Kristin Case
January 8, 2023
Employment Contracts and Agreements, Non-Compete Agreements and Restrictive Covenants, Sexual Harassment and Workplace Violence, Uncategorized
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Happy New Year! All of us at at the Firm took a couple of weeks off to enjoy our families and the holiday season. We hope you did as well.
This first week of the year was looking a little light in workplace news until the end of the week when two interesting pieces of news dropped.
First, on Thursday the …
Kristin Case
July 12, 2021
Employment Contracts and Agreements, Non-Compete Agreements and Restrictive Covenants, Uncategorized
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In 2016, the Illinois legislature passed the Illinois Freedom to Work Act which banned non-competes, one type of restrictive covenants, for employees earning minimum wage or less. If you recall, this Act was a direct response to the Jimmy John’s non-compete debacle. In that instance, the Illinois Attorney General sued Jimmy Johns and the sandwich-maker relented.
While that Act was a good …
Kristin Case
July 24, 2018
Blog, Employment Contracts and Agreements
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The recent arbitration decision could backfire on employers.
The Supreme Court really stuck it to employees in their recent Epic Systems decision. We’ve written about arbitration provisions in general here and why they can be bad for employees. As if giving up your right to a jury trial wasn’t bad enough, arbitration agreements also sometimes contain class action waivers. Employers …
Kendra Kutko
October 12, 2016
Blog, Employment Law, Non-Compete Agreements and Restrictive Covenants
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Illinois Freedom to Work Act Bans Non-Competes for Low-Wage Earners
Illinois lawmakers are on a roll with expanding employee rights. On the heels of enacting several important laws for employees in the past few months, including the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Act and the Child Bereavement Leave Act, our State has continued this positive trend, this time with …
Kendra Kutko
July 5, 2016
Blog, Practical Tips, Severance Agreements
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The Legal Drawbacks of Quitting
To an employee in a bad work environment, quitting seems like an appealing option. Maybe a new boss has joined the company and is stifling your opportunity to advance, holding you to unrealistic expectations, subjecting you to unjustified performance scrutiny, or some combination of any or all of the above. Maybe a coworker or supervisor is …
Kristin Case
June 22, 2016
Blog, Non-Compete Agreements and Restrictive Covenants
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Jimmy Johns says it won’t require low-wage workers to sign non-competes.
In follow up to my post from a couple of weeks ago, the Chicago Sun Times is reporting that Jimmy John’s has agreed to stop forcing their low-wage workers to enter into non-compete agreements. Jimmy John’s required all sandwich makers and freaky-fast delivery drivers to agree not to work for another nearby …
Kristin Case
June 8, 2016
Blog, Employment Contracts and Agreements, Non-Compete Agreements and Restrictive Covenants
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Employers take advantage of vulnerable employees by forcing them to sign unnecessary non-compete agreements
Time Magazine recently ran an article that discussed how non-compete agreements particularly hurt lower-wage earners.
Remember the 2014 controversy surrounding Jimmy John’s forcing their sandwich makers to sign non-compete agreements? That ignited a discussion about the unequal balance of power between employees and employers and particularly …
Kristin Case
April 25, 2016
Blog, Executive Counseling, Practical Tips
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Why you should actually read your employment agreement before you sign!
We recently had an employment agreement related issue arise here at the firm that reminded me how unequal the bargaining power can be in employment relationships. A very large Bank here in Chicago slipped into an equity incentive agreement-a provision which altered the statute of limitations for our …
Kate Sedey
November 25, 2015
Practical Tips, Severance Agreements, Vacation, Wrongful Discharge or Termination
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Notes for Employees Who Have Been Notified that They’re Being Fired
Kristin Case
November 17, 2015
Blog, Disability Benefits, FMLA and ERISA, Employee Benefits, Executive Counseling, Practical Tips, Uncategorized
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In my last post I talked about getting the time off work you need for treatment and to care for yourself when faced with a serious illness. Now let’s look at maintaining your income while seeking treatment and/or recovering.
First, this article addresses conditions that are unrelated to work. If your injury or illness resulted at work …