Authored by Saman Haque

Check out our 2024 employment law checklist to refresh yourself on employment laws that your company should be compliant with along with some specific laws that recently became effective, including:

• Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick & Safe Leave: Effective July 1, 2024, after a 6-month delay in implementation, Chicago’s newest ordinance requiring all employers in the city of Chicago to provide up to 40 hours of paid leave and 40 hours of paid sick leave for employers working in the city is finally in effect. 
• Chicago’s Minimum Wage Increase: Effective July 1, the City of Chicago’s One Fair Wage Ordinance increased minimum wage from $15.00 per hour to $16.20 per hour for employers with 4 or more workers. 
• Cook County’s Minimum Wage Increase: Effective July 1, Cook County increased minimum wage from $14.00 per hour to $14.05 per hour. 
• Illinois Freelance Worker Protection Act: Effective July 1, nearly anyone hired or retained as an independent contractor in Illinois for compensation of at least $500 will be required to have a written contract memorializing the agreement, must pay the worker within 30 days after completion of services or delivery of product, and will be entitled to the same protections against discrimination, harassment, or retaliatory behavior that employees are protected from. 
• Colorado Job Application Fairness Act: Effective July 1, employers will be prohibited from seeking any information that could reveal an applicant’s age including but not limited to attendance and graduation dates from educational institutions. Employers should ensure that information sought does not inadvertently reveal information about an applicant’s age. 
• California Workplace Violence Prevention Plan: Effective July 1, all California employers that have 10 or more employees are required to implement a workplace violence prevention plan that creates policies to identify workplace hazards, implement routine assessments of potential workplace violence, conduct employee trainings, and create reporting and investigation processes. 
• New York Paid Lactation Breaks Updated: Effective June 19, New York requires that employees be provided at least 30 minutes of paid break time to express breast milk for their nursing child up to three years follow the birth of a child. The State Department of Labor provided additional guidance that says 20 minutes once every three hours was a reasonable amount of time for breaks.

If you found this checklist helpful, subscribe to LP3. If you have questions, do not hesitate to reach out to LP’s Employment & Executive

Author Becky Canary-King

Employers have been concerned about “quiet quitting” for some time now, looking for ways to foster employee engagement and productivity. And new data shows the importance of doing so because “quiet quitting” has turned into “loud quitting.”

According to a new report from Gallup of more than 120,000 global employees, 18% of global employees are loudly quitting or actively disengaged. Contrary to quiet quitting, when employees do the bare minimum of their job, “loud quitting” is when employees do things that directly harm the company, undermine the company’s goals, or rebel against leadership. Loud quitting can look like a social media post bashing company leadership or vociferously complaining to co-workers about the organization.

If the underlying causes aren’t fixed, they can lead to resignations and recruiting challenges, so it’s important that employers take these risks seriously. To exacerbate the problem, the negative energy of loud quitting can spread throughout the company, hurting morale and making it harder to address.

In addition to the 18% of global employees engaged in “loud quitting,” the same survey revealed that 59% are quiet quitting. Only 23% of survey respondents said they are thriving or engaged at work.

There are several ways to foster a positive workplace culture that encourages employee engagement and promotes productivity. Many of these suggestions will help fend off quiet quitting before it turns loud.

7 Tips for Bolstering Employee Engagement and Promoting a Productive Workforce

1. Ask for Feedback – and Listen. Employers should regularly seek feedback in a way that facilitates honest and helpful information. And employers should let employees know that they are listening. When an employee doesn’t feel like they are being heard, their feedback may become louder and unhealthy. Even if you can’t directly address an employee’s concern, acknowledge it and explain why you cannot do what they are asking now.
2. Conduct Exit Interviews. Employers can gain valuable information during exit interviews, and it may also prevent someone from voicing their complaints to a wider audience. Listen to their concerns and use the feedback to address any issues.
3. Give Consistent Feedback. Performance reviews should not be limited to the end of the year. Instead, check in with employees to address performance concerns as they arise, so there is no hiding from responsibilities. For instance, at LP, we recently transformed our process for giving and receiving feedback via casual “check-ins” and annual reviews to “F2=Feedback + Future” conversations, which are intentional discussions between group leads and their team members to share feedback and discuss future plans and goals. For more information on our revamped feedback process, see Feedback Is a Vital Tool of Lifelong Learning—How We’ve Revamped the Process.
4. Create Clear Job Descriptions. Employees should have clear expectations for their position, even if they are expected to have some flexibility and jump in as needs arise. If their job duties change significantly, their job description – and title and compensation – should also be updated.
5. Reward High Performers. Employees who don’t see upward mobility or their role in the company’s future may struggle with motivation, thinking there is no point in working hard. Creating a work environment where high performers are rewarded with promotions or increased compensation motivates employees to continue putting their best foot forward.
6. Foster Positive Social Connections. Particularly in remote or hybrid work environments, workplace “silos” can become prominent, and employees can feel disconnected from their teams. Conversely, employees who are integrated into their work teams are more motivated to not let their team members down with poor performance or missed deadlines. Social connections within the workplace can also foster a sense of camaraderie and fulfillment. But be mindful of the potential for cliques that inhibit inclusivity and the risk of loud quitters hurting company morale.
7. Foster a Compassionate Workplace. The hustle culture often ignores mental health and can lead to burnout or quiet quitting. By paying attention to employees’ well-being – physical and mental – employers can reduce absenteeism, boost productivity, and improve morale. A compassionate workplace also helps employees feel respected and recognized.

Building an engaged workforce is an ongoing process for each employer’s work environment. LP’s employment and executive compensation attorneys can help you develop a strategy for boosting employee engagement. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a new rule restricting the use of non-compete agreements as an “unfair method of competition” in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. The proposed rule would (i) ban employers from entering into non-compete agreements with workers and (ii) require employers to rescind existing non-competes. As defined in the proposed rule, “non-compete agreements” would include any clauses or agreements between an employer and worker that prevent the person from working for a competitor or starting a competing business after their employment ends.  

Notably, the proposed rule covers non-competes between employers and “workers,” which would include not only employees, but also independent contractors, interns, volunteers, apprentices, and sole proprietors.  However, as drafted, the proposed rule does not appear to prohibit agreements that limit post-employment solicitation of or acceptance of business from the company’s clients or customers, so long as the provision doesn’t have the same result as a traditional non-compete.

It’s also important to note that, the proposed rule would not apply to non-competes in connection with the sale of a business if the person restricted by the non-compete is a substantial owner of the business (at least 25% ownership interest) at the time the non-compete is executed. The rule also would not apply to franchise relationships.

In her dissenting statement to the proposed rule, FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson raised potential challenges to the rule, including: (i) a lack of authority for the FTC to enact the rule, (ii) questions regarding whether the FTC has Congressional authorization to enact the rule, and (iii) questions about whether the rule is an impermissible delegation of legislative authority.

The FTC is currently seeking public comment on the rule through March 10, 2023. 

We will continue to monitor the rule and provide updates as they become available. If you have questions about the proposed rule, non-competes or other employment matter, do not hesitate to reach out to LP’s Employment & Executive Compensation Group.

The new Illinois Family Bereavement Leave Act took effect on January 1, 2023. The new requirements apply to employers who are covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Under the law, employees are entitled to 10 days of unpaid bereavement leave to: 

• Attend the funeral, make arrangements for, or grieve the death of a “covered family member” (a step/child, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, step/parent, parent-in-law, grandchild or grandparent) 
• Be absent from work due to fertility-related issues such as a miscarriage, unsuccessful round of assisted reproduction, failed adoption or surrogacy, or stillbirth 

Employees are entitled to up to a total of six weeks of unpaid bereavement leave in the event of two deaths of a covered family member in a twelve-month period.

For additional information regarding state and local employment law updates, we share this video on local and state law updates.

If you have questions, please reach out to a member of LP’s Employment & Executive Compensation Group.

Since taking control of Twitter at the end of October, Elon Musk has been making news headlines for all the wrong reasons. Shortly after the acquisition was complete, he fired nearly half of Twitter’s workforce – before hiring some of these employees back a few days later. He fired employees who criticized him (even those who did so privately)—including firing employees by tweet—and eliminated contractors.

On November 16^th, he sent an early-morning email to all Twitter employees with the subject line “A Fork in the Road.” In the email, Musk gave Twitter employees an ultimatum: continue working “extremely hard core” or be let go with three months of severance.

“In an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hard core,” he wrote. “This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.”

Since taking control of Twitter, Musk’s employment decisions have occupied prime real estate in the media and faced harsh criticism from former employees, business leaders, and industry experts. 

We know that our clients and readers are unlikely to take actions as drastic as Musk. Still, the Twitter chaos has sparked conversations about the legality and rationality of Musk’s employment decisions at Twitter. 

What employers should know about making employment termination decisions and announcing layoffs

1. Employers must comply with WARN Act notice requirements when laying off large groups of employees. The federal WARN Act requires employers to notify the workforce of a mass layoff, a temporary shutdown, or a closure of all or part of a business. Employers that fail to provide adequate notice could be on the hook for damages of back pay and benefits-related compensation per employee for each day the company violated the WARN Act (up to 60 days). Many states, including Illinois, also have laws similar to the WARN Act.
2. Have difficult conversations, including terminations and layoffs, on a one-on-one basis. Even if you can’t be in the same room as the person physically due to a remote workplace, the employee’s manager should have a personal conversation with the employee over video conference.
3. Review employment contracts before making termination decisions. If the employee has an employment contract in place, you’ll want to understand the terms of that agreement before making any employment decisions or discussing termination.
4. Don’t name-call. The reasons for termination can be communicated, whether company downsizing or poor performance, but avoid name-calling or using insults to criticize (current or former) employees.
5. Discuss layoffs and other employment separations with employment counsel before making decisions. An employment attorney can help guide you through the termination process so that it goes as smoothly as possible and you minimize the risk of any potential legal action from a disgruntled ex-employee.

If you have any questions regarding remote workplace issues, please reach out. A member of our Employment & Executive Compensation Group would be happy to speak with you.

Additional Information:

How to Effectively and Compassionately Handle Dismissals and Layoffs in a Remote Workplace

3 Reminders for Employers After an Employee Is Awarded $450,000 for His Unwanted Birthday Party