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Howard L. Mocerf

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Howard L. Mocerf focuses his practice on labor law and management employment matters, including collective bargaining, representation and unfair labor practice matters under The National Labor Relations Act, labor arbitration, OSHA matters, wage and hour disputes, trade secrets and non-compete agreements, and employment discrimination matters. He is experienced in developing and writing employee handbooks, affirmative action plans and employment policies, including harassment, substance abuse, social media, e-mail and Internet use, family and medical leave, and others.

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The Chicago City Council enacted amendments to the City’s Human Rights Ordinance that take effect July 1, 2022. The amendments:

  • Expand the definitions of the sexual harassment and sexual orientation;
  • Require new written policy and notice content;
  • Require more extensive harassment training;
  • Establish a longer statute of limitations for employees to file complaints under the

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The Illinois General Assembly has unanimously passed a bill that will significantly affect the legality of post-employment non-competition and non-solicitation agreements between employers and their Illinois employees entered into after Jan. 1, 2022. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign the bill into law. The bill, Amendment 1 to SB 672, amends the…

2020 saw significant changes in Illinois employment law, and the trend continues in 2021. Among the 2020 changes were Illinois Human Rights Act amendments requiring Illinois employers to conduct annual sexual harassment awareness training of employees and to provide annual reporting of discrimination charges filed against them.

Continue reading the full GT Alert here. 

Several amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act will become effective Sept. 29, 2019. The most significant of these amendments is a ban that prohibits inquiry into and the use of a job applicant’s pay history in making hiring and employment decisions. Illinois has now joined with 13 states that have imposed such a ban.…

In the week of Aug. 24, 2018, Governor Bruce Rauner approved amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) and the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA). The IHRA amendments go into effect immediately and increase the timeframe for employees to file a charge; restructure the Illinois Human Rights Commission (the Commission); and allow…

On April 14, 2015 the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new union election rules (Election Rules) went into effect. As discussed in a prior GT Alert, the NLRB adopted the new rules by a 3-2 vote with the two Republican NLRB members dissenting. As outlined below, the Election Rules make significant changes to the Board’s procedures for processing election petitions, holding hearings, and conducting secret-ballot elections. Most significantly, the Election Rules pave the way for union elections to be held in as few as 14–21 days after the filing of a union petition, a dramatic decrease from the current median time of 38 days.
Continue Reading New Union Election Rules in Effect as of April 14, 2015

Illinois has joined the increasing number of states that have enacted “Ban the Box” laws (so named because they prohibit employers from including on job applications a box for applicants to check if they have ever been convicted of a crime). On July 19, 2014, the Governor of Illinois signed the Job Opportunities for Qualified…