Total Credits: 1.25
The panelists in this session will discuss:
• How vaccine policies and requirements are addressed in the context of the Illinois Human Rights Act, including the application of the reasonable accommodation provisions for medical or religious reasons.
• The panelists perspectives and experiences about the legal obligations under the IELRA and IPLRA related to mandatory bargaining obligations concerning vaccination policies.
• The legal developments related to the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act and court decisions involving legal challenges to denial of accommodation requests, employee privacy and constitutional grounds.
Mary M. (Betsey) Madden joined the Illinois Department of Human Rights in November 2017 as the agency’s Chief Legal Counsel and Ethics Officer. She advises the agency’s Director and staff in enforcement of the Illinois Human Rights Act and oversees the work of the Legal Division. She previously served as Personnel Counsel at the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, where she had responsibility for employment litigation matters and providing legal representation before the Department of Human Rights, Illinois Human Rights Commission and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Within the State government, Ms. Madden also served for three years as Deputy Inspector General at the Office of Executive Inspector General (OEIG), where she managed the work of attorneys and investigators on matters under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Prior to the OEIG, she spent eight years as an Assistant Attorney General at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, representing the interests of the State in employment litigation matters. In addition to her experience defending employment discrimination claims on behalf of the State, she also worked for several years in a small plaintiff-side employment litigation practice. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Madden was a Federal Investigator with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in their Chicago and Washington, D.C. offices. She is a graduate of Brown University and the Hamline University School of Law.
Jill O’Brien is an Equity Partner at Laner Muchin, Ltd. She is a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee and the firm’s Hiring Chairperson. Throughout her 30 years of practice with Laner Muchin, Ltd., her practice has focused on the representation of public and private sector employers in a wide variety of labor relations and employment matters, including collective bargaining negotiations, grievance handling, mediation and interest arbitration hearings. She also defends employers in employment disputes and labor proceedings in court and before agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Illinois Department of Human Rights, Illinois Human Rights Commission, Chicago Human Rights Commission, the Illinois Department of Labor, and the National Labor Relations Board. She also counsels employers and offers management training programs concerning day-to-day labor and employment and human resource issues such as terminations, disciplinary issues, leaves of absence, policy issues, wage and hour issues. She received a B.S. in law enforcement administration from Western Illinois University and a J.D. from John Marshall Law School.
Mr. Roan is Chief of Staff for SEIU Local 73, where he advises the executive leadership team that represents 30,000 workers in Illinois and Indiana. Local 73 represents service, clerical, technical and professional workers primarily in the public sector in Illinois and Indiana who are employed in state government, local government, school districts, publicly funded social service agencies and colleges and universities. Previously, Mr. Roan worked for over a decade in Local 73’s legal department as counsel and general counsel, where he oversaw the comprehensive legal strategy of the union and handled hundreds of cases before arbitrators, in court, and before labor boards and other administrative bodies. Mr. Roan is a 2008 graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law, and a 2005 graduate of the University of Illinois at Springfield.