Labor & Employment Law Update

Although they may not realize it, even non-union employers face risk under the National Labor Relations Act. Everyday workplace decisions can trigger scrutiny and while the enforcement climate is shifting, the underlying risk remains. For employers, this is no longer a niche legal issue. It’s a legitimate business risk.

For a growing number of employers, the concerns keeping them awake include whether their employee handbook violates federal labor law, whether a supervisor’s offhand comment during a tense performance review could trigger an unfair labor practice charge, or whether an employee group text complaining about the schedule somehow became protected concerted activity under the NLRA.

Many employers underestimate that liability under the FMLA extends well beyond denying leave for an unlawful reason. It can arise from everyday decisions about communication, workload, and expectations during that leave. Over the past few months, courts have weighed in on where that line can be drawn, and as this area of law continues to evolve, employers should become intimately familiar with this ever-changing legal landscape.

If your business has 16 or more employees in Illinois, a new law—the Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act—requires you to provide additional job-protected leave for parents with a newborn or newly adopted child in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The Illinois Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act (NICLA) takes effect June 1, 2026. Here’s what you need to know.

Join labor & employment senior counsel, Joey Wright, and partner, Peter Hansen, for an interactive Breakfast Briefing that walks through a real-world investigation scenario from start to finish.

Using a “whodunit” approach, this session will guide attendees through key decision points, helping employers understand how to conduct effective, defensible internal investigations that hold up under scrutiny.

In a unanimous decision issued May 14, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States held that negligent hiring/selection claims against freight brokers are not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA).

All Wisconsin employers know the basics of the state’s workers’ compensation statute. If an employee is hurt on the job, they may be entitled to benefits under workers’ compensation insurance. However, many don’t realize that if they fail to bring the employee back to work when suitable employment is available, the employer may be exposed to liability in the form of paying the employee up to one year of wages and benefits. This risk comes from Wisconsin’s Unreasonable Refusal to Rehire (URR) statute. Although the consequences of this statute are significant, it is frequently overlooked until it is too late.

Several changes impacting employers in jurisdictions across the nation are summarized in our latest blog post.

Federal and state prevailing wage mandates are colliding on construction projects in Illinois, exposing owners, developers, and contractors to conflicting compliance obligations and increased project costs. With the enactment of Illinois HB 1189, projects that long fell exclusively under the federal prevailing wage law (Davis-Bacon) may now also be subject to the state’s prevailing wage law mandates.

While the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) has issued guidance for contractors, there is little clarity on how to reconcile fundamental and incompatible differences between state and federal prevailing wage laws. Contractors operating in this environment must understand where these mandates conflict and take deliberate steps to protect pricing, performance, and profitability.

Federal and state prevailing wage mandates are colliding on construction projects in Illinois, exposing owners, developers, and contractors to conflicting compliance obligations and increased project costs. With the enactment of Illinois HB 1189, projects that long fell exclusively under the federal prevailing wage law (Davis-Bacon) may now also be subject to the state’s prevailing wage law mandates.

While the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) has issued guidance for contractors, there is little clarity on how to reconcile fundamental and incompatible differences between state and federal prevailing wage laws. Contractors operating in this environment must understand where these mandates conflict and take deliberate steps to protect pricing, performance, and profitability.