Illinois became the first state in the country to make significant changes to rules regarding individual retirement savings plans (IRAs) for small business workers. The policy changes are expected to have a positive impact on the saving capabilities of the everyday employee, while also protecting companies and states from getting sued, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Currently, about half of U.S. states are considering adopting similar legislation, which at its core will simply make it easier for small businesses to help their employees save for retirement without a great deal of paperwork and formalities. Right now there approximately 68 million workers without access to employee run retirement plans, such as a 401(k).

U.S. Secretary of Labor, Thomas Perez, applauded the state’s efforts as well as the corresponding proposed rule change the Department of Labor itself released at a conference in Chicago on Monday, Nov. 16, according to the investment and financial news source ThinkAdvisor.com.

“Too many people are on the pathway to poverty because they will be solely reliant on Social Security,” Perez said.

Perez also called the changes, “another plank in the economic security platform that President Obama and this administration have been building to help create new savings options, ensure workers are getting sound retirement advice, and bolster bedrock programs such as Social Security.”

The issue is not really relevant to big corporations as most offer extensive, and often lucrative, retirement options. Unfortunately, about 50% of workers in the private sector are employed by one of the nearly 28 million small businesses in the U.S., according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Many of these smaller companies don’t have the means or incentives to offer such services.

These changes mark a turn as states have been reluctant to attempt any changes for fear of being sued through the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which puts the U.S. Department of Labor in charge of regulating retirement plans.

Under the new changes employers will be allowed to automatically enroll employees in IRA plans, so long as they are voluntary and have the option to opt out.

While the entire world is on high-alert in light of recent terrorist attacks in Paris, a misunderstanding at a Chicago airport has left many wondering where the line should be drawn between security and discrimination.

According to the Daily Mail, two Palestinian men were waiting to board a flight from Chicago to Philadelphia in Midway International Airport on Wednesday when fellow passengers overheard them speaking Arabic.

The two men, Maher Khalil and Anas Ayyad, were simply a pizza shop owner from Philadelphia and his friend who were conversing in their native language. A gate agent informed the friends that they would not be allowed on the Southwest flight because passengers feared for their safety.

Khalil immediately called airport security himself to rectify the situation, and after the two were questioned by police, they were finally allowed on the plane.

Unfortunately, the incident didn’t end there. Passengers made Khalil show them the contents of a white box he was holding as he boarded the plane. The box held only some delicious Greek desserts.

“So I shared my baklava with them,” said Khalil.

Similar incidents occur on a regular basis, but the recent tragedy in Paris has left many to assume the worst in airports. An average of eight million people fly every single day, and the likelihood of some passengers speaking Arabic or other Middle Eastern languages is extremely high, which makes detaining every single one of them a questionable tactic.

According to Yahoo! News, there have been several instances of discrimination in airports since the Paris attacks. Midway Airport was the site of another misunderstanding in which six men identified by fellow passengers as Middle Eastern were removed from a Southwest flight after they asked to switch seats, which caused widespread panic and commotion.

In another incident, a Spirit Airlines flight en route to Minneapolis was diverted after a young passenger “heard what she believed to be a conversation during which the subject made a remark about blowing up the plane,” which was later found to be a false claim.

As for the misunderstanding involving Khalil and Ayyad, Southwest Airlines said in a statement that the flight departed after airline employees “completed conversations with customers who approached us during the boarding process.” The company provided no further details on the incident.