Barbara J. Bell, Attorney at Law

05/22/2024

It's time for Democratic Speaker of the House Chris Welch to put his money where his mouth is.

Seven months after Democratic Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch advanced a measure that would allow legislative staff to unionize, members of his own staff on Tuesday blasted the speaker for allowing the bill to languish.

06/20/2022

Will Trader Joe's be the next to unionize?

Starbucks. Apple. Both are household brand names and both have seen the current wave of union organizing hit their doorsteps. We can add the eclectic…

04/23/2022

Is anyone really surprised?

States that prematurely ended enhanced unemployment benefits programs implemented during the pandemic did not see greater job growth compared to states that kept them. A new report from the Federal…

11/23/2021

Unionization is on the rise in Illinois school districts

Educators at one the state’s few remaining non-union, public school districts said Monday they hope to join one of the state’s largest teachers unions.

11/17/2021

That lottery I blogged about last week to decide the fate of OSHA’s emergency temporary standard (ETS) happened yesterday. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation randomly designated one circuit from among those where lawsuits have been filed.

09/24/2021

The medically vulnerable and their loved ones weigh whether to return to the workplace and risk Covid-19.

08/06/2021

The workplace is increasingly difficult to navigate.

Over the past several days, I’ve read several articles about providing religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine. The Dean of the UC-Berkely School of Law says no. The New York archdiocese agrees. And this CNN article predicts a rise in legal challenges.

07/07/2021

Employees often file retaliation charges against their employers. Here's some guidance on under what circumstances a retaliation charge is appropriate.

When an employee sues for retaliation after complaining about discrimination, he must prove that he suffered “a materially adverse action” for doing so. Usually, that amounts to discharges, demotions, refusals to hire, refusals to promote, and reprimands.

02/16/2021

More problems with unemployment benefits

"There have been very credible threats of violence against our agency offices and our office staff," IDES Director Kristin Richards said.

02/11/2021

Scabby the Rat has made his appearance many times in the Chicago area

Scabby the Rat, the infamous union picket line protest symbol, fears no cat — especially not this one. Scabby feared no man either, except for Peter Robb, the former General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board.

01/27/2021

The woman cited in the article was an at-will employee. Thats means she could be fired for almost anything at any time.

Did I mention yesterday that, among the many topics that Dan Schwartz and I will discuss at noon on Friday’s free Zoom chat, we’ll probably touch on employee free speech? (Click here to register.)