On July 3, 2024, Judge Ada Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a limited, preliminary injunction barring the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) from enforcing its controversial Final Rule...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Lack of Authority ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Set-Asides ,
Statutory Authority ,
Texas
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued its Final Rule banning employers from imposing post-employment noncompete requirements on their workers (the “Final Rule”). The FTC has indicated that it will...more
5/1/2024
/ Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Tax Exempt Entities
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) voted 3-2 to issue its final rule (“Final Rule”) banning employers from imposing noncompete clauses on their workers, approving the final rule in a special Open...more
4/25/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
In a victory for the plaintiffs’ bar, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that all claims under Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq., are subject to a five-year statute of...more
2/3/2023
/ Biometric Information ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Class Action ,
Data Collection ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
IL Supreme Court ,
Stays ,
Written Consent
The New Year will usher in several new Illinois employment laws. These laws cover a myriad of topics and will require revisions to employee handbooks and general employment policies....more
12/13/2022
/ Bereavement Leave ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Human Rights Act ,
Leave of Absence ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
The Seventh Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of a former employee and his new employer on claims for misappropriation of trade secrets relating to a prototype of an actuator created eleven years prior,...more
Following a nationwide trend, Illinois has proposed significant legislation affecting employee restrictive covenants, such as non-compete agreements. While the proposed law does not dramatically change most aspects of the...more
As if 2020 hasn’t caused enough hardship and headaches for employers already, the FBI and U.S. Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) recently issued a joint Cybersecurity Advisory Alert warning employers about...more
8/31/2020
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Cybertheft ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Phone-Hacking Scandal ,
Remote Working ,
Security Breach ,
Virtual Private Networks
As we wrote earlier this year, every employer with employees working in Illinois is required to provide employees with sexual harassment prevention training that complies with the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”). The...more
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently issued a joint statement (the “COVID-19 Statement”) regarding what constitutes lawful “procompetitive collaborations” between companies to...more
On March 27, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) into law. The CARES Act is the most expansive economic stimulus package in American history. The Act...more
4/2/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retention ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Paid Leave ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Retirement Funds ,
SBA ,
Small Business Loans ,
Social Security Taxes ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Insurance
On March 20, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a mandatory “Stay-at-Home” Order, located here, directing all Illinois residents to stay home or at their place of residence. The Order takes effect beginning...more
The New Year brings new laws for Illinois employers. Some laws go into effect this Summer, while others are effective as of this month. For employers who have not yet revised handbooks, policies and agreements, the time is...more
1/10/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Casinos ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Workweek ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Human Rights ,
Human Rights Act ,
Human Trafficking ,
Interviews ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The various laws, statutes, and policies governing non-compete agreements are nuanced, inconsistent, and sometimes downright contradictory from state-to-state. The issue of consideration is no different. Like other...more
On August 19, 2016, Governor Bruce Rauner officially signed into law the Illinois Freedom to Work Act (the “Act”), with an effective date of January 1, 2017. The Act, while short and to the point, will have a significant...more
9/8/2016
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Contract ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Freedom To Work Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Wage and Hour
The Defend Trade Secrets Act (the “DTSA”), the first of its kind at the federal level, has been passed in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Now, the DTSA merely awaits President Obama’s expected signature to...more
5/10/2016
/ Asset Seizure ,
Confidential Information ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
Ex Parte ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Pending Legislation ,
Private Right of Action ,
Trade Secrets ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
Sheppard Mullin invites you to the second in a series of breakfast briefings in our Chicago office addressing domestic and global employment law developments, legislation, and trends affecting the workplace. Each briefing...more
Last week, in Mach Mining, LLC v. EEOC, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Title VII authorizes judicial review of the EEOC’s efforts to satisfy its statutory duty to conciliate before filing suit against an employer. ...more
Ban the Box -
Joining the current “Ban the Box” trend, effective January 1, 2015, the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act prohibits Illinois employers from asking job applicants about their criminal record...more
The rights of employees under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act have been given quite the digital treatment over the last few years. In its newest decision issued on December 11, 2014, the National Labor...more