ISBE Issues Interim Post-Vaccination Considerations for School Employees

By Maureen A. Lemon Since drafting the first iteration of its Interim Exclusion Guidance Decision Tree (Decision Tree), last summer, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has repeatedly refined the Decision Tree to assist school districts to decide when and for how long employees and students must be excluded from work/school due to symptoms of COVID-19 or after being …

Important, but Less Publicized, Changes in Police Reform Bill

Shock waves sounded throughout the State on January 13th when the General Assembly hurriedly adopted House Bill 3653 minutes before the legislative session ended. The main focus of media coverage since then has been on the “big ticket” items in the bill: requiring body cameras, restricting use of force, and ending cash bail. However, tucked into the 764-page piece of …

Pension Trustee Training Post-Consolidation: The New Requirements

By James G. Wargo Since August of 2009, Article 3 and 4 pension trustees have been required to complete certain training and education requirements under Sections 1-109.3 and 1-113.18 of the Illinois Pension Code (40 ILCS 5/1-109.3; 1-113.18). Following the Illinois General Assembly’s passage of Public Act 101-0610 (effective January 1, 2020), the training requirements for Article 3 and 4 …

Employers Can Require COVID-19 Vaccination

The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized for emergency use by the FDA. In anticipation of future availability of the COVID-19 vaccine to the general public, the EEOC has issued guidance on whether an employer can make vaccination mandatory for employees, and how mandatory vaccinations would intersect with protections afforded under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and …

Courts Adjusting Procedures Due to Pandemic

by W. Anthony Andrews and Shontia Fox COVID-19 has drastically changed the way individuals interact. Employees project their voices through face masks, doctors diagnose patients via Zoom, and students shuffle between virtual links rather than classrooms. Legal traditions and customs also have been altered to better protect the health of litigants. For the most part, face-to-face interactions with clients, opposing …

Pension Consolidation: Where Are We?

by John E. Motylinski Last year, the Illinois General Assembly decided to consolidate Article 3 and 4 pension funds’ investments. The legislature enacted Public Act 101-0610, which created two statewide investment pools to manage downstate police and fire pension funds. The Act also laid out an ambitious goal: to transition all affected pension monies to the consolidated funds by July …

School Board Collective Bargaining in a Virtual Setting

by Maureen Anichini Lemon When the pandemic hit, some school board negotiating teams put their negotiations on hold, thinking that the March ‘shut down’ would be a temporary setback. The current escalation of COVID-19 cases, however, should have all school boards with a soon-to-expire collective bargaining agreement (CBA) contemplating the pros and cons of virtual collective bargaining. In general, employers …

Determining “Maintenance, Use, and Benefit” for Foreign Fire Insurance Boards

by Shawn P. Flaherty A foreign fire insurance board is quite possibly the most superfluous layer of government in the State of Illinois. The statutory purpose of a foreign fire insurance board is to create a seven-member board to adopt rules and procedures to expend the revenues that municipalities and fire protection districts collect from out-of-state insurance companies that issue …

Municipal Fees and Fines Must Be Carefully Distinguished

by Michael Castaldo III Municipal income is generated mostly from sales and property taxes. Consequently, many municipalities rely on fines and fees to bolster their revenue. Some of the most common fees come from towing and impounding vehicles connected to criminal activity. The ordinances imposing those penalties, though, often invoke court challenges where plaintiffs claim the fees or fines are …

Are Employers Liable to Family Members of Their Employees who Contract Covid-19?

by Ericka J. Thomas COVID-19 has presented challenges to all of us in a variety of different ways. It has changed how we do business, how we educate, and how we communicate. For the essential industries that have been able to remain operational, business is definitely not “as usual.” These industries have had to create plans to keep their workers …