Employment & labor
Trusted legal guidance on the Illinois and federal employment laws affecting your workforce.
Our clients hire us because we focus on the employment risks and practical considerations that matter most to their businesses. We work with owners, executives, and HR professionals who want a practical legal partner, not an obstacle. Our advice is clear, usable, and focused on supporting workforce objectives.
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Work Performed by Senior Attorney
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Types of employment matters we handle
Screening and hiring
Guidance on federal and state level compliance with screening and hiring practices. We focus on practical strategies to stop employee claims before they happen.
Discipline and termination
We help employers plan and document discipline and termination decisions to reduce the risk of discrimination, harassment, and retaliatory discharge claims while still addressing legitimate performance and conduct issues.
Employment policies
Guidance and creation of employee handbooks and standalone employment policies designed to reduce your workforce risk.
Employment agreements
Employment agreements for employees at every level. We address issues like job duties, compensation, confidentiality, and separation terms in a way that fits the business and role.
Attendance and leave law
Advice on employee attendance issues and leave requests under federal, state, and local laws.
Wage and hour issues
Practical support on issues like employee classification, overtime practices, and time-keeping procedures to ensure your current pay practices are compliant with current law.
Healthcare employees
Practice‑focused counsel for healthcare organizations on complex employee issues related to physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other providers.
Restrictive covenants
Restrictive covenant strategies tailored to your organizations needs, such as non-compete, non-solicit, and confidentiality agreements and obligations.
Workplace safety
Strategic counsel for workplace safety programs, incident response, and OSHA compliance.
Related practices
Business & Commercial Transactions
Mergers & Acquisitions
Dispute Resolution
Frequently asked questions
Answers to common questions employers often ask before working with us.
What types of employers do you work with?
We work with employers across a broad range of industries such as healthcare, professional services, construction and skilled trades, information technology, governmental, education, manufacturing, logistics, commercial services, hospitality and entertainment, non-profit organizations, and religious organizations.
Many of our clients are established privately held businesses that have 10-500 employees.
We also work with smaller and larger organizations when the nature of their legal needs align with our business focused approach.
Can you audit our business and let us know if we are compliant?
Yes, we frequently provide comprehensive audits of our clients’ workforce practices and policies.
Can you work with our in house HR team?
We work closely with our clients’ internal HR teams. Alignment among stakeholders and consistency in enforcement of policy is critical to reducing overall employee risk.
When does it make sense to have employment counsel as opposed to relying solely on HR?
Human resources is essential for day to day workforce administration, enforcement of policies, and maintaining culture.
Employment counsel adds the most value when you are making higher risk decisions like termination decisions, policy changes, restrictive covenant policies and enforcement, and when addressing complaints and investigations.
When should an employer hire counsel to advise on employment decisions?
We encourage our clients to maintain regular contact with us as part of their normal operations, rather than waiting until a serious problem develops. Early involvement allows us to identify issues that may not be apparent to management and address them before they escalate. We are often engaged before management makes significant decisions involving terminations and other adverse employment actions, policy changes, implementing restrictive covenants, issues involving protected classes, and for advice on the implication of various state and federal laws on their workforce.
We also encourage our clients to conduct a routine review of employee handbooks, policies, and employment practices so they can respond to changes in both state and federal law.
What locations do you serve, and can you work with us if we have employees outside the State of Illinois?
The majority of our clients are based in greater Chicago and Rockford, but we work with businesses throughout the State of Illinois.
We frequently represent Illinois based companies that have employees outside of the state. We often advise employers on out of state employment matters and coordinate with counsel from other jurisdictions as necessary.
We also represent employers based outside of Illinois in employment matters involving Illinois law.
Can you help us create employment contract templates?
Yes, we routinely create templated contracts for various employee roles.
Do you work with companies that already have in-house counsel or another outside law firm?
Yes we do. Larger organizations will retain our firm for Illinois or federal employment specific guidance.
Do you handle employment agreements involving specialized areas like healthcare or construction?
Yes, we routinely advise employers in the healthcare and construction industries on employment matters, including employment contracts for those particular industries. You can learn more about our involvement in those practices at the links below.
Healthcare
Construction
Do you handle employment issues related to business purchases and sales?
Yes, we are able to advise on employment issues related to the purchase and sale of businesses. You can learn more about our Mergers & Acquisitions practice at the link below.
Mergers & Acquisitions
How are employment matters billed?
The method of billing we use for employment matters depends on the nature of the engagement. We use a variety of alternative fee arrangements such as flat fees, capped hourly fees, fee collars, and other hybrid structures. Our goal is to give our clients as much visibility into anticipated legal cost on the front end as possible. We communicate regularly as the matter progresses about scope, timing, and fees so our clients understand how the work is progressing and are not surprised by legal bills.
What happens after we decide to move forward?
Once you have decided to engage our firm we will send you an engagement agreement for your review and signature, and set up the agreed payment arrangements.
As soon as those two steps are complete we will reach out to schedule our initial substantive meeting about your matter.
Jordan Emmert | Founder & Attorney
Jordan Emmert is the founder of Small Business Legal Solutions LLC, a boutique Illinois law firm serving employers in greater Chicago and Rockford, and throughout Illinois. Before founding the firm, Jordan practiced at a large regional law firm where he developed substantial experience representing large and mid-market employers in litigation and transactional matters. He later served as in-house corporate counsel for a multi-billion dollar wholesale distributor with thousands of employees. He brings a practical, business focused approach to his legal practice today.