Posted on November 14, 2024 in Sexual Harassment

While most of us are generally more aware of sexual harassment in the workplace and have a solid understanding of what is acceptable and not acceptable, behavior at holiday parties is less clear. The holiday season is almost here, and many look forward to fun and relaxation at the company holiday office party.

While the intentions of holiday office parties are usually good, the presence of alcohol in a relaxed atmosphere can lead to sexual misconduct. The question then arises as to whether sexual misconduct at a holiday office party is considered workplace sexual harassment. If you were sexually harassed at a holiday office party, speak to a knowledgeable Wheaton, IL sexual harassment lawyer from Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC.

What Are Some Types of Sexual Misconduct Often Seen at Holiday Office Parties?

While any number of things can happen at a holiday office party that rises to the level of sexual misconduct, consider the following:

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 Posted on November 14, 2024 in Divorce

Sherwood Schwartz, the creator of Gilligan’s Island, happened to read an article in The Los Angeles Times in 1966 that mentioned that 30 percent of all American marriages had one or more children from a prior marriage. Schwartz’s next television creation was The Brady Bunch, a show about a husband and wife with children from previous marriages.

Blending the two families made for an entertaining television show while highlighting some of the more complex aspects of a blended family, although whether Mike and Carol had a postnuptial agreement was never a topic. Today, more than 50 percent of U.S. families are blended families, with more than 50 percent of children under the age of 13 living primarily with one biological parent and that parent’s new partner.

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 Posted on November 14, 2024 in Family Law

Perhaps your child is now a teenager and is refusing to spend time with his or her other parent. This could be because the teen and the other parent do not get along well, the teen has many extracurricular activities and does not want to take the time, or a myriad of other reasons.

Regardless of the reason, what can a parent with court-ordered parenting time do when his or her teen continues to miss scheduled times? What about the primary residential parent? Is he or she responsible for making the teen spend designated parenting time with the other parent?

As any parent of a teenager knows, it can be difficult to make a teenager do something he or she does not want to do. Spending time with a resentful, sullen teenager can be just as painful as not seeing him or her at all. If you are facing this type of situation, it is time to speak to a knowledgeable Wheaton, IL parenting time lawyer from Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC.  

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 Posted on October 24, 2024 in Family Law

A Cook County divorce court judge has jailed a man for two years because he refused to pay his ex-wife a court-ordered settlement of $10 million. Although the man has maintained he does not have the money, the judge remains unmoved. The man is now attempting to persuade a state appeals panel to allow him to trade his jail cell for home confinement.

During the past 27 months the Illinois man has spent in jail, there have been no evidence-based findings on whether the man's contempt charge and subsequent jailing are coercive, or primarily punitive. Civil judges, including family law judges, are not allowed to take punitive actions to persuade an individual to pay a court-ordered settlement.

Under the final divorce decree, filed in 2011, the court determined the man was worth about $7.3 million and that the couple’s marital property included 320,000 shares of stock. While the court found that a portion of the shares were held separately from marital assets, it ordered 140,000 shares to be liquidated, and the proceeds given to the wife.

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 Posted on October 24, 2024 in Family Law

Forty of the most elite colleges across the United States are facing allegations that they overcharged students whose parents are divorced. The lawsuit was recently filed in an Illinois federal court, and while it is not currently a class action lawsuit, there is a push to make it a class action suit to account for the number of students who were allegedly harmed. The lawsuit alleges the non-profit College Board conspired with universities to artificially inflate what students were charged based on an examination of the assets of noncustodial parents (those with parenting time rather than the primary residential parent).

Dartmouth, MIT, Yale, Brown, Georgetown, and Harvard are among the universities facing allegations of collusion and price fixing in this antitrust lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, in 2006, the College Board began pushing universities to agree to consider the income and assets of noncustodial parents when making determinations of financial aid. At least 20,000 students have been negatively impacted over the past two decades by this practice. Some universities required that noncustodial parents provide financial information, thus increasing the amounts the students were required to pay.

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 Posted on October 24, 2024 in Sexual Harassment

Hospitality workers – those who work in the food and beverage service and motel/hotel industries – face more incidences of sexual harassment than any other profession. In addition to employing a vulnerable demographic (young and often female), there are unique workplace risks and low confidence in protections from employers. Sexual harassment is pervasive in this industry, impacting not only individual victims but also entire organizations.  

A Cornell University study found that those who work in industries with high levels of sexual harassment have a more difficult time identifying inappropriate workplace behavior. In other words, it occurs so often among certain industries and certain demographics that those who experience sexual harassment have, unfortunately, grown used to it. More sexual harassment claims are filed in the restaurant industry than any other, with as many as 90 percent of women and 70 percent of men reporting they have experienced some form of sexual harassment. That 90 percent compares to 30 percent of women in other industries.

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 Posted on October 09, 2024 in Family Law

If you are receiving court-ordered spousal maintenance from your ex – or are in the middle of divorce proceedings and expect to receive spousal support – when you hear that they are filing for bankruptcy, it can be alarming, to say the least. You may wonder whether your ex will be required to continue to pay your spousal support payments even though they are filing for bankruptcy.

How could the bankruptcy affect child support or even the division of assets if your divorce is ongoing? The timing of the bankruptcy will have some bearing on the level of financial impact you could be dealing with. It will also be helpful to contact a knowledgeable Wheaton, IL spousal maintenance attorney from Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC to discuss the specifics of your situation.

If I Am Still Married, Does My Spouse Need My Cooperation to File for Bankruptcy?

Suppose you have just filed for divorce. In response, your spouse immediately files for bankruptcy. How will this affect a potential order for spousal support, child support, and the division of marital assets? Your spouse does not need your cooperation to file for bankruptcy. This means that while issues regarding child support and the allocation of parental responsibilities will not be affected by the bankruptcy, the division of marital assets and spousal support could be.  

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 Posted on October 09, 2024 in Family Law

Some of the most critical issues in a divorce involve the allocation of parental responsibilities, formerly known in Illinois as child custody. The parents may share parental responsibilities, with the child living more or less equally with both parents, or one parent will be designated as the primary residential parent while the other will have less parenting time. The court will consider a number of factors when determining parental responsibilities.

The overarching theme will always be the best interests of the child. But what happens when children express a clear preference on which parent they want to live with? Does this impact how the judge will determine parental responsibilities? If you find yourself in this situation, it can be hurtful to find that your child does not want to primarily live with you.

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 Posted on October 09, 2024 in Sexual Harassment

Most women will almost certainly find it disheartening to know that the 10th Annual Women in the Workplace report found sexual harassment in the workplace is just as common for women today as it was five years ago. Despite the fact that women in the United States now constitut half the labor market and almost six in 10 college graduates, many women still face sexual harassment in the workplace.

Despite the #MeToo movement to improve the workplace for women, significant challenges remain. Sexual harassment remains commonplace in companies across America, with a staggering 40 percent of working women experiencing some form of sexual harassment. Currently, women under 30 are just as likely to experience sexual harassment in the workplace as those over the age of 30, and only about half of the women surveyed expressed confidence that an employer would take steps to deal with the sexual harassment.  

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 Posted on September 26, 2024 in Divorce

In long and particularly contentious divorces, a spouse who is entitled to an equitable portion of the other spouse’s retirement may be so tired of the asset division arguments and so ready to have the divorce over and done that he or she may choose to walk away from a share of the retirement fund. This is virtually always a mistake. For most average couples, the marital home and the retirement accounts of either or both spouses are the most valuable assets.

It is important to think about the future and what your finances will look like down the road before you give up an important marital asset. Especially if you are in your 50s or 60s, you may not have as much time to work and build up your own retirement fund. If you have any questions regarding what your share of your spouse’s retirement fund may be, discuss the issue with your Wheaton, IL asset division lawyer from Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC.  

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