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Q&A

What’s the new Illinois minimum wage?

10/12/2010
Q. We’re looking to hire a few new workers. What is the least amount we need to pay them?

How will the new Illinois Family Military Leave Act amendment affect us?

10/12/2010
Q. How does the recent amendment to the Illinois Family Military Leave Act affect employers?

What’s our ADA liability if an employee never informed us he needed accommodation?

10/12/2010
Q. An employee recently resigned from our company. In his resignation letter, he told us that he was disappointed that we were unable to accommodate his sleep apnea … However, he never told us until he resigned that he suffered from any medical condition, including sleep apnea. How are we supposed to accommodate a medical condition that we don’t know about?

What should we do when an employee provides conflicting FMLA certification notes?

10/12/2010
Q. An employee seeking FMLA leave presented medical certification from her doctor that stated that her medical condition didn’t prevent her from performing the essential functions of her job. A few days later, she presented a second form that stated the opposite. Can we hold her to the first certification, or do we have to accept the second form and grant FMLA leave?

Can FMLA be taken to care for parent overseas?

10/07/2010
Q. One of our employees has a sick parent who lives in another country. She wants FMLA leave to care for the parent. Is FMLA available under the circumstances? And how would I verify the authenticity of a foreign medical certification?

Can we be liable for religious bias if we require a job applicant to cut his hair?

10/04/2010
Q. Our company requires male employees to keep their hair short. However, a recent applicant has stated that his religion doesn’t allow him to cut his hair. Will requiring him to cut his hair to get the job violate federal law?

After a brief FMLA leave, can we request a second opinion to make sure the worker is ready to return?

10/04/2010
Q. We have an employee returning from FMLA leave. His physician has issued a fitness-for-duty certificate. However, we have doubts about the worker’s ability to perform his job because he wasn’t off work very long … Can we send him to another physician for a second fitness-for-duty examination?

Can we fire worker who gives 2-week notice?

09/30/2010
Q. When an employee gives two weeks’ notice, we prefer to terminate immediately. Is there anything that prevents us from doing that? We are worried that employees who are leaving may tamper with our systems.

Will making contractors wear our uniforms affect their independent contractor status?

09/24/2010
Q. Can our company require an independent contractor to wear a specific uniform? And can we stipulate that the contractor buy the uniform through us?

Is it OK to pay workers just once a month?

09/24/2010
Q. Is it legal to adopt a once-a-month payroll for hourly employees?