Ep. 33 – Turning Workplace Conflict into Opportunity with Amy M. Gardner
Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges
Release Date: 03/26/2025
Ep. 35 – Mental Health & Non-Competes in Illinois
Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges
Earlier this year, an amendment to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act invalidated non-compete clauses that would make it more difficult for a veteran or first responder to obtain mental health services. Without timely access to proper mental health care, these groups are at a higher risk of developing conditions like PTSD from their line of work. Partner Amit Bindra unpacks the new amendment with Operations Manager Angelia Salgado, a licensed professional counsel (PLC) who holds a master's in clinical mental health counseling. They discuss the law from the perspectives of both the legal field...
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Ep. 34 – Why Did We Join an Amicus Brief Challenging an Executive Order?
Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges
After the Trump Administration issued an executive order targeting Perkins Coie, we signed on to an amicus brief in support of the firm’s lawsuit challenging the order. Since then, the administration has gone after three more firms, making collective action even more necessary to protect the rule of law. Prinz partners Kristen Prinz and Amit Bindra provide context around the executive orders and explain why they decided to add their voices to this critical lawsuit. Why are these firms being targeted? Are these executive orders constitutional? What exactly is an amicus brief? Kristen...
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Ep. 33 – Turning Workplace Conflict into Opportunity with Amy M. Gardner
Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges
Business attorney Katie Rinkus welcomes Amy M. Gardner to the mic to discuss common ways they see conflict show up in the workplace. Amy is a certified Career and Career Transitions Coach and Team Development and Leadership Consultant and the co-owner of Apochromatik, which offers team and leadership development programs to help organizations resolve conflict and reach their goals. One of the primary causes of conflict in the workplace is a poor culture: there is a lack of vulnerability-based trust that leads people to feel undervalued and unable to speak up or to ask for...
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Ep. 32 – Illinois' New Employment Laws of 2025
Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges
Illinois has seen several new employment laws take effect since the beginning of 2025. Prinz’s marketing manager and employment paralegal Matt Tedeschi joins employment attorney and business counselor Katie Rinkus to recap some of the most significant changes and what they mean for both employees and employers. From minimum wage increases to an expansion of the Illinois Human Rights Act and new whistleblower protections, these new changes will have wide-ranging impacts on workplaces and employment litigation for years to come. Drawing upon interactions they’ve had with Prinz clients...
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Ep. 31 – Advance Your Job Search & Career Growth with Carmelina Piedra
Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges
Are you looking for a new role or hoping to advance beyond your current one? Certified Career Coach and Facilitator Carmelina Piedra joins attorney Katie Rinkus to discuss what you can do to take that next step and succeed! Carmelina offers a host of tips for those wishing to make a career transition, based on her many years of experience coaching job seekers and professionals in numerous sectors. She focuses on the significance of a positive mindset and relationship-building, including online through LinkedIn or by networking in person. Anyone who has secured a new job knows...
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Ep. 30 – The ABCs of Business Entities
Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges
You’re starting a new venture and it’s time to finally create your business as a formal legal entity, but what kind of entity do you choose: a corporation, an LLC, something else? Business counselors Katie Rinkus and Kristen Prinz decode the major differences among sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and LLCs, providing insight into the benefits and drawbacks of each. Katie and Kristen touch upon how to reduce personal liability, various tax classifications, and the differences among such roles as managers, shareholders, and officers. More than anything, they stress...
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Ep. 29 – How to Avoid Misclassifying Workers
Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges
Business clients routinely ask our attorneys whether their workers are actual employees or instead function as independent contractors (ICs). Drawing upon their expertise as employment and business lawyers, Katie Rinkus and Poonam Lakhani discuss the differences between employees and ICs, and why it’s so important for businesses to properly classify their workers. Katie and Poonam briefly touch upon the laws and agencies that regulate these distinctions, before moving on to why businesses might prefer to use ICs over regular employees. Then they address the legal and financial risks...
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Ep. 28 – The Current State of Remote Work
Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges
Business attorney and advisor Katie Rinkus welcomes Corbin Beastrom to the mic to discuss the current reality of remote work. Corbin is founder of Illyrian Group, a fully remote professional search company. But there’s a plot twist: he prefers to work most days in an office setting. Katie probes Corbin’s own professional path and his current approach to work, before they consider whether fully in-person, hybrid, or remote work is best for business and for recruitment. Corbin provides insight into what candidates are looking for in their job search, and whether there are any...
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Ep. 27 – The WNBA & Pregnancy Discrimination
Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges
Three-time WNBA All-Star Dearica Hamby has sued the WNBA and her former team, the Las Vegas Aces, for pregnancy discrimination. Shortly after securing the Aces' first WNBA Championship and signing a two-year contract extension with the team, Hamby revealed she was pregnant. Within months of her disclosure, Hamby was told she was being traded and losing certain employment-related benefits. Alleging violations of Title VII and Nevada state law, Hamby has opened discussion about pregnancy and discrimination in women’s professional sports. At the same time, her suit recalls how women’s...
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Ep. 26 – Non-Compete Changes at the State Level
Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges
While the Federal Trade Commission’s non-compete ban languishes in litigation limbo, various states are continuing to modify their regulation of non-competes. Employment attorneys and business counselors Amit Bindra and Katie Rinkus discuss a variety of recent state-level changes taking place nationwide, from Maine to California. Tune in for a run-down of these developments. Stay Connected & Learn More:
info_outlineBusiness attorney Katie Rinkus welcomes Amy M. Gardner to the mic to discuss common ways they see conflict show up in the workplace. Amy is a certified Career and Career Transitions Coach and Team Development and Leadership Consultant and the co-owner of Apochromatik, which offers team and leadership development programs to help organizations resolve conflict and reach their goals.
One of the primary causes of conflict in the workplace is a poor culture: there is a lack of vulnerability-based trust that leads people to feel undervalued and unable to speak up or to ask for help. Conflict is also commonly seen in the hiring and onboarding process. Sometimes decisions to hire are rushed, job duties are not what were originally promised, and communication is simply unclear.
Because culture issues, lack of communication, and conflict can, as Amy says, “cost money and happiness,” it’s important for organizations to address these issues. Ongoing training—not just for management but for entire teams—can help things run more smoothly no matter the conflict flashpoint, especially when a team is trained on navigating difficult conversations.
Join Katie and Amy as they unpack conflict at work and how to best respond to it so that we all can make work better for each other.
Amy M. Gardner
Amy M. Gardner works with law firms and corporations to reengage teams and help them thrive by utilizing Apochromatik’s proprietary Team Driven Leadership approach to build leadership skills, improve relationships, strengthen emotional intelligence, have difficult conversations, and more. She also works with lawyers to advance or transition in their careers.
Her work with teams and lawyers draws on her unique experience as a former Big Law associate, partner at a mid-size Chicago firm, and dean of students at the University of Chicago Law School. She received her MA in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University, JD from the University of Chicago, and BA from Luther College, as well as certifications in team and leadership coaching, 1:1 coaching, and various assessments. Her expertise has been featured in media including numerous podcasts, ABA publications, Corporette, Glassdoor, Health, Monster, NBC, and Women’s Running magazine. Connect with Amy at [email protected].
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