Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce that 80 lawyers are recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, with ten receiving this honor for the first time. Additionally, 22 Hinshaw lawyers are included in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

The national law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce that 75 of the firm's lawyers have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. In addition, 30 Hinshaw lawyers were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

The national law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce that 73 of the firm's lawyers have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. In addition, 28 Hinshaw lawyers were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

Read Hinshaw partner Tom Luetkemeyer’s insights in Law.com on the workplace impact of recent EEOC lawsuits challenging healthcare employers’ COVID-19 vaccine mandates and the evolving standards for religious and disability accommodations under federal law.

Read Hinshaw partner Tom Luetkemeyer's insights on the complexities of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2022, which seeks to enable court hearings for workplace sexual harassment and assault claims despite existing arbitration agreements.

The Illinois Road & Transportation Builders Association (IRTBA) published an article authored by Tom Luetkemeyer in a recent Friday Facts member newsletter.

For more information, please visit Hinshaw's Annual Labor & Employment Seminar page.

Hinshaw labor and employment attorneys from the Midwest, East Coast, and West Coast will address developments in the ever-changing landscape of employment law claims, including significant court decisions, changes to state and federal law affecting their region as well as other important trends, legislation and decisions of which every employer should be aware.

Hinshaw's Yvonne Ocrant and Tom Luetkemeyer will present "Getting and Keeping Your Best Horses and Your Best Staff - the Art of Event Horse Syndication and Best Practices for Event Barn Staff as Independent Contractors" on November 14, 2019, as part of the Ocala Jockey Club's 4th Annual International 3-Day Event. Scheduled to be held November 14 – 17 at the Ocala Jockey Club farm in Reddick, Florida, this year's event has the distinction as serving as a qualifying competition for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Central

Join Hinshaw's Leigh Bonsall and Tom Luetkemeyer—along with Dr. John Segreti, infectious disease expert with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago—for a timely and informative discussion on the medical issues related to the COVID-19 vaccine and the legal issues related to employer policy options.

Explore the implications of President Trump's recent Executive Order revoking DEI and affirmative action policies for federal contractors, and learn the steps employers should take in response.

On November 13, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision in Amazon.com Services LLC, holding that "captive-audience meetings" are unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This decision reverses 76 years of precedent, which permitted employers to hold such meetings.

The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") issued Memorandum GC 25-01 on October 7, 2024, which establishes her intent to "urge the Board not only to find certain non-compete provisions unlawful, but also, as fully as possible to remedy the harmful effects on employees when employers use and apply them."

On January 13, 2021, the United States Supreme Court (the court), in a 5-4 per curiam decision, issued stays on injunctions issued by the Western District of Louisiana and the Eastern District of Missouri against enforcement of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) interim final rule (the Rule) requiring that providers participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs ensure that their covered staff are vaccinated against COVID-19. The court reasoned that Congress has authorized the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary), in the interest of the health and safety of patients, to impose conditions on participation in the Medicaid and Medicare programs and receipt of funds for services rendered in the programs. The court held that the Secretary’s finding that the Rule’s vaccine mandate is “necessary to promote and protect patient health and safety” because the COVID-19 vaccination “substantially reduce[s] the likelihood that healthcare workers will contract the virus and transmit it to their patients,” fit well within CMS’ purpose and authorization.

On Monday, November 29, 2021, a court in the Eastern District of Missouri issued an order granting a motion for a preliminary injunction of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) interim final rule (the Rule), issued earlier this month on November 5, 2021. The Rule requires employees and contractors of certain healthcare facilities to be vaccinated fully by January 5, 2022. The challenge to the Rule was brought principally by the Attorneys General for ten states. Pending further court action, this order effectively blocks CMS from implementing and enforcing the Rule in Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming (collectively, the States).

When hospitals, healthcare entities and medical groups employ physicians and mid-level practitioners through employment agreements, they generally include a covenant not to compete/covenant not to solicit ("Restrictive Covenant") in the agreements. In Illinois, for many years, as long as the Restrictive Covenant was reasonable in terms of geographic area and duration and was necessary to protect an employer's legitimate business interest, the Restrictive Covenant was considered enforceable. The offer of initial employment or continuing employment was considered to be sufficient consideration for the Restrictive Covenant.

Following up on proposed rules issued on January 5, 2023, after the public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued final rules on April 23, 2024, banning noncompete agreements in most employment contexts. The Commission voted in favor of the rules along party lines, 3-2. The new Rules can be found at 16 CFR Part 910.

On Thursday, November 9, 2023, the Chicago City Council voted to approve a new paid time off ordinance, the “Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance.” This new ordinance replaces the Chicago Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, and employees will begin accruing time under its requirements on January 1, 2024. We break down the new requirements in a question-and-answer format.

We share news of a significant defense victory before the Illinois Supreme Court in a claim involving the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). In a case argued by Hinshaw partner John Ryan, the Supreme Court handed down the first employer-friendly decision in any BIPA case it has considered. The issue before the Court was whether "Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (29 U.S.C. §185) preempt Privacy Act claims (740 ILCS 14/1) asserted by bargaining unit employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement?"

Von Kaenel v. Armstrong Teasdale, LLP, No. 18-2850 (8th Cir. 2019)

Welcome to the Labor & Employment Chronicle, our quarterly newsletter that reviews the top stories from Hinshaw's Employment Law Observer blog.

Welcome to the Labor & Employment Chronicle, our quarterly newsletter that reviews the top stories from Hinshaw's Employment Law Observer blog.

Nicholson Terminal & Dock CompanyALJ Decision (07-CA-187907)