Illinois Employment Legal Questions

Yes a witness that has been subpoenaed must show up to give testimony in the case that he has personal knowledge about. If you do not show up then a warrant for your arrest can be issued and you will be arrested and jailed once you are picked up for contempt of court. If you have been subpoenaed you are entitled to travel costs, so you should call the number on the subpoena and work out an arrangement so that they can pay for your transportation.... Read More

This is not likely a question that can be answered without a consultation and review of any pertinent contracts, letters, policies, e-mails or other documents, if any. It would seem to me that the assumption would be that you earned the commissions, but if there are specific terms addressing it then those would govern.... Read More

If you were able to perform key parts of the job and you were on the road with the work group as opposed to just staying at home, then you should have been paid.  If your injury was work related, you can also file a workers compensation claim. You should meet with a workers compensation attorney if it was work related as your wages would also be covered under that... Read More

It would be difficult to remark on the situation based on the information you provided, but there are some things to consider. Is this going to become your supervisor's word against yours or is there something like an E-mail exchange that would help cement the facts as you have described them? Are there written employee policies or an employee handbook? How large is the company?... Read More

If your knee condition and your need to sit will be ongoing for at least 6 months, then you may have a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act for failure to accommodate.  You should have your doctor write a note explaining the need to sit for brief periods of time due to your knee condition.  Unless there is a very good reason for the employer to deny this, I would anticipate that it would be granted.... Read More

You should promptly arrange a consultation and retain counsel. The claim exists regardless whether insurance was maintained. You will always do better with counsel involved, but in this situation all the more reason to have everything handled properly from the first moment possible. Don't mess around with this on your own.... Read More

Opinions of your mother's doctors are medical opinions, and disability is a legal concept. The doctors who treat your mother are trained to diagnose illnesses and treat them. The in-house doctor is trained to read the reports, check them against the agency guidelines, and decide whether the case fits into the legal parameters of disability. It does not mean that the in-house doctor is necessarily right, and you can fight against the determination. Before you can take the case to court, you have to do an appeal within the agency. Your mother was (or will be) given instructions for filing an appeal, but you really should think about retaining an attorney who specializes in disability law. Such specialist would evaluate the case and advise you whether your mother should do the appeal or a new case should be started instead. Whatever needs to be filed would be better prepared and have higher chances of success. Having an attorney at the hearing of your appeal before the administrative law judge can change the outcome of the case. And many of disability law attorneys work on contingency (which means that they get paid only if they win the case).... Read More

The employer cannot take actions against you based on race, and cannot retaliate against you for requesting or taking FMLA leave.  Your question does not provide enough facts to determine if the employer's actions were based on one of these illegal motives.  If you were out of town for a weekend while you were taking FMLA, this would not necessarily be a problem as long as this did not conflict with your medical need for FMLA.  It seems that the information that the employer is seeking is related to that inquiry. You should meet with an employment law attorney to review your case in more detail... Read More

If you quit, you will have problems getting unemployment.  If they fire you for using the computer, you would need to provide specifics to unemployment about how other employees use the internet for personal reasons, who does it, and when you have seen it and none of them were terminated.  Providing these details would possibly show that you should not be deprived of benefits for what many others commonly do.  This may refute the employer's claim that you engaged in misconduct... Read More

Without union protection, you are an at will employee. This means that the company does not need any reason for terminating you. If, given your claim that you were not fighting and this was corroborated by a supervisor, the real reason for the termination was based on illegal discrimination (e.g. race, age, national origin), or retaliation for engaging in some legally protected activities, or for your union activities, then you may have a claim you can file in court.  You should meet with an employment law attorney to review your case in more detail.... Read More

You have raised two issues that both violate the law.  First, harassment that is taken against you based on your national orign is illegal, especially when the comments began to affect your job performance and cause you undue stress.  You can file a charge with either the IL Dept of Human Rights or the EEOC. The second issue you raise is about the manager taking a percent of your tips.  This is not legal.  You can file a complaint with the IL Dept of Labor for that. It may be a good idea to meet with an employment law attorney first.... Read More

There would be a statute of limitations to a sexual harassment complaint to be filed in court.  But there is no such limit to an employee complaining to the employer who then decides to terminate you for what occurred 18 months earlier.  Were any of the other employees who were involved at that time also terminated?  If so, you have no claim.  If you were the only one let go and the others remained at work, then the question would be why the employer singled you out.  If that reason was based on illegal discrimination (race, gender, age, etc) or retaliation for some protected complaint or act you took, then you might have a claim for that by arguing that the company simply used the employee's old complaint as a pretext to terminate you and really did so for an illegal motive.... Read More

Before addressing a possible termination claim, you should have immediate representation in the workers' compensation claim. The information gathered as you initially pursue the workers' compensation claim will allow better consideration of a retaliatory discharge claim and the referral to an employment attorney. Arrange a consultation at once. You will find that good workers' comp attorneys will handle these claims in various counties.... Read More

Except for a few limited exceptions, you must receive notice of your COBRA rights.  Failure to do so is a violation of the law and you can sue.  You may want to first inform the employer in writing of their breach to see if they will comply with the law.  If not, see an employment law attorney ASAP... Read More

Illnois law requires that you get a break after working for 5 hours.  This usually applies to workers who are paid hourly. The break does not have to be a paid break, but you are entitled to a break.  While there may be days when it is too busy for this to occur, this should be an exception, not the rule.  If there is an HR department there, you may want to raise this issue with them, or just tell your boss that working so many hours without a break is beginning to take physical toll on your health.    If you are an hourly employee, you are also entilted to be paid over time.  If you are being properly paid, you should speak to an employment law attorney ASAP. ... Read More

It would best to set a time to meet with an employment law attorney to review this in more detail.  The attorney will need to know why this supervisor has been bullying you (for example, was it based on race, national origin, etc.) and the specific acts taken against you.  This will determine what legal actions you could take. ... Read More

At a minimum, you would have to give notice.  The agreement you have should indicate whether there are any penalties that might apply if you leave early without a good reason.  Moving expenses or signing bonuses, and sometimes training costs may be recovered by the employer if you leave early, but ONLY if you signed an agreement that states this would occur. Being on the brink of failing is not quite the same as actually failing, especially if the company is paying you on time. I suggest meeting with an employment law attorney to review this first before you quit.... Read More