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Alejandro Caffarelli Speaks at the CBA, NELA National Conference

Alejandro Caffarelli, Employment Attorney, Invited to Speak at Chicago Bar Association, NELA National Conference Alejandro Caffarelli, noted Chicago employment attorney, has been invited to speak on two panels within the coming months - one at the Chicago Bar Association and the other at the Annual Conference for the National Employment Lawyers' Association. On May 9, 2018, the Chicago Bar Association's Employment Law Committee will present the annual Spring Seminar, where Mr. Caffarelli will speak on the use and misuse of...

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Alejandro Caffarelli Named to Screening Committee for Federal Judge Applicants in Illinois

Alejandro Caffarelli Named to Screening Committee for Federal Judge Applicants in Illinois -- PRESS RELEASE 01.12.18 https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-duckworth-announce-screening-committee-application-process-for-federal-district-court-in-the-northern-district-of-illinois- Durbin, Duckworth Announce Screening Committee Application Process For Federal District Court In The Northern District Of Illinois CHICAGO – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that they will begin accepting applications from those interested in serving as a Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of Illinois. The Senators will be assisted by a screening committee whose...

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Caffarelli & Associates Ltd. Obtains Class Certification in Barrera v. DNJ Intermodal Svc.

Class Action Law Certification On August 31, 2017, Circuit Court Judge Kathleen M. Pantle granted Plaintiff Lucio Barrera's motion for class certification in the matter of Barrera v. DNJ Intermodal Services, 15 CH 9701. Mr. Barrera will now serve as the class representative for a class of approximately 150 current and former DNJ drivers. He seeks damages relating to unlawful deductions DNJ took from class members' pay, in violation of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. Caffarelli & Associates...

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Alejandro Caffarelli's Article on Class Waivers Published in the ABA Just Resolutions Newsletter

Class Waivers On June 13, 2017, the American Bar Association's Section of Dispute Resolution published Chicago employment attorney Alejandro Caffarelli's article on class waivers in the ABA Just Resolutions Newsletter. In his article, Caffarelli argues that counsel for appellees in the upcoming Supreme Court case of Lewis v. Epic Systems Corp. should take great care to square the case with recent Supreme Court arbitration decisions such as Concepcion and Italian Colors. The e-newsletter can be found by clicking here. "In...

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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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