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Seventh Circuit Holds that Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation Violates Title VII

For the past several years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has interpreted the Civil Rights Act's prohibition against sex discrimination to include claims based upon sexual orientation, and on April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the EEOC in the case of Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College. The Hively decision is the first time that a federal court of appeals has adopted the EEOC's position. The Plaintiff, Kimberly Hively, was an openly gay, part-time adjunct...

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Alexis Martin and Madeline Engel Prevail at Trial before the Illinois Human Rights Commission

In August 2016, Alexis D. Martin and Madeline Engel of Caffarelli & Associates conducted a three-day trial before Administrative Law Judge William J. Borah at the Illinois Human Rights Commission. Ms. Martin and Ms. Engel represented Complainant, Claudia Torres, against Respondents, El Faro Restaurant and Adrian Reyes. Ms. Torres was a former waitress at El Faro who alleged that she had been sexually harassed by her supervisor and retaliated against when she complained about the harassment. On February 3, 2017,...

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Cook County Passes Employee Sick-Time Ordinance

Mirroring a recent City of Chicago Ordinance, the Cook County Board voted last week to mandate that employers provide employees with paid sick time off from work to care for him or herself, a family member becomes ill, or in the event of domestic violence or the closing of a school or business due to a public health emergency. This ordinance extends sick pay to Cook County workers outside of Chicago city limits and applies to anyone who works at...

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Seventh Circuit Eliminates Direct/Indirect Dichotomy in Employment Discrimination Cases

The Seventh Circuit court of Appeals, which is one level below the United States Supreme Court and has jurisdiction over the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana, finally eliminated the Direct/Indirect Dichotomy in employment discrimination cases -- effectively bringing the analysis back in line with other civil matters and affirming that the same rules of evidence apply to all cases. For decades the Seventh Circuit has instructed victims of employment discrimination to use one of two tests to avoid summary...

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Chicago City Council Approves Sick Leave Ordinance

The Chicago City Council last week approved an ordinance requiring employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave. The law will benefit over 450,000 private sector workers in the City of Chicago. The new law, which takes effect on July 2017, requires employees to be given one hour of sick time for every 40 hours they work, up to a maximum of five paid sick days per year. Employees can roll over up to 2.5 unused sick days into...

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Attorney Madeline Engel Joins Caffarelli & Associates Ltd.

Caffarelli & Associates Ltd. is proud to announce that Madeline Engel has joined our Chicago office as an Associate. From the time she graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she received a Certificate in Labor & Employment Law, Ms. Engel has focused her practice exclusively on labor and employment law. She has substantial experience litigating claims arising under the wage and hour laws, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and state, federal, and local discrimination and retaliation statutes. Ms....

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Alejandro Caffarelli & Alexis Martin Prevail in Federal FLSA Trial

On Tuesday, April 26, 2016, Alejandro Caffarelli and Alexis Martin of Caffarelli & Associates Ltd. tried a case before the Honorable Magistrate Judge Soat Brown in the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Mr. Caffarelli and Ms. Martin represented Plaintiff Juan Valentin Hernandez against The View restaurant, the Defendant. Mr. Hernandez was a former cook for the View who was paid a fixed salary instead of on an hourly basis, and who regularly worked in excess of 40...

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Caffarelli & Associates Ltd. Bus Driver Class Action Featured in Chicago Tribune

On March 18, 2016, the Chicago Tribune's Daily Southtown edition ran a story featuring Caffarelli & Associates Ltd.'s recent class action case, filed on behalf of a group of bus drivers against Positive Connections a/k/a Student Transportation of America. According to the Complaint, the Defendant failed to pay drivers overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as work performed "off the clock" such as washing and maintaining the Company's busses. You can view the story by clicking...

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Caffarelli & Associates Ltd. Obtains $10.2 Million Settlement in TCPA Case

JP Morgan Chase Bank NA agreed to pay $10.2 Million to end a class action lawsuit brought by Caffarelli & Associates Ltd. attorneys Alejandro Caffarelli and Lorrie Peeters on behalf of client Sheila Allen, which accused its automotive loan department of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") by making unauthorized robocalls to over 2 million customers’ cellular phones. Although Ms. Allen was not a Chase customer and never provided the bank with her number, the robocalls she received would...

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