Employment Law 101 and Managing Employees for Supervisors and Elected Officials 

This class will cover the major employment laws and what you need to know if you are a supervisor or elected official and responsible for managing employees. The course is specifically designed to ensure that front level management and those who have recently been promoted can confidently and successfully manage employees and learn the risks and pitfalls that can result in litigation if not handled appropriately.

We will cover the following topics:

• The hiring process, including what you can and can’t ask job applicants.
• Onboarding/training employees to ensure success.
• What is discrimination in violation of employment laws?
• Hostile work environment/bullying. How to recognize it and what to do if it exists.
• The Fair Labor Standards Act basics – including overtime pay and comp time. 
• Other Illinois employment laws that you need to know.
• Performance evaluations – should you do them and best practices for discussing employee job performance.
• Employee First Amendment Rights/Whistleblowers – scenarios in which you can or cannot discipline an employee.
• Managing employee leaves under Worker’s Compensation/the Family Medical Leave Act/the Americans with Disabilities Act including recognizing when an employee you supervise needs leave, how to complete FMLA forms, the ADA interactive process, and what you can and cannot say to employees with medical conditions.
• What is retaliation and how to avoid it.
• Practical tips for documenting poor work performance and disciplining employees who violate your work rules.
• Employee due process rights.
• Best practices for ending the employment relationship/terminating poor performing employees.