Practice Areas

Wage & Hour Law

Wage and hour law is a complex undertaking. At the Nolan Law Office, we have the experience necessary to help workers navigate federal and state wage laws, and maximize their recovery of unpaid minimum wages and overtime compensation. We also frequen… Read More

Unpaid Overtime Wages

Both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) require employers to pay “non-exempt” employees 1 ½ times their regular hourly rate when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. Significantly, most employees… Read More

Unpaid Minimum Wages

Both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) set the minimum wages for Illinois employees. Recently, the City of Chicago passed its own ordinance raising the city minimum wage above the federal and state minimum w… Read More

Tipped Employees

Both the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (“IMWL”) allow an employer to use tips as a credit toward its minimum wage obligations for tipped employees. Under both laws, an employer who properly takes a tip cr… Read More

Misclassified Salaried Employees

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) covers most employees and requires that they be paid at least the minimum wage as well as overtime compensation for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. However, the FLSA exempts certain categories of employees… Read More

Misclassified Independent Contractors

While the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) covers most employees, it does not cover independent contractors or “1099” contractors. Independent contractors generally are self-employed workers who have the freedom to determine what work will be done… Read More

Employment Law

Workplace Discrimination & Harassment

Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of age, disability, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, retaliation and sex (gender), among other protected categories. Importantly, each of the laws contain their own… Read More

Age Discrimination

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) prohibit age discrimination against individuals who are 40 years or older. Notably, neither law protects workers under the age of 40. Age discrimination in… Read More

Disability Discrimination

Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”) and the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) protects qualified individuals with a disability from discrimination in any aspect of their employment. A person can show that he or she… Read More

National Origin Discrimination

National origin discrimination is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) and the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”). Under both laws, no one can be denied equal employment opportunities because of his or her… Read More

Pregnancy Discrimination

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) amended Title VII to prohibit discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Pregnancy discrimination constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII and is also unl… Read More

Race Discrimination

Race discrimination and harassment are prohibited both by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. §1981, which is commonly known as Section 1981. The Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA Read More

Religious Discrimination

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) and the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion (or lack of religious belief) in hiring, firing, or any o… Read More

Retaliation

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) and the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”), an employer may not fire, demote, harass or otherwise retaliate against any applicant or employee because he or she filed a charge of di… Read More

Sexual Discrimination & Harassment

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) and the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex (gender) as well as sexual harassment. Discrimination based on sex involves treating an applicant o… Read More

Family Medical Leave Act

The Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) requires that eligible employees receive 12 weeks of unpaid, protected leave for specific family or medical reasons. Employee Leave Under the FMLA Under the FMLA, employees may take up to 12 workweeks of leav… Read More

Executive Compensation

The attorneys at Chicago’s Nolan Law Office have over 30 years of combined experienced negotiating and enforcing employment agreements on behalf of executives and professionals. Over the years, we have been fortunate to advise leaders in the le… Read More

Severance Agreements

The attorneys at Chicago’s Nolan Law Office have extensive experience evaluating and negotiating severance agreements on behalf of employees and executives. Severance or separation agreements are often presented to professionals or executive em… Read More

Non-Competes and Non-Solicitation

Many employment agreements contain non-competition, non-solicitation, and confidentiality provisions. These provisions are commonly called restrictive covenants or post-employment restrictions since they act as a restraint on trade or one’s ability… Read More

Class & Collective Actions

The Chicago wage & hour and employment lawyers at the Nolan Law Office regularly represent employees in class and collective actions for unpaid minimum wages, overtime compensation, and employment discrimination. Our twenty years of experience pr… Read More

Collective Actions

Section 216(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) gives employees the right to bring a collective action against employers who have who have violated the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Act. A collective action is on brought on… Read More

Class Actions

Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows for a representative party or parties to file a civil lawsuit against an employer on behalf of a class or group of employees who have been wronged in the same way. Initially, in order for the cla… Read More

Single and Multi-Plaintiff Litigation

The Chicago employment attorneys of the Nolan Law Office commonly represent single Plaintiff and multi-Plaintiff wage and hour and employment cases that are not prosecuted as class or collective actions. Our office consistently gets results for singl… Read More