Newly released Department of Homeland Security Guidelines detail process with federal, state, and labor enforcement agencies to better enforce employment laws. Advocates cite concerns and positive developments.

New data, prepared in partnership with the National Employment Law Project (NELP), shines a light on the grim reality of unjust and arbitrary firings in Illinois.

Under COVID, our fights for worker dignity and safety are even more dire. Black, brown, and migrant workers have always been the first to experience unsafe conditions, wage theft, discrimination, retaliation, and mistreatment. Throughout the pandemic, their lives have been on the line while navigating these issues, unable to speak up without endangering their jobs AND their safety. Black workers in particular are more likely than others to be in front-line jobs, yet are simultaneously the hardest hit by the unemployment crisis.

Our communities depend on jobs to support our families. However, under Illinois’ arbitrary at-will employment standard, employers have extreme discretion to legally fire workers without care, and those who speak up for their rights at work are often the targets. New data shows that more than a third of fired workers have had been fired or let go for unfair reasons. These firings deeply undermine our public health efforts to protect the Black and brown communities that have suffered due to loss of life and financial instability.

The Secure Jobs Act, which was crafted by and for Black and brown working families, would ensure job stability by establishing clear termination standards to end the practice of unjust and arbitrary firings. Retaliation thrives with job instability, while our communities are hardly surviving COVID.

Read the new report "Secure Jobs, Safe Workplaces, And Stable Communities: Ending At-will Employment in Illinois."

On Tuesday January 12, 2020, worker justice organizations released "The COVID Jungle: Chicagoland’s Essential Food Workers and the Need for Vaccination Priority." Chicagoland is home to the country’s second largest food economy. Food production and warehousing in its suburbs make up a who’s who of major food corporations including Mars Wrigley, Trader Joe’s, Starbucks, Skinny Pops, McDonalds and more. This first-of-its-kind report shows how essential food workers, who have made quarantining possible during the pandemic, could be overlooked for life-saving vaccine priority because they’re temporary workers. The report is a result of 90 worker interviews in food production, distribution, and logistics currently working in the Chicago area throughout the pandemic, and includes first-hand worker testimonies. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

September 7, 2020 

Raise the Floor Alliance Receives National Grant for Just Cause Anti-Retaliation Legislation  

Chicago, IL — Raise the Floor Alliance is among nine recipients of a national grant by Clean Slate for Worker Power to advance labor law reform. The $47,200 award will help Raise the Floor Alliance to advance anti-retaliation legislation to implement state-wide just cause standards for terminating employees. 

JUNE 8, 2020 

$2 Million IDHS Project Becomes First of State-Run Cash Relief program for IL Undocumented Families Impacted by COVID-19 

Advocates say more relief could be on the way after IDHS immigrant services and welcoming centers receive $89 million 

The report, Challenging the Business of Fear, features first-of-its-kind research based on surveys and interviews with nearly 300 workers employed in a broad cross-section of Illinois’ low-wage industries. Collaborators, Raise the Floor Alliance, a coalition of Chicago-area worker centers, and the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), captured what happened when these workers were injured or tried to address abuse at work.

Read the Executive Summary here