Sylvia Bokyung St. Clair devotes her legal career to representing and counseling employers in all facets of employment law. She regularly defends companies in employment litigation, including representing employers throughout the country in complex employment cases arising from federal and state specific laws.

Sylvia’s passion for employee relations and human resources comes from working in two family-run businesses (a restaurant and a dry cleaner) and her decade-long career in hospitality management (hotels, restaurants and a race track) where she developed standard operating procedures and guest services’ excellence standards. She and her hotel staff were widely recognized for outstanding guest services scores and guests’ loyalty. Sylvia oversaw new hotel openings, brand transitions and seasonal hotel closings.

Sylvia is regularly featured in Hotel News Now, an online resource for hotel operators and managers, and she co-publishes employer alerts on Illinois law updates including the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

Employment Litigation

Sylvia has experience defending employers under:

• Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
• The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Title VII and Section 1981
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
• The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)
• New York Human Rights Law (NYHRL)
• Other state and federal anti-discrimination, wage and hour, whistleblower, and anti-retaliation laws
• Complex, class actions and systematic litigation
• Restrictive covenants, non-competes and non-solicitation provisions in employment agreements

Sylvia has represented employers in jurisdictions throughout the country, as well as before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR), Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL), and other state and local agencies.

Employment Counseling

Sylvia counsels employers regarding employment practices, including issues related to hiring practices, background checks, classification issues, workplace privacy and non-discrimination. Sylvia also prepares and reviews employment agreement policies, including employment contracts, separation agreements, employee handbooks, and non-competition and confidentiality agreements.