Hinshaw Insights for Employers Alert: Chicago Adopts Significant New Paid Leave Requirements

Chicago employers are facing significant new mandatory paid leave requirements following action by the Chicago City Council late last week. The new ordinance requires both paid leave and paid sick leave accruals, effectively doubling the minimum number of paid leave days from five to ten days annually. 

On our main website, read our Q&A to get all your employer compliance questions answered about the new ordinance.

Texas Two-Step: State Passes Employee-Friendly Legislation

The 2021 regular session of the Texas Legislature produced two employee-friendly bills that found their way to the Governor's desk and were signed into law. Both laws will go into effect on September 1, 2021. More ›

DOL Withdraws Trump-Era Independent Contractor Rule

During the Trump administration, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new rule regarding the classification of independent contractors. Designed to streamline how a company determines whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor, the rule narrowed the factors in the "economic realities" test and focused the analysis on the two "core factors" of control and the opportunity for profit and loss. The proposed regulations were set to go into effect on March 8, 2021. With the change in administration, the DOL initially pushed the effective date back to May 7, 2021, to allow for further review and consideration. The DOL announced on May 5, 2021, that it is withdrawing the rule altogether. More ›

DOL Proposes New Regulations for Determining Independent Contractor Status under FLSA

Last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed new regulations designed to make it easier for companies to determine whether workers can be classified as independent contractors. The DOL proposed an "economic reality" test to determine whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). More ›

A Win for "Gig-Economy" Employers in California

In a win for California’s “gig economy employers,” a California District Court held earlier this week that Chicago-based GrubHub, Inc. properly classified a food delivery driver as an independent contractor, not an employee. Accordingly, the driver's labor law claims, which require an employer-employee relationship, were precluded. More ›