Here's everything you need to know about the right-to-work law, at-will employment and these mean in Illinois.
The right-to-work law, which is also known as the Workplace Freedom or Workplace Choice law, is a law that grants workers the right to choose whether or not they'd like to join a union in their workplace. Likewise, it also makes it optional for workers already in unionized workplaces to pay union dues and other membership fees that are required for union representation (whether they're involved in the union or not).
Every state with the exception of Montana is an at-will employment state. Under the at-will employment policy, either the employer or the employee can terminate employment at any time for any reason (unless it's illegal and proven wrongful termination, which is hard to do) without consequence — unless the employee has a contract or a union agreement that states otherwise.
Illinois is not a right-to-work state. In April 2019, Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed legislation that officially rolled back right-to-work protections that the state's southern town of Lincolnshire had established. Lincolnshire had passed an ordinance establishing itself as a "right to work zone" in 2015, but it was shortly thereafter overturned by a federal court, which ruled that only states have the authority to adopt laws.
Illinois is an at-will state, which means that you can be fired for any just reason at any time. Again, proving wrongful termination isn't always an easy feat, but your employer can only fire you for legal reasons.
Here are three important labor laws in New York of which you should be aware.
Illinois labor laws "require employers to pay employees overtime at a rate of 1½ time their regular rate when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek, unless otherwise exempt," according to the Employment Law Handbook.
"The Wage Payment and Collection Act establishes when, where and how often wages must be paid and prohibits deductions from wages or final compensation without the employee's consent," according to the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL). "IDOL also provides assistance to workers in the collection of wages and final compensation including unused vacation pay, commissions, bonuses or other fringe benefits. State and federal government employees are exempt and cannot file claims under the Act.
The Wage Payment and Collection Act applies to all employers and employees in the state of Illinois, including employees of units of local government and school districts, but excluding employees of the State or Federal governments.
According to the law:
The Child Labor Law regulates the employment of workers under the age of 16 years old, according to the IDOL. The law protects children by:
To learn more about employment laws in Illinois, check out these resources:
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AnnaMarie Houlis is a feminist, a freelance journalist and an adventure aficionado with an affinity for impulsive solo travel. She spends her days writing about women’s empowerment from around the world. You can follow her work on her blog, HerReport.org, and follow her journeys on Instagram @her_report, Twitter @herreportand Facebook.