SimplyHR | Employment & Labor Blog 

Under a new law set to take effect September 29, 2019, Illinois employers will be prohibited from, among other things, asking for an employee’s wage history during the hiring process. The law, which amends the Illinois Equal Pay Act, is designed with the intent of avoiding future pay disparity between men and women based on prior wage differences.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2020, Illinois residents and visitors over age 21 are allowed to purchase, possess, use, or transport cannabis for recreational purposes. Illinois’ legalization of recreational cannabis under state law will impact Illinois and Missouri employers because the drug will be more accessible to their employees.

2018 was a relatively quiet year in federal employment law developments, but the stage is set for a much more active 2019. Below is a summary of major federal employment law headlines and a look at what employers can expect in 2019.

For Missouri and Illinois employers, a review of 2018 state updates and a look forward at 2019 can be found here.

Employers in Missouri and Illinois saw the passage of several new employment-related laws in 2018. Below is a look at some legislative highlights of 2018 and how they might affect your business in 2019.

The Missouri legislature has approved a proposal that moves the date of a public vote on the state’s right-to-work law to the August 2018 ballot.

The proposal was approved 96-47 in the Missouri House on May 17. The Senate had already passed the measure. The legislative approval moves a statewide vote on whether to prevent the Missouri right-to-work law from taking effect from November to the Aug. 7 primary ballot. 

On May 8, 2018, a Missouri Senate committee approved a proposal to have voters decide in August 2018, rather than November 2018, whether to prevent the Missouri right-to-work law from taking effect. If allowed to become effective, the right-to-work law would prohibit employers from requiring employees to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment.

Employers in Missouri and Illinois saw the passage of several new employment-related laws in 2017. Below is a look at some legislative highlights of 2017 and how they might affect your business in 2018.

Missouri employment laws

Over the summer, the Missouri legislature took action to invalidate or cut back two ordinances passed by the city of St. Louis, causing the city’s minimum wage to revert to the statewide minimum of $7.70 per hour and making it unlawful for cities to adopt laws that would interfere with the free-speech rights of any “alternative to abortion agency” (e.g., a pregnancy resource center) or employees with objections to abortion.

This summer, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens signed into law Senate Bill 43, which substantially changes the way the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA) will be administered and interpreted. The MHRA’s core purpose is to prohibit employers from basing employment decisions on a person’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability, and it prohibits retaliation for engaging in protected activities covered under the act.

This month, the House of Representatives passed by a vote of 229-197 the Republican-backed overtime bill titled the Working Families Flexibility Act. The act would enable employees to choose taking “comp time” or paid time off work instead of receiving overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week. Proponents of the bill say this will provide increased flexibility for workers who want to spend more time with their families, but critics believe it will weaken federal overtime protections and make it easier for employers to delay paying earned overtime wages.