P. Kevin Connelly
Subscribe to P. Kevin Connelly's PostsKevin Connelly focuses his practice on employment matters, such as discrimination, harassment, wage and hour law, whistleblowing, statutory leave and traditional labor law. He is experienced in both trials and appeals, and devotes a substantial portion of his practice to class and collective actions. Read Kevin Connelly's full bio.
Title VII, FLSA Amendments Expand Protections for Pregnant and Breastfeeding Workers
By Melis Solaksubasi and P. Kevin Connelly on Aug 1, 2023
Posted In Labor
Recent amendments to Title VII and the Fair Labor Standards Act impact how employers address the needs of pregnant and breastfeeding employees. Employers will want to reset their approaches to navigate these expanded statutory protections. Read more here.
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Illinois’ New Paid Leave Law: What Employers Need to Know
By Brian Mead, P. Kevin Connelly and Emily Starbuck on Apr 18, 2023
Posted In Employment, Labor
The Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA) was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker on March 13, 2023, ensuring that all workers in Illinois receive 40 hours of paid time off annually for any purpose. The law will become effective on January 1, 2024, requiring employers to utilize the remaining months of 2023...
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NLRB Attacks Non-Disparagement and Confidentiality Clauses in Employee Releases, Severance Agreements
By Christopher Foster, Marjorie C. Soto Garcia and P. Kevin Connelly on Mar 14, 2023
Posted In Employment, Labor
Employers, especially in the context of workforce reductions, may provide departing employees with severance agreements in exchange for a release. Those agreements often include non-disparagement clauses and confidentiality clauses regarding the terms and the amount of the agreement. On February 21, 2023, in McLaren Macomb, the National Labor Relations Board held that such clauses infringe on employees’...
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Illinois Supreme Court Eliminates Defense to Biometric Privacy Class Actions
By Jean Edmonds, P. Kevin Connelly and Joseph K. Mulherin on Mar 30, 2022
Posted In Employment, Labor, Privacy and Data Security
Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) has spawned a tsunami of class actions against employers who utilize biometric timekeeping or security systems. Now, the Illinois Supreme Court in McDonald v. Symphony Bronzeville Park, LLC has eliminated a defense invoked by employers facing claims under BIPA: the exclusivity of workers’ compensation. Read more here.
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Hurry Up and Wait: Department of Labor Delays Implementation of New Worker Classification Regulations
By P. Kevin Connelly and McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 16, 2021
Posted In Employment, Labor
Businesses strive to draw the line correctly on who is an employee versus who is an independent contractor. New regulations issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) in early January promised to help. See, 29 CFR §§795.100. But by late January, those regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) were frozen. Unlike laws passed...
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H.R. 6201: Families First Coronavirus Response Act
By Barrick Bollman and P. Kevin Connelly on Mar 24, 2020
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Families First) is now law and becomes effective April 2, 2020. For employers with less than 500 employees, and in certain situations for employees affected by coronavirus, Families First requires that employers provide two weeks of paid sick leave in certain situations and provide subsidized leave under the Family...
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Top 10 Things to Know About the New FLSA Overtime Calculations
By Brian Mead and P. Kevin Connelly on Jan 7, 2020
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Labor
Beginning January 15, 2020, new, more employer-friendly regulations determine how overtime pay is calculated under the Fair Labor Standards Act. We identified the top 10 things you should know about what is being changed or clarified. Access the full article.
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Family Ties: Connecticut Passes Paid Family and Medical Leave
By Diane Morgenthaler, Evan A. Belosa and P. Kevin Connelly on Jun 27, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor
Connecticut enacted a paid family and medical leave law, which provides paid leave to eligible employees and expand allowable reasons for such leave. This Connecticut statute closely tracks Massachusetts’s parallel statute and appears to be among the most generous paid family leave laws in the country. All private sector employers (and their employees who work...
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Dallas Implements Paid Sick Leave Law: What You Need to Know
By Ali N. Wright, P. Kevin Connelly and Samantha Souza on May 16, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment
The City of Dallas recently passed an ordinance requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to workers. Starting August 1, 2019, employers with more than five employees who perform at least 80 hours of work in a year in Dallas should be prepared to comply with the new ordinance. Access the full article.
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4 Things to Watch After the High Court’s Body Blow to Labor
By P. Kevin Connelly on Jul 26, 2018
Posted In Employment, Labor
Kevin Connelly said unions will face an adjustment period as they seek to implement more creative methods of trying to retain dues-paying members. “I wouldn’t underestimate the unions. If someone wants to say this is the end of the day for public-sector unions—nope, not true,” he said. “There will be consequences, but I think the...
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