As of January 1, 2022, Illinois employers are more limited in their ability to bind employees to non-competition and non-solicitation agreements. These changes stem from a recent amendment to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act,...more
Can an employee working for an Illinois company bust their non-compete by resigning after 1 year and 364 days of employment? The new year brought with it an attempt by the State of Illinois to resolve that question with a...more
Joining a recent slew of other states, Illinois recently enacted a new law limiting the use of restrictive covenants and codified existing case law around their enforcement and interpretation. ...more
It’s no secret that Illinois courts have historically been less than friendly to restrictive covenants, and non-compete agreements in particular. On August 13, 2021, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law Public Act 102-0358,...more
Non-compete and non-solicitation agreements (“restrictive covenants”) can be a helpful tool for protecting a business, as they allow employers to restrict their employees’ ability to seek employment with competitors and/or...more
The Illinois General Assembly has enacted sweeping changes to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act, 820 ILCS § 90, et seq. (the “Act”), which will limit the use of covenants not to compete (“non-competes”) and covenants not to...more
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to soon sign into law a bill that will make significant changes to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act and affect the enforceability of employee non-competition provisions. The General...more
The Illinois General Assembly passed a major bill on May 31, 2021, that further limits and clarifies the circumstances in which restrictive covenants can be enforced against Illinois employees. Governor J. B. Pritzker is...more
In recent years, many states have enacted legislation directed at employment contracts containing non-compete and non-solicitation clauses. Illinois first did so in 2016 with the Freedom to Work Act (the Act), which bans...more
Employers who require all employees to sign a form non-competition agreement regardless of the state in which the employee is located or the type of work performed by the employee should think twice before doing so. Recent...more
Spotlight on Whistleblower Protections - On October 24, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a “risk alert” regarding SEC registrants’ compliance with Rule 21 F-17, which implements Section 21F of...more
Non-compete agreements have long been used by employers as an effective tool to protect their valuable trade secrets and confidential information. However, employers’ overuse of non-compete agreements and employers’ practice...more
Governor Bruce Rauner has signed into law the Illinois Freedom to Work Act, prohibiting private sector employers from requiring their “low-wage employees” to sign non-compete agreements. The Act takes effect on January 1,...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