Penelope Lechtenberg represents management in labor and employment law matters before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, OSHA, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Illinois Department of Human Rights, Illinois Department of Labor, Illinois Human Rights Commission and Illinois Department of Employment Security.

Ms. Lechtenberg counsels employers on a wide range of issues, including:

• Union campaigns and strategy
• Collective bargaining negotiations
• Grievance procedures
• Discipline and discharge
• Discrimination and harassment charges
• Wage and hour issues
• ERISA compliance and COBRA matters
• All contract issues and disputes
• Restrictive covenants
• OSHA investigations and related safety matters
• OFCCP compliance issues
• Affirmative action requirements
• Immigration rules and regulations

Ms. Lechtenberg provides employers with practical advice on all day-to-day employment-related issues. In addition to those listed above, she counsels on effective implementation of ADA and FMLA requirements, employee benefits programs, unemployment compensation procedures and hearings, and questions arising under the federal and state wage and hour laws. She regularly prepares employment agreements, separation agreements and all other forms of business contracts.

Ms. Lechtenberg also maintains a substantial business and personal immigration practice. She advises corporate and individual clients in immigration matters involving U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Department of Labor and Department of State, from immigration petitions to audits and workplace investigations. In addition to her extensive client representation, Ms. Lechtenberg serves as an Arbitrator for the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Winnebago County, Illinois. She is a member of the Winnebago County Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Diocesan Attorneys Association.

Ms. Lechtenberg is a past secretary of the Rockford Network of Professional Women organization. She serves on the board of directors of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce (since 2006) and the Stateline World Trade Association (since 2008).

Ms. Lechtenberg is a member of the Leading Lawyers Network, where she was selected by her peers as a Leading Lawyer in Employment Law: Management and Labor Law: Management. In addition, she has been rated by Martindale-Hubbell for ethics and legal ability.

Ms. Lechtenberg joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in December 1995. She is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and leads the firm’s Immigration practice. Ms. Lechtenberg is the author of, “Updated I-9 Form Now Required for Every New Hire,” which was published in the December 2007 edition of The Voice, the monthly publication of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

She is a frequent public speaker, presenting employer training and informative programs about labor, employment and immigration law. Her presentations include:

• “Immigration Matters,” Rockford Area Association of Realtors, Rockford, Illinois, November 2008.
• “Immigration Update,” Hinshaw’s 2008 Annual Labor & Employment Seminar, Oak Brook, Illinois, November 2008.
• “Employment Law Developments” and “Stay Out of Jail – Immigration Compliance Issues for Employers,” Sterling Education Services, Rockford, Illinois, October 2008.
• “Immigration Update – Why Immigration is Important to Your Business,” Rockford Chamber of Commerce, Rockford, Illinois, October 2008.
• “No-Recruitment Categories – Schedule A Cases,” American Immigration Lawyers Association 2008 PERM CLE Conference, Chicago, Illinois, August 2008.
• “Immigration Compliance Update: Recent Developments,” Aurora University/Human Resources Institute, Aurora, Illinois, June 2008.
• “Recruiting Foreign Healthcare Professionals and Navigating the Immigration Maze,” Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys’ Quarterly Lecture, Chicago, Illinois, May 2008.
• “Employment Authorization Verification Compliance,” National Diocesan Attorneys Association 44th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2008.
• “10 HR Issues All Employers Should Know,” Employers’ Association of Illinois, Rockford, Illinois, April 2008.
• “Navigating U.S. Immigration Laws in a Global Marketplace,” Stateline World Trade Association, Beloit, Wisconsin, February 2008.
• “Hot Topics: The Latest Interpretations of Current Employment Law,” and “Avoiding Liability When Hiring and Terminating Foreign Nationals,” Sterling Education Services, Inc., Rockford, Illinois, February 2008.
• “Immigration Law and the Construction Industry,” Finishing Contractors Association of Illinois conference, St. Charles, Illinois, February 2008.
• “Employment Discrimination Law,” guest lecturer, Rockford Business College, Rockford, Illinois, November 2007.
• “Employment Law (Discrimination) Update,” Hinshaw’s 2007 Effectively Dealing with Current Labor & Employment Issues seminar, Chicago, Illinois, September 2007.
• “Immigration 2007: New Issues and Regulations,” Employer’s Association of Illinois, Rockford, Illinois, April 2007.
• “2007 Immigration Update,” Life Services Network, 2007 Annual Convention & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois, March 2007.
• “Basics of Employment Immigration Law,” Aurora University’s Human Resources Institute, Aurora, Illinois, February 2007.
• “Triple Trouble – Overlapping HR Program Changes,” DuPage Society of Human Resources Management, Naperville, Illinois, January 2007.
• “Annual Employment Law Update,” Employers Association of Illinois, Rockford, Illinois, September 2006.
• “Banking the Unbanked,” Community Bankers Association of Illinois, Indianapolis, Indiana, September 2006.
• “Human Resources Legal Update,” Aurora University’s Human Resources Institute, Aurora, Illinois, June 2006.
• “Recent Illinois Developments” and “Hiring and Recruiting,” Lorman Education Services’ seminar, “State and Federal Personnel Laws in Illinois,” Rockford, Illinois, June 2006.
• "Employment-Based Immigration Law Today," Hinshaw-sponsored seminar “Effectively Dealing with Current Labor & Employment Issues,” Lisle, Illinois, November 2005.
• “Wage and Hour,” Lorman Education Services seminar “Illinois State and Federal Personnel Laws,” Rockford, Illinois, March 2005.
• “Labor and Employment Law Update,” Hinshaw-sponsored breakfast seminar series, Rockford, Illinois, March 2005.
• "Awareness of Harassment in the Workplace," Rockford Network, Rockford, Illinois, January 2005.

Ms. Lechtenberg is a member of the Board of Directors of the Order of Saint Francis (OSF) Saint Anthony College of Nursing and of Family Counseling Services in Rockford, Illinois.