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Chicago Workplace Lawyer |
An experienced lawyer who represents employees and whistleblowers, Ronald B. Schwartz concentrates his legal practice on behalf of executives and employees in general. Schwartz is a former Law Professor. He practices in the areas of retaliation/whistleblower law, overtime Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Family and Medical Leave (FMLA), Retaliatory Discharge, In addition, Schwartz's law firm, Katz Friedman, has an extensive State of Illinois workers' compensation practice representing injured workers. In 2008, Schwartz attended his fourth Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Conference (TAF) in Washington, D.C. TAF is a public interest organization dedicated to combating fraud against Government through False Claims Acts and their qui tam provisions. Schwartz has written two United States Supreme Court amicus briefs. [PDF]. Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa is a unanimous landmark decision in employment and evidence law. Schwartz also wrote an amicus brief [PDF] in a Family and Medical Leave Act case before the High Court. Mr. Schwartz has been practing law since 1980. He was the Chair of the Labor and Employment Practice Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. He is a founding member of the National Employment Lawyers Association's Illinois affiliate, NELA/Illinois. He supports Workplace Fairness. He is a former Chair of the Chicago Bar Ass'n Civil Rights Committee. Mr. Schwartz frequently provides speeches and presentations. Schwartz is licensed to practice law in Illinois. He is also qualified as a member of the federal trial bar, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court of the United States. If you have a legal claim against your former or current employer, he encourages you to call him at Katz Friedman at (312)263-6330. We will briefly discuss whether a meeting should be scheduled in our office. We will not provide legal advice by email or by phone until we have established a confidential or attorney-client relationship. A referral may be made to another experienced law firm approved by Mr. Schwartz and Katz Friedman.
 Map for 77 W. Washington St., 20th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60602. NOTICE: An employee has a duty to mitigate damages (seek similar work at similar pay).
IMPORTANT WHISTLEBLOWER INFORMATIONThe Illinois Whistleblower Act provides employees expanded protection against retaliation. Here's a summary of this new employee protection. The federal False Claims Act (FCA) is the most feared whistleblower law in the United States. Persons with personal knowledge of a fraud on the federal government can report it through the FCA’s procedures. If the government collects from the fraudulent contractor, the whistleblower shares in the proceeds. The law contains a qui tam provision which permits “original sources” (whistleblowers) to file suit under seal (secretly) on behalf of the U.S. to recover damages incurred by the federal government as a result of contractor fraud or other false claims. The whistleblower is entitled to a significant portion of the proceeds, if there is a recovery. The whistleblower must comply with the specific procedures of the FCA to be eligible for a monetary award. The FCA also contains an anti-retaliation provision prohibiting the discharge or harassment of a whistleblower who acts in furtherance of making protected disclosures or filing a qui tam suit. Section (h) permits the whistleblower to file a wrongful discharge suit for double back pay, other damages, and attorney's fees. Illinois has a similar False Claim Act. Also, Illinois law allows whistleblowers to bring lawsuits on behalf of private insurers and receive a percentage of the recovery. Chicago has also adopted its own false claim law. WorkplaceLawyeris designed, coded and maintained by Ron Schwartz, a lawyer at Katz, Friedman, Eagle, Eisenstein, Johnson & Bareck. Click the image for information about Mr. Schwartz's experience using computers. Revised: 6/21/2009
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