Sexual Harassment Training Now Required
On August 9, 2019, Illinois enacted the Workplace Transparency Act, which amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. This new law requires that all Illinois employers provide annual sexual harassment training to its employees.
Effective January 1, 2020, all employers must train all employees in Illinois each year. The first deadline is January 1, 2021. The annual sexual harassment training program must include:
An explanation of sexual harassment
Examples of conduct that constitute unlawful sexual harassment
A summary of federal and state statutory provisions, including remedies available to victims of sexual harassment.
A summary of the responsibilities of employers for prevention, investigation, and corrective measures of sexual harassment.
Employers who do not provide training will be subject to civil penalties, including a $500 penalty to businesses with less than 4 employees, or a $1,000 penalty to those with 4 or more employees. Penalties for repeat violations can rise to $5,000 per violation.
In addition to the training requirements, the Workplace Transparency Act makes the following changes:
Independent contractors. The Workplace Transparency Act amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to protect not just employees, but also independent contractors from harassment and discrimination.
Disclosures. The new law requires employers, labor organizations, and local governments to disclose to the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) the total number of final adverse administrative or judicial decisions involving sexual harassment or discrimination in the previous year entered anywhere in the U.S. Employers must make the disclosure beginning July 1, 2020 and each July 1 thereafter. Employers may also be required by the IDHR to disclose during an investigation the total number of settlements involving sexual harassment and discrimination claims entered into during the previous five years anywhere in the U.S.
Non-disclosure agreements, non-disparagement clauses, and mandatory arbitration agreements. The Workplace Transparency Act places significant restrictions on the use of these types of agreements for cases involving harassment, discrimination, or retaliation.
Victims Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA). The law expands VESSA to allow victims of domestic, sexual, or gender violence to take unpaid leave to seek medical help, legal assistance, counseling, safety planning, and other assistance without penalty, if requested. A victim of workplace harassment could be entitled to such leave.
Bar and restaurant owners. Owners of restaurants and bars are now required to provide sexual harassment training annually to all employees (regardless of employee classification), available in both English and Spanish. The training must be specifically aimed at the prevention of sexual harassment in the restaurant and bar industry. Such employers must also provide employees with the company’s sexual harassment policy and instructions on how to report sexual harassment incidents within the first week of hire.
Casino and hotel owners. By July 1, 2020, owners of hotels and casinos are required to provide portable safety notification devices (at no cost) to employees who frequently work alone in restrooms, guest rooms, casino floors, or other isolated spaces. The safety device must allow them to call for help if they fear their safety or witness sexual assault or harassment.
Casino and hotel owners must also provide all employees with a current copy of the hotel or casino’s anti-sexual harassment policy (including reporting procedures and the prohibition against retaliation) and post the policy in clearly visible areas of the hotel or casino, both in English and Spanish.
This new law should be taken seriously and every Illinois employer must comply. Employers can design and implement their own in-house training program or outsource the training to a thrid party vendor. If you would like more information or need a referral to an outside training vendor, please contact Shelly Lustig at 847.509.9090, by email at slustig@lustiglaw.com or visit us on the web at https://www.lustiglaw.com
Disclaimer: This website is maintained by Lustig & Wickert, P.C. which produces this blog to provide general information about itself as well as general news about business law and commercial litigation. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice upon which you should rely or act. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website does not create an attorney-client relationship between Lustig & Wickert, P.C. and the user or browser. You should not send any confidential information to us until and unless a formal attorney-client relationship has been established. If you would like to discuss your concerns call us at 847.509.9090 or contact us by email at Info@Lustiglaw.com.
Read MoreSales Representatives In Illinois Have A New Friend
The Illinois Sales Representative Act is a little known law which states that a principal who fails to pay a commission to a sales representative is liable for the commissions due. In addition, the sales representative can potentially be awarded 3 times the amount of overdue commissions as punitive damages, plus the sales representative’
Typical plaintiffs include sales representatives and manufacturers representatives. However, not all commissioned sales representatives are covered by the Act. For instance, if you are an employee of the principal you are not covered under the Act and you will need to sue under a different Illinois law. Also, it only applies to a principal who manufactures, produces, imports or distributes a product for sale. Our experience allows us to quickly determine whether you are eligible to bring a claim under the Act, and, if not, what alternative remedies are available to you.
If you are a sales representative and are owed overdue commissions, the law firm of Lustig & Wickert in Northbrook, Illinois, can help. We are highly experienced in this area and can help you collect any unpaid commissions and enforce the Act so as to recover attorneys’ fees and potential punitive damages.
Because our primary practice focus is in the representation of small to medium sized businesses, we also regularly represent employers and principals who have been threatened with litigation under the Act. The dual role that play in the representation of both principals and sales representatives gives our attorneys a unique perspective when it comes to prosecuting and defending these types of claims.
If you are owed commissions, the Illinois Sales Representative Act might be just what you need to level the playing field. Call Lustig & Wickert to see if their many years of experience in this area can benefit you or your company. We can be reached at 847.509.9090, by email at Info@Lustiglaw.com, or on the web at: https://www.lustiglaw.com
Lustig & Wickert is a Chicago area law firm with a core practice in business law, corporate law, employment law and commercial litigation. We represent small to medium sized corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies.
Disclaimer: This website is maintained by Lustig & Wickert, P.C. which produces this blog to provide general information about itself as well as general news about business law and commercial litigation. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice upon which you should rely or act. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website does not create an attorney-client relationship between Lustig & Wickert, P.C. and the user or browser. You should not send any confidential information to us until and unless a formal attorney-client relationship has been established. If you would like to discuss your concerns call us at 847.509.9090 or contact us by email at Info@Lustiglaw.com.
Today’s Growth Consultant of Minooka, Illinois, Sued By New Zealand Investor
CHICAGO – Dec. 24, 2019 – PRLog — NZQ Investments Limited, a New Zealand corporation, has filed a lawsuit against Today’s Growth Consultant, Inc., an Illinois corporation. The lawsuit was filed on December 20, 2019, in The United States District Court For The Northern District of Illinois as Case No. 19-cv-8346. The Complaint alleges that NZQ and Today’s Growth Consultant entered into an agreement in 2017 under which Today`Growth Consultant promised to acquire and operate a revenue generating website for NZQ Investment in exchange a cash investment by NQZ Investment. The parties then entered into a Release Agreement on November 19, 2019 to resolve a dispute regarding Today’s Growth Consultant’s performance under the earlier agreement. NZQ alleges that Today’s Growth Consultant breached the second agreement by failing to make required payments under the Release and seeks to recover $240,020.62.
Disclaimer: This website is maintained by Lustig & Wickert, P.C. which produces this blog to provide general information about itself as well as general news about business law and commercial litigation. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice upon which you should rely or act. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website does not create an attorney-client relationship between Lustig & Wickert, P.C. and the user or browser. You should not send any confidential information to us until and unless a formal attorney-client relationship has been established. If you would like to discuss your concerns call us at 847.509.9090 or contact us by email at Info@Lustiglaw.com.
Oral LLC Operating Agreements Are Now Enforceable – Be Careful
The Illinois Limited Liability Act was recently amended in ways that could adversely effect our clients who own an interest in an Illinois limited liability company. The amendment of most consequence is that an oral operating agreement is now binding on its members and managers.
This means that two or more people may decide one day that they had orally entered into an operating agreement even before the Articles of Organization of the company were filed. The terms and conditions of such an oral operating agreement would then be subject to each persons understanding of the agreement based upon memories that fade with time.
A second problem arises if and when a new person gets admitted as a member. The amended Limited Liability Company Act provides that a new member is deemed to assent to the existing operating agreement. If the existing operating agreement is oral, what terms and conditions has the new member agreed to?
Without a written operating agreement, the new member is agreeing to be bound by whatever the existing members remember the operating agreement to be.
If you own an interest in a multi-member Illinois Limited Liability company without a written operating agreement, you should call us to see how this amendment may effect you.