefits, return to work, employment authorization, wage-loss evidence, and immigration consequences must be analyzed separately.
A fingerprint or face-geometry timeclock is not just an attendance device. In Illinois, deployment can create a biometric collection, disclosure, retention, security, vendor-management, and litigation record before the first employee clocks in.
A new-hire file should connect work authorization, pay notice, payroll, state reporting, policies, access, training, benefits, privacy, and role-specific licensing. Use the first 20 days to build a record that shows what the employer told the employee, what it verified, and what access it granted.
Illinois cannabis law does not require employers to ignore workplace impairment, and it does not authorize every adverse action based on off-duty use. A defensible program connects written policy, the statutory impairment process, testing design, and workforce privacy controls.