Some states, including Illinois, have legalized recreational use of marijuana. Effective January 1, 2020, the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA) defines marijuana as a lawful product for state purposes. The impact on employers in Illinois is that this act broadly amends the Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act to prohibit discrimination against individuals who use lawful products off premises during nonworking and non-call hours. However, employers can discriminate (i.e. take disciplinary action) against employees if use impairs an employee’s ability to perform assigned duties. Some other notes...

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that requires employers to pay ALL employees overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week UNLESS an employee fits within a certain exemption. Exemptions require a two-factor analysis for each position (except the outside sales exemption): 1) Salary Threshold and 2) Job Duties Test Changes to this law, effective January 1, 2020, are the salary threshold for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions. Under the federal FLSA, this will increase from $23,660 ($455 per week) to $35,568 ($684...

Written by: Mary Smith I used to live in Washington, D.C., and since our only offices are based in Elgin, Illinois, I worked from home for nearly three years. When it came time to work from home again due to the pandemic, I was ready. Even some of my team members were ready to work from home, but not all. I offered the advice I could to those who needed it and trusted that those who didn’t knew how to thrive in their new working environment. While there are now...

Original by: Strategy Magazine Individual Advantages makes C-Suite expertise available to firms that aren’t quite big enough to hire chairmen or executive level professionals full time. IA consultants leverage their experience to build high-performance teams and steer organizational change. It’s no secret that big businesses tend to have the budgets to hire highly experienced executives, but that’s not always the case with small to mid-sized firms. When it comes to integrating people, process, and technology, many companies don’t know where to start. Enter IA Business Advisors, also known around the...