Rachel L. Schaller

Rachel partners with clients to develop winning strategies, solving employment-related issues while minimizing business disruption and expense. An accomplished litigator, she advises and defends public and private entities concerning a variety of complex employment matters, including class and collective actions, wage and hour violations, discrimination claims, and pattern or practice litigation.

With deep experience conducting internal investigations, Rachel also serves clients by developing innovative approaches to internal and government investigations, and early dispute resolution.

Rachel received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and her J.D. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. She was on the Dean’s List for both schools and was the associate editor for the Journal of International and Comparative Law during law school.

Rachel is honored as an Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star for Employment and Labor Law and as one of Best Lawyers’ “Ones to Watch.”

• “Pregnancy Bias Ruling May Offer Road Map For ADA Cases,” Law360, Aug. 23, 2022.
• Co-Author, “Safeguarding Your Company’s Trade Secrets During the Great Resignation,” The Illinois Manufacturer (April 2022)
• “Employers’ Growing Cannabis Concerns,” Workforce.com (Jan. 31, 2020) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Washington State Joins Noncompete Law Parade,” Workforce.com (Jan. 22, 2020) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Opting in on Pending Collective Action,” Workforce.com (Nov. 27, 2019) (with co-author Allison Czerniak)
• “Jimmy John’s No-Poach Policy Leaves Bad Taste,” Workforce.com (Sept. 27, 2019) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Arbitration Clauses Can Cause a Rift,” Workforce.com (Sept. 19, 2019) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Individual Vs. Class Action a Cost Consideration,” Workforce.com (July 25, 2019) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Testing: Contractors in the Virtual Marketplace,” Workforce.com (July 19, 2019) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Bridging the Wage Gap: Illinois Likely to Become the Eleventh State to Ban Pay History Inquiries,” Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (June 18, 2019)
• “FMLA Leave: Designate Early and Often” Workforce.com (June 2, 2019) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Stalker Costs Costco in Bulk” Workforce.com (May 30, 2019) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “A Limited Definition of Concerted Activity,” Workforce.com (April 1, 2019) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “An Unfair Competition Claim”  Workforce.com (Mar. 26, 2019) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Busting the Home-State Advantage Regarding Wrongful Workplace Acts” Workforce.com (Feb. 5, 2019) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Public Sector Employers and Age Discrimination” Workforce.com (Jan. 29, 2019) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Supervisor’s Unchecked Sexual Harassment,” Workforce.com (Nov. 27, 2018) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Every Minute Counts in California for Employee Compensation,” Workforce.com (Nov. 26, 2018) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Biometric Data Clocks Out in Court,” Workforce.com (Sept. 14, 2018) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Identifying Independent Contractors Versus Employees,” Workforce.com (Sept. 10, 2018) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Emailing Employees on FMLA Leave,” Workforce.com (July 30, 2018) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Supervisor Says Sorry for Boorish Behavior,” Workforce.com (July 27, 2018) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “How to Navigate Employee Salary History Through the Equal Pay Act,” The Illinois Manufacturer (Summer 2018) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Nosy Employers and Personal Email Accounts,” Workforce.com (May 31, 2018) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Are Pay History Inquires… History?,” Workforce.com (May 30, 2018) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Supreme Court Okays Class Action Waivers in Mandatory Arbitration,” The Illinois Manufacturer (Spring 2018) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “Can Employers Rely on Federal Ban on Cannabis?,” Workforce.com, Mar. 22, 2018 (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “The Case of the Vanishing Stock Option,” Workforce.com (Mar. 20, 2018) (with co-author Daniel Saeedi)
• “ADA Doesn’t Guarantee More Leave Beyond FMLA,” Workforce.com (Feb. 2, 2018) (with co-author Heather Jackson)
• “Hot Latte with a Shot of Notice and Chance of Dispute,” Workforce.com (Jan. 2, 2018) (with co-author Heather Jackson)
• “Delivering Holiday Bonuses? Remember These Rules,” Workforce.com (Nov. 14, 2013) (with co-Author Richard Y. Hu)
• “Five Ways to Avoid Problems with Background Checks,” Workforce Magazine, Volume 92, No. 9, p 53, (Sept. 2013) (with co-author Cary E. Donham)
• Chapter 13: Disability; Employment Discrimination Law Fifth Edition, 2013 Supplement, (Chapter Monitor)
• “Credit Card collection Suits; Life Preservers for Illinois Consumers,” Illinois Bar Journal, Vol. 100, No. 7, p360, July 2012 (with co-author Edward J. Halper)