On December 4, 2015, House Bill 1285 was signed into law, codifying how the industry defined employee misconduct for purposes of unemployment insurance claims. With the new legislation, the question becomes whether the clarified misconduct violations will automatically bar a former employee from obtaining unemployment benefits. Prior to House...
Criminal Background Check and “Ban the Box”
Effective January 1, 2015, Illinois legislature enacted a law that requires private employers with 15 or more employees to remove “the box” on their employment applications which asks whether or not the applicant has been convicted of a felony. Thus the name “Ban the Box”. Some employers ask that potential applicants complete an employment...
Domestic Violence in the Workplace
Unfortunately it sometimes takes a tragedy such as the recent shooting of Nadia Ezaldein at Nordstrom store by her ex-boyfriend, Marcus Dee, to make us as business owners think about what we could have done to prevent this from happening in our place of business. Fortunately, the State of Illinois has 2 little known laws in place that can offer...
McDonald’s Triumphant in “Mc” Trademark Dispute
An individual who wanted to trademark “BioMcDiesel” won’t be allowed to do so according to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which ruled (McDonald’s Corp. v. Joseph, July 14, 2014, Bergsman, M.) that consumers would likely confuse the proposed biofuel mark with McDonald Corp.’s family of “Mc” trademarks. The applicant, Joel Joseph, filed an...
A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO BIRTH CONTROL VS. RELIGIOUS RIGHTS
On June 30th, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of three family-owned businesses, with the majority of the court saying that businesses can refuse to pay for certain forms of contraception they find “morally repugnant.” At issue are four contraceptives known as abortifacients which are contraceptives that prevent ovum implantation or cause a...
Federal Involvement in Gay Marriage Rights
Recently the Obama administration, along with the Department of Labor, have proposed expanding the definition of spouse to allow legally married same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Family Military Leave Act. This means that if same-sex couples were married in a state that has...
What Happens Now that the Redskins Trademark Has Been Revoked?
On June 18, 2014, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO cancelled the Washington Redskins' registrations for the "Redskins" trademarks on the grounds that the term "redskins" is disparaging of Native Americans. Hear Ken McLaughlin being interviewed on the John Kass and Lauren Cohn show on June 19, 2014 on WLS 890AM! What do you...
Starting a Business as a Non-Citizen, Part lll (Work Visas for USA)
This is the third installment of a series discussing the options for non-citizen business investors to obtain Work Visas in the USA. The following are a list of the least desirable visa options a non-citizen may apply for in order to work for the company that he or she built: Temporary Visas (Less than one year duration) B-1:The B-1 visa...
Starting a Business as a Non-Citizen, Part ll (Work Visas for USA)
This is the second installment of a series discussing the options for non-citizen business investors to obtain work visas for the USA. The following are a list of the most recommended visa options a non-citizen may apply for in order to work for the company he or she built: Temporary Visas (More than one year duration) E-2 (“Treaty Investor”):...
Relief for Late S-Election Under Rev. Proc. 2013-30
In August 2013, the IRS issued Rev. Proc. 2013-30 that consolidates and simplifies rules provided previously. Taxpayers now have 3 years and 75 days from the date the S-election was originally intended to be effective to file a late S-election. No use user fee will apply. The election will be effective as of that intended date. To qualify for...