Illinois Employment Beat

On March 20, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued an executive order directing all Illinois residents to “stay at home.”  The order goes into effect on Saturday, March 21, 2020 at 5 p.m. (CT), and lasts through April 7, 2020.  Illinois now joins the ranks of California and New York, which have issued similar “stay at home” orders.

Under the order, all “non-essential” businesses must stop operating except with respect to minimum basic operations or operations consisting of individuals working from home.  “Minimum basic operations” consist of the minimum necessary activities to maintain the value of the business’s inventory, preserve the condition of the business’s physical plant and equipment, ensure security, process payroll and employee benefits, or for related functions.  To the extent employees must still work, businesses must ensure they comply with social distancing requirements:

  • Designate six-foot distances with signage, tape, or by other means, to ensure employees and customers waiting in line maintain appropriate distances from one another;
  • Make hand sanitizer and sanitizing products readily available for employees and customers;
  • Implement separate operating hours for elderly and vulnerable customers; and
  • Post online whether a facility is open, and how best to reach the facility and continue services by phone or remotely.


Continue Reading Illinois governor issues “stay at home” order in response to COVID-19

As the use of artificial intelligence in employment decisions grows, regulations on the practice will increase as well.  Illinois has kicked off these regulations with the Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act, which requires employers to disclose and job applicants’ consent before using artificial intelligence on candidate videos when used to assess an individual’s fitness

As a reminder to Illinois employers, on January 1, 2020 “The Equitable Restrooms Act” took effect, requiring all single-occupancy (or one-person) restrooms in a place of public accommodation or public building to be identified as all-gender and designated for use by no more than one person at a time, or for family, or assisted use.  This means that any commonly used signage representing “women” or “men” must be removed and replaced with gender-neutral signage.

Continue Reading Illinois requires single-occupancy restrooms to be gender neutral