For the second year, the St. Louis Business Journal recognizes local companies that make significant charitable contributions in our region. The 37 Corporate Philanthropy Award finalists contributed nearly $97 million combined in 2018. The HesseMartone firm is honored to be recognized among the finalists as a company that is making an impact in the St. Louis community.
On November 8, winners will be announced at an awards breakfast. In tandem with this event, the Giving Guide from the Business Journal will be published on the same date. Tickets for the event are available now. Join us in celebrating the generosity of St. Louis!
Friday November 8, 2019 7:30am to 9:00am Marriott West Hotel
Thank you to the St. Louis Business Journal for recognizing the giving spirit of our region.
Andy Martone, President and CEO of HesseMartone, has again been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for his work in:
Employment Law (Management); Labor Law (Management); and Litigation-Labor and Employment.
The Best Lawyers in America has been published since 1983 and utilizes a peer review process to select honorees. Andy has practiced labor and employment law for 30 years, and he will appear in the 2020 Edition.
Please join the Hesse Martone team in supporting Missouri’s construction industry leaders at the AGC Missouri Construction Awards Gala. We are (of course) a bar sponsor for this event. Save the date!
Saturday, November 4th at 6:00 pm River City Casino
Three different awards are given to recognize solutions to unique obstacles (Keystone Award), industry leaders of specific disciplines (Specialty Contractor), and innovative projects with a lasting societal impact (Keystone Heritage).
Past Recipients of the Heritage Award include:
2018 The Fabulous Fox Theatre
2017 Al Fleischer & Dick Mantia
2016 Bagnell Dam
2015 Missouri Botanical Gardens
2014 Forest Park
2013 Initial Mile of the Interstate Highway System
Fewer than one-half percent of active attorneys in the US receive this honor.
To be considered, an attorney must have litigated a matter with the fate of a business worth a minimum of $2,000,000 at stake. Candidates are further screened based on professional experience, litigation experience, significant business litigation case results, peer reputation, and community impact.
Andy and the HesseMartone team are proud and grateful to be recognized for their efforts.
Allison Ray, a paralegal at our firm, will be joining the staff of the Office of General Counsel at the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office in October 2019.
Allison joined Hesse Martone in 2015 and has been an invaluable addition to our firm’s office in Springfield, IL. With her assistance and determination, the Springfield office has grown, and our clients have been enriched by her hard work. We greatly appreciate Allison’s time with Hesse Martone, and we congratulate Allison on her new position. We wish her the very best at the Illinois Secretary of State!
HesseMartone has a long history of charitable contribution, and we are proud to support our employees who strive both inside and outside the Firm to make a difference in our communities.
Marney
Cullen, litigation paralegal, has been elected to the national Board of
Directors for The RESCU Foundation, Inc.
The RESCU Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which
promotes and helps maintain the physical and mental health and well-being of
the artists, entertainers and service personnel who participate in the 300+
renaissance festivals and historical re-enactment events nationwide. RESCU
provides vision and health screenings, wellness and first aid/safety workshops,
and financial assistance for medical and dental care, prescriptions and
short-term housing. RESCU also coordinates a network of medical, dental and
mental health personnel to provide low-cost or pro bono services for festival
participants, and follows all HIPAA guidelines for client privacy, acting
quickly to provide needed care with compassion and understanding.
Joining HesseMartone in 2015, Marney has spent several decades as an artist and entertainer at renaissance faires and celtic festivals across the United States. She has been a familiar face to visitors at The St. Louis Renaissance Festival since in 2008, where she has also spent time volunteering and providing coordination for RESCU’s fund-raising events. As a member of RESCU’s national board, Marney’s primary responsibilities will be working with the Programs Committee to develop a cohesive program of well-woman and mother/baby services and to establish a network of screening programs and accessible resources for participants’ children coping with learning disabilities. She will also be working with the Fundraising Committee providing oversight of fund-raising efforts nationwide. For more information about The RESCU Foundation, Inc., please visit www.RESCU.org.
On March
7, 2019, U.S. Department of Labor issued its much-anticipated proposed overtime
rule raising the salary-level threshold for exempt employees from the current
$23,660 to $35,308. If the Rule becomes
effective, employees currently classified as “exempt” but making less than
$35,308 will be reclassified as nonexempt and therefore eligible for overtime
pay.
In
evaluating how this Rule will impact its workplace, Employers can take solace
in the fact that the Rule makes no change to the traditional “duties” tests,
which would have potentially required a much more complex evaluation of all
exempt positions. Under the Rule as
proposed, Employers can focus their assessment on whether it makes sense to
raise the salary above the threshold for any given position or to change the
status of a position to nonexempt and accept that overtime pay will be required.
On February 19, 2019, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed amendments to the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) into law, increasing the state minimum wage in stages from the current $8.25 to $15.00 per hour by January 1, 2025.
While this action was anticipated, Employers should not overlook other important changes to the IMWL. Damages recoverable by employees for violations of the IMWL have been sharply increased and there are substantial fines and penalties that can be assessed by the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL).
The amendments also authorize the IDOL to conduct random audits of employers.
HesseMartone welcomes experienced
attorney Mary Osborn as head of the Firm’s new Illinois office
(Rockford/Chicago) and Special Counsel to the Firm. Mary’s primary practice areas are labor and
employment law, representing management and public sector employers. Mary is an SHRM-CP and has taught Human
Resource Management at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois. Mary has 27 years of experience as in-house
counsel and in private practice.
Prior to joining Hesse Martone, Mary was
Assistant General Counsel for a multi-national construction materials
company. In this role, she was lead
counsel for labor relations issues and primary counsel relating to review and
negotiation of commercial contracts.
Mary was also in private practice as one of the founding partners of an
Illinois management side labor law firm.
Mary is admitted to practice in the State of Illinois
and before the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Illinois and the United States District Court of Appeals for the Seventh
Circuit. Mary received her undergraduate
degree from Rockford University f/k/a Rockford College and her Juris Doctorate
from Northern Illinois University School of Law
On March 6, 2019, HesseMartone CEO Andy Martone will present a program and lead a discussion on preparing for and managing a benefit fund audit at the Southern Illinois Builders Association (“SIBA”) and Southern Illinois Construction Advancement Program (“SICAP”) Lunch and Learn.
The
purpose of this program is to assist employers in preparing for, dealing with
and surviving multi-employer benefit fund audits.
