What is the new “no tax” on overtime? The “One Big Beautiful Bill” created a new federal income tax deduction for “qualified overtime compensation.” As clarified in Internal Revenue Service Notice 2025-69, the deduction is far narrower in operation than its title implies—reaching only overtime that is required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). As such, the Bill’s …
New appellate court decision clarifies disability pension effective dates The First District Appellate Court’s recent decision in Vokac v. Berwyn Police Pension Fund, 2025 IL App (1st) 240338, provides critical guidance for pension boards in determining the effective dates of disability pension benefits and the retroactive application of administrative rules. Most significantly, the Vokac decision resolves longstanding confusion created by …
Public Act 104-0438, signed by Governor Pritzker on November 21, 2025, makes various changes to the Open Meetings Act, the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), and the Local Records Act: Changes to the Open Meetings Act Effective January 1, 2026, a public body may no longer hold a meeting on an election day. If a public body’s regular meeting date …
On November 14, 2025, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that a police officer already receiving pension benefits from one Article 3 fund cannot join a second Article 3 fund when hired by another municipality. In Kooistra v. Board of Trustees of the Sycamore Police Pension Fund, 2025 IL App (2d) 240787, the court affirmed that such officers may only participate …
The expanded Title IX sex discrimination regulations that went into effect on August 1, 2024, have been struck down. On January 9, 2025, a federal trial court judge in Kentucky vacated the 2024 Title IX Final Rule in the case of State of Tennessee v. Cardona. While the ‘vacatur’ remedy technically applies only to the five states that were plaintiffs …
A new law will limit the actions a municipal employer can take against a police officer seeking disability benefits and elevate the role the police pension fund board will play in determining whether officers who have recovered from disability are fit for duty as they are returned immediately to the municipal payroll. On August 9, 2024, Governor Pritzker signed into …
by Kelli Melin Effective August 9, 2024, out-of-school suspension notice templates have been simplified. Under Public Act 103-0896, the template for a four-day out-of-school suspension no longer exists. Rather, school districts must now use the out-of-school suspension template previously used for a suspension of five or more days for out-of-school suspensions of four or more days. The School Code continues …
by Michael Castaldo, III The United States Department of Health and Human Services just made it harder for law enforcement officers to obtain medical records from entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). Under HIPAA’s Privacy Rule, covered entities (including fire departments, hospitals, and other healthcare firms) are required to safeguard their patients’ Protected …
by Adam Hudoba The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued a final rule that significantly alters the landscape of overtime pay exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Effective July 1, 2024, this new rule updates certain exemptions from overtime pay requirements for executive, administrative, professional, and highly paid employees in two major ways. First, the rule raises …
by Maureen A. Lemon Our annual School Law Conference takes place on September 11, 2024 from 8 a.m. – noon in Lisle. We will provide a comprehensive summary of federal and State changes which impact your schools at that time. Registration details are available on our website. In the meantime, we want to share some important legal updates as you …
