Insights

The CDC released new guidance last week in an effort to curb the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19. With cases on the rise, predominantly from the Delta variant, the CDC now recommends that both unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals wear a mask when indoors in public areas where there is “substantial or high transmission” in the community. A county has high transmission if it logs 100 or more weekly cases per 100,000 residents or a 10% or greater test positivity rate in the last seven days.

As we discussed in a previous article, the renewable energy industry is experiencing record growth.  President Biden’s current initiatives are also expected to provide an additional boost to accelerate future growth in clean energy industries. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its effects have caused construction delays for these projects due in part to supply chain issues, rising material costs and workforce shortages. These factors can result in delays in completing energy projects and prevent a linear construction path.

Employers seeking to impose restrictive covenants upon employees will face substantial new hurdles beginning January 1, 2022. Previously, the Illinois Freedom to Work Act barred employers from requiring “low wage” workers earning $13.00 per hour or less to sign a covenant not to compete or covenant not to solicit agreement. The original Act was inspired by cases like the one brought by the Illinois Attorney General against Jimmy John’s, which prohibited employees from working for any sandwich maker within 2 miles of any Jimmy John’s for two years.

The Illinois Employee Sick Leave Act (ESLA) was recently amended to give workers more flexibility to care for their loved ones. ESLA was enacted in 2017 and allows employees to use at least a portion of their personal sick-leave benefits available to them under certain existing employer policies to care for covered family members who have a personal illness, injury or medical appointment. Under the amendment, which became effective April 27, ESLA now also covers leave for a family member’s “personal care.”

UPDATE 8/30/2021: All of the pending changes discussed in this article have been approved by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 

Back in March 2020 we advised that — for employees working remotely — the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was deferring the physical presence requirement of the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9). Ordinarily, the employer “must physically examine” the approved document(s) within three days of the employee’s first day of employment.