Insights

With society’s increased reliance on working remotely, vis a vis through “the cloud” and need for unfettered amounts of storage and processing power, data centers seem to be popping up almost everywhere you turn. In fact, data center construction has been growing exponentially to satisfy these computing needs. From the outside, they may look like a simple warehouse structure with a goal of protecting an expansive array of servers and other computer equipment. Thus, one may conclude that the construction of such a basic structure may be fairly straight-forward. However, despite this relatively simple exterior, the construction of a data center is anything but routine.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled late last week in favor of a company seeking insurance coverage for defense of a lawsuit alleging the company had violated the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA).  The ruling in the case, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company v. Krishna Schaumburg Tan, Inc., 2021 IL 125978, (May 20, 2021), can be found here.

The Chicago City Council last week passed an ordinance providing more rights to employees who take time off from work to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine. Effective immediately, this ordinance allows Chicago employees and independent contractors to get vaccinated during their work hours, requires pay for hours taken to get vaccinated from employers that make vaccination mandatory, and prohibits retaliation for taking time during a shift to get vaccinated.

Due to reduced production during the COVID-19 pandemic, increased housing demand and climate events such as the Texas freeze and subsequent utility crisis, construction material costs have increased dramatically over the past year. According to Cummings, a nationally recognized consulting firm, lumber and plywood prices have risen 56% in the last year, copper and brass over 30%, steel over 10% and precast concrete over 4%.  In March, The Wall Street Journal noted that crude oil, “a starting point for paint, drain pipe, roof shingles and flooring,” was also up around 10%. If that were not enough, supply chain issues and production bottlenecks have only exacerbated the problem.  

On Wednesday, President Biden detailed a plan that will allow small businesses to claim tax credits for giving paid time off to employees to get and recover from the COVID-19 vaccine.

SB1480 Amends the State’s Equal Pay Act and Business Corporation Act