Legal Updates

Regarding an employee’s personal use of employer-provided electronic devices, Illinois has amended the state’s Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA) as follows: These changes go into effect on January 1, 2026. You can access the enacted bill here.

Illinois has voted to expand Illinois’ prevailing-wage mandate to additional projects. Specifically, House Bill 1189 applies Illinois’ prevailing-wage requirements on federally funded projects when the federal prevailing-wage rate is equal to or less than the state’s prevailing-wage rate. The bill ... Read More

Under the Illinois Human Rights Act, when a civil rights violation charge is filed with the Department of Human Rights, the Department is required to conduct a fact-finding conference. Now, based on changes made to the Act, that fact finding ... Read More

The Department of Labor has published limited interpretive guidance to help small employers select high-quality, low-cost “pooled employer plans” or “PEPs.” Here is an Executive Summary of the guidance: “In this document, the Department is taking initial steps to build ... Read More

In New Jersey, an employer generally cannot require an employee to attend mandatory meetings on political or religious matters. This is what is commonly referred to as a ban on “captive audience” meetings, where employers might express anti-union sentiments. The ... Read More

Citing the need and urgency to develop targeted public policy tools to disrupt and prevent retail theft in grocery and drug store establishments, the City Council of the City of Long Beach has passed an ordinance requiring drug retail establishments ... Read More

The Illinois Service Member Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (ISERRA) requires an employer to reinstate and reemploy returning employees under the same terms and conditions as required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Time off under ... Read More

Illinois has amended the state’s Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act, under which employers must provide break time to an employee who needs to express breast milk for her nursing infant child each time the employee has the need to ... Read More

Effective immediately, the Illinois Human Rights Act has been amended to provide for civil penalties when an employer commits a civil rights violation, as follows: You can access the enacted bill here.

Illinois has passed the “Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act.” The details of the Act are as follows: The Act is effective beginning June 1, 2026. You can access the enacted bill here.

Earlier this month, the IRS announced it is “working on new guidance and updated forms for TY 2026. These will include changes to how tips and overtime pay are reported. The IRS will coordinate with employers, payroll providers and tax ... Read More

The President has signed an executive order entitled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors.” The EO requires the Secretary of Labor to reexamine the Department of Labor’s past and present guidance regarding a fiduciary’s duties under the Employee ... Read More