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Illinois

State Supreme Court affirms business-interest test for noncompetes

02/15/2012
On Dec. 1, 2011, a unanimous Illinois Supreme Court issued its decision in Reliable Fire Equipment Co. v. Arredondo et al., reaffirming that an enforceable noncompete agreement must be supported by a legitimate business interest.

Jackson Park Hospital settles job segregation claim

02/15/2012
A group of 11 black women who worked for South Side Chicago’s Jack­­son Park Hospital will split $80,000, now that the EEOC has brokered an agreement to settle charges that the hospital shunted the women into specific jobs because of their race.

Stolen TV, soiled chair mean 2 trips to court for coroner

02/15/2012
It’s no wonder Kane County Coroner Chuck West decided not to run for re-election this year. In addition to facing criminal charges that he stole a dead man’s television, West is being sued for retaliation by his second-in-command.

Sears pays $100,000 to end discrimination lawsuit

02/15/2012
Sears, Roebuck & Co. has settled an age, race and gender discrimination complaint filed by a former employee in Oklahoma City.

Even after Walmart, some class-actions are legit

02/15/2012
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a class-action sex discrimination claim brought by thousands of female Walmart employees. Now the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified how far the decision goes in class-action wage-and-hour cases.

Make sure you can justify salary differences

02/15/2012

These days, employees are getting braver about discussing their pay. Part of the reason is that the National Labor Relations Board has done a good job publicizing its stance that discussing pay is concerted activity protected by law. Be prepared for the inevitable lawsuits with solid reasons for all pay decisions.

Handle serial complainer with the same professional skill you use with everyone else

02/15/2012
Handle serial complainers as you do one-time complainers. Investigate the claims, fixing legitimate gripes and rejecting all the rest. If the chronic complainer sues, chances are the court will realize that you’ve been dealing with someone who is habitually crabby.

More than just paper: Sexual harassment policy won’t work without supervisor training

02/15/2012
Employers can create all the anti-harassment policies they want and still end up liable for sexual har­­ass­­ment. The key to a successful policy is action. The policy must work. And the policy won’t work if supervisors ignore it or aren’t trained how to implement it.

FMLA: Count reduced-hours accommodation

02/15/2012
Here’s something to consider when you approve a disabled employee’s request for a reduced work schedule as a reasonable accommodation: You can count the hours not worked against her FMLA entitlement.

Employee refuses to follow instructions? Courts won’t second-guess disciplinary decisions

02/01/2012
Courts don’t want to second-guess every employment decision. They leave it up to employers to determine, for example, whether one rule violation is more serious than another. As the following case shows, employers are free to terminate employees who won’t listen.