Neural Data: What Illinois Business Owners Need to Know California enacted an Amendment to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that adds neural data to the list of protected personal sensitive information. For Illinois business owners—especially those conducting business in California or utilizing neurotechnology—this development is worth understanding, as it…
Articles Posted in Small Business
Insurance Coverage for BIPA Violations: A Growing Challenge for Illinois Businesses
Insurance Coverage for BIPA violations. Businesses across Illinois are facing serious challenges in securing insurance coverage for lawsuits brought under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). And a recent decision by the federal court in Chicago – Westfield Insurance Company v. UCAL Systems, Inc. – dealt yet another blow to…
Make Sure Non-Disclosure Agreements Don’t Stymie Whistleblowing
Make Sure Non-Disclosure Agreements Don’t Stymie Whistleblowing Small businesses who enter into non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with employees need to ensure that those documents clearly delineate that they will not be used to discriminate against those who engage in “whistleblower” activity—or such employers could potentially face unpleasant regulatory consequences. This was…
Illinois Civil Rights Protection Goes High-Tech: Illinois Human Rights Act Expanded to Include AI Regulation
Illinois Human Rights Act Expanded to Include AI Regulation Recently, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed H.B. 3773 into law, marking a significant expansion of the Illinois Human Rights Act to include specific regulations on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in employment decisions. This move reflects the state’s ongoing commitment to…
Illinois BIPA Amendment Changes the Litigation Landscape
BIPA Amendment Making Waves in Litigation Trends The landscape of biometric privacy in Illinois is poised for a significant shift following the recent amendment to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). On August 4, 2024, Governor JB Pritzker signed S.B. 2979 into law introducing a crucial modification that could…
Review Your Severance, Non-Disparagement, Confidentiality Clauses
Time to Review Severance Agreement Employers who have not already done so should comprehensively review their past and present severance agreements to ensure that any non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses contained therein do not run afoul of the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling in a February 2023 case called McLaren Macomb,…
NOTE TO CHICAGO EMPLOYERS: New Chicago Paid-Leave Law Takes Effect 7.1.24
Chicago Paid Leave Ordinance Employers physically located within the City of Chicago need to be ready as of July 1 to implement the new Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance, which stipulates that covered employees can earn up to 40 hours of paid sick leave and…
Using AI to Create Content? Watch Out for Copyright Violations
AI & Content Creation Businesses using generative AI programs like ChatGPT to create any content—whether for blogs, websites or other marketing materials, and whether text, visuals, sound or video—need to ensure that they’re not inadvertently using copyrighted materials in the process. Clearly, the times they are a changing….and businesses need…
BIPA Amended to Limit Damages
Lawmakers Amend BIPA When a class action lawsuit against the fast food chain White Castle teed up what could have been a $17 billion dollar verdict the Illinois Supreme Court decided to “respectfully suggest” that the state legislature revisit and clarify certain provisions of the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)…
Non-Competes Now a Nonstarter
Non-Competes Now a Nonstarter This is really big news! Businesses that have entered into non-compete agreements with current or recently departed employees will need to come up with other ways of achieving the investment-protecting goals those non-competes were designed to accomplish. That’s because the Federal Trade Commission has issued a…