Employment & Labor Law: Milwaukee & Chicago Employment Lawyers

When provided with the right work environment, employees are more productive, employers are more profitable, and issues between employees and employers decrease significantly. Employment law, when correctly implemented and carried out, seeks to strike the delicate balance between the needs of employees and employers. The following non-exhaustive list represents a general overview of current employment laws governing the work environment. Understand the basics of how our Milwaukee & Chicago employment lawyers can help you.

Learn more about different areas of employment law including employment discrimination, age and disability discrimination laws, FMLA, severance agreements, sexual harassment, wage and overtime violations, and laws related to whistleblowers.

Employment Discrimination

An employee who suffers a discriminatory adverse action (i.e., termination, demotion, denied a promotion and failure to hire) has the option to bring a lawsuit against their employer.

Wisconsin has enacted the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act to protect employees from discrimination on the basis of age, ancestry, arrest record, color, conviction record, creed, disability, marital status, race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, and use or nonuse of lawful products.

Illinois has enacted the Illinois Human Rights Act to protect employees from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual harassment, national origin, ancestry, military status, age (40 and over), order of protection status, disability (physical and mental), marital status, sexual orientation (including gender-related identity), unfavorable military discharge, arrest record (or criminal history record ordered expunged, sealed or impounded), citizenship status (born or naturalized U.S. citizen, U.S. national or documented immigrant), language (any language use not related to job duties), pregnancy (including childbirth or related medical or common conditions), retaliation (for opposing unlawful discrimination), and coercion/aiding and abetting (helping or forcing a person to commit unlawful discrimination). To be actionable under the Illinois Human Rights Act, the employer must employ at least 15 or more employees in the state of Illinois unless: (i) the charge alleges sexual harassment, pregnancy, retaliation, or physical or mental disability discrimination (only one employee is required in this case); (ii) the employer is a public contractor (e.g., someone who does business with the state of Illinois or is a unit of local government) or (iii) the employer is a unit of state government.

Federal statutes carry similar protections, including: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion); Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) (prohibits discrimination on the basis of age – over 40 years of age); Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (prohibits discrimination on the basis of mental or physical disability). The protections of Title VII, ADEA and ADA apply only to employers with 15 or more employees.

Age Discrimination Laws

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), as well as state law (Wisconsin Fair Employment Act; Illinois Human Rights Act), prohibits employers from discriminating against or harassing employees (and applicants) because the employee is 40 years of age or older.

For employers, the ADEA is not the only issue to worry about with regard to employee relations. For instance, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act mandates additional requirements on employers, especially when negotiating a severance package or settlement agreement.

McDonald & Kloth, LLC, has successfully represented both employers and employees regarding discrimination claims. If you have experienced discrimination in the workplace or have received a complaint of discrimination, contact us immediately.

Want to learn more about workplace discrimination? Visit our blog What classifies as workplace discrimination?

Disability Discrimination Laws

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as state law (Wisconsin Fair Employment Act; Illinois Human Rights Act) prohibits employers from discriminating against or harassing employees (and applicants) based upon a real or perceived disability. These laws also require employers to provide a disabled employee with a reasonable accommodation that is necessary for the disabled employee to perform his or her job so long as the accommodation does not create an “undue hardship” for the employer.

What constitutes a reasonable accommodation varies from situation to situation and is analyzed on a case-by-case basis. It is important that the disabled employee seeks qualified legal counsel to negotiate the accommodation with the employer. Such accommodations may include job transfer or reassignment, altered work schedule, modified office equipment or technology, accessible office space, and intermittent leaves of absence. This is a non-exhaustive list.

Whether you are an employee or an employer, the experienced Milwaukee employment lawyers at McDonald & Kloth, LLC, can help you navigate and successfully resolve disability-related employment issues.

Read about one of our cases: City of Racine workers files lawsuit alleging race & disability discrimination

Family And Medical Leave Act

In order to be entitled to leave under either the FMLA or WFMLA, the employer must employ at least 50 or more employees during the relevant period of time, typically one year from an employee’s anniversary date. In addition, an employee is eligible if they have worked either 1,000 hours for WFMLA or 1,250 hours for FMLA within a 12-month period. If an employee is eligible, they may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period under the FMLA. Under the WFMLA, an employee may take up to 2 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period, which runs concurrently with any federal FMLA leave. A man or a woman may use this time to care for a newborn child or a parent, for example. If you have had trouble getting permission for this time off, or if you have suffered retaliation for taking time off, contact us.

There are many nuances to FMLA and WFMLA regulations. If your employer utilizes a no-fault attendance policy, they are prohibited from assessing you any points for FMLA related absences. It is important, however, that an employee complies with any employer call-in procedure in order to utilize the protections afforded by the FMLA and WFMLA. In addition, an employer can identify particular individuals as key employees if they meet certain criteria. This has a practical effect of negating most FMLA protections.

As an employer, it is critical that you have an FMLA attorney that can provide guidance when an employee requires FMLA or WFMLA.

Severance Agreement

Getting terminated from a job is never easy. Your employer may want you to sign a severance agreement at the conclusion of your employment. Severance agreements can help secure pay and benefits for employees after they leave but also may include restrictive clauses, like a noncompete clause. It is important to read severance agreements carefully and to consult an attorney to ensure the severance agreement is fair to you. The Milwaukee employment lawyers at McDonald & Kloth, LLC can help you.

Sexual Harassment

State and federal law make it unlawful to harass an employee (or applicant for employment) based upon his/her sex. This includes unwelcome sexual advances, comments, innuendos, requests for sexual favors, touching and other conduct of a sexual nature. This also includes harassment aimed specifically at the person’s gender, as in the case where one employee chooses to treat another employee poorly simply because of that person’s gender.

Employers must take all complaints seriously, investigate them thoroughly, and take strict and prompt action as required. These steps are paramount to protecting your employees and ensuring a safe work environment. Moreover, following these steps significantly reduces your exposure to potential liability.

Employees that are experiencing sexual harassment should report the sexual harassment through the proper channels as set forth by the employer. This may include a complaint reporting system or other steps which should be laid out by employers in their policies and procedures. Sexual harassment can happen to all people and the harasser could be a peer or supervisor. Employment laws are set to protect employees that bring forth a good faith claim from retaliation.

McDonald & Kloth, LLC has successfully represented both employers and employees in sexual harassment claims. Learn more about how we can help with sexual harassment in the workplace.

Unpaid Wages and Overtime

It is important to get compensated for the work you’ve done. Employers must pay their workers the minimum wage as set by their state. Employers also must pay their non-exempt employees premium pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any given workweek. Premium pay is defined as one and one-half times the rate of their regular pay. Our Milwaukee & Chicago employment lawyers can help you by reviewing your case and gathering evidence to help you receive the compensation you are entitled to.

Whistleblower

It is important to note that employees may be protected from retaliation in the workplace when they report certain unlawful acts by the company. Federal and state laws prohibit employers from issuing retaliatory actions against employees because the employee has reported certain wrongdoing in the workplace. Whistleblowers are those individuals that “blow the whistle” on employers who violate the law.

The United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is the federal agency responsible for enforcing whistleblower or anti-retaliation statutes. A non-exhaustive list of these statutes is as follows: