Chicago Business Attorney BlogBy Misty J. Cygan, Attorney at Law
Aileron is a trained emotional support dog.
Business owners and their customers are perfectly used to service dogs who assist people with disabilities in getting around and performing daily tasks.
Articles Posted in Bellas and Wachowski Law Firm
Alternative Dispute Resolution Goes Online
The growth of e-commerce and the resulting physical distance between parties in various transactions, along with advances in technology more broadly, have helped lead to the rise of online dispute resolution, a digital offshoot of traditional alternative dispute resolution that provides greater efficiency and convenience to the parties involved.
While online dispute resolution does not necessarily arise from online transactions—and can be used in marital separations, property tax appeals, no-fault insurance claims and other types of cases—many believe it applies especially well to e-commerce given that it resides in the same jurisdiction, so to speak, of cyberspace.
A third-party mediator or arbitrator is still often involved in resolving such disputes, however, the process also includes a “fourth party” automated tool that can, for example, schedule meetings, organize information germane to the case, and tone down inflammatory language found in communications by blocking certain verbiage.
Illinois prohibits Non-Compete Agreements for Low Pay Employees
Under a new Illinois law, non-compete agreements must be premised on a legitimate business interest and narrowly tailored in terms of time, activity, and place. In addition, under the newly enacted Illinois Freedom to Work Act, employers are prohibited from entering into non-competes with employees who make less than $13/hour.
To prove the point, the Illinois Attorney General filed a suit in October against a payday loan company (Check Into Cash) because the employer required all store employees, including those making under $13 an hour, to agree to a one-year non-compete. The suit alleges that the non-compete prohibits all store employees from working “directly or indirectly . . . as an employee, officer, consultant, or in any other capacity, for any individual, firm or entity, which provides deferred presentment, deferred deposit, and/or any other payday advance services, . . . and/or any other consumer lending services or 
money services.” The suit contends that the non-compete in question: (1) prohibits employees from working within 15 miles of any Check Into Cash location, not just the store the employee works in; (2) prohibits employees from working for any company that directly or indirectly provides consumer lending services, regardless of whether that company competes with Check Into Cash; (3) applies equally to all store employees, regardless of position or time spent with the company; and (4) applies to employees who make less than $13 an hour. See: http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/pressroom/2017_10/20171025d.html
Employers should review their non-compete agreements to ensure compliance with Illinois law. All restrictive covenants should: (1) be supported by adequate consideration; (2) narrowly tailored, in time, activity, and geography, to protect the employer’s legitimate business interests; and (3) not apply to low-wage employees as defined by the Freedom to Work Act. If the employer is concerned about a low-wage employee’s exposure to trade secret information, they should also consider other means of protection, such as confidentiality agreements.
Can Student Loans Ever Be Discharged?
Can Student Loans Ever Be Discharged?
Yes, and there’s a new tool to help bankruptcy lawyers deter
mine whether clients qualify
Contrary to common perception, not all student loans can be wiped out in bankruptcy court. Although the Bankruptcy Code does protect federal loans and some private loans from discharge, student loans can be discharged if the debtor can prove an “undue hardship,” which usually means you’re living in poverty and not likely to escape any time soon.
Big Woes for Zillo
BIG WOES FOR ZILLO
Zillo, the gigantic online real-estate database company, has a gigantic headache, legally speaking. It is currently the target of a class action lawsuit in Illinois. Zillow is the website that allows a person to search for properties for sale–properties located just about anywhere. And Zillow’s cornerstone feature–Zestimate–allows one to look up the estimated value of a property–most any property, most anywhere, whether it is for sale or not. (Your own home may well be listed there right now; just go to the site and put in your address.)
Lots of people love Zillo; it is free, comprehensive and convenient. Its legal problems stem from its Zestimate feature.
CYBER-SECURITY- A VITAL PRECAUTION
CYBER-SECURITY–A VITAL PRECAUTION
It is time for businesses to give cyber-crime protection high priority; the sooner the better. The mounting numbers of cyber-attacks on businesses are a serious threat to every sort of commercial enterprise. Cyber intrusions have become really dangerous, sophisticated, and commonplace.
Businesses are attacked (whether they know it or not) on an average of 16,856 times a year, according to statistics compiled by IBM. That’s 46 attacks every business must deal with every day — or nearly two attacks an hour. Most of these–the vast majority of them–never get past a business’s firewall. But on average, about 1.7 attacks get through.
Driverless Cars: The Future of Product Liability Litigation?
DRIVERLESS CARS: THE FUTURE OF PRODUCT LIABILITY LITIGATION?
Any business that will contribute to the production of driverless vehicles must give serious thought to the risk of products-liability lawsuits. And that includes suppliers, even of minor parts. We may think of driverless cars as a phenomenon of the future, but that future is closer than you think.
“Driverless car” is generally defined as a vehicle which, for most of a journey, will take charge of steering, accelerating, indicating, and braking. For the near future, the technology is intended only to assist the driver, not to replace him. It is expected that the driver will be able to take control of the “driverless” vehicle at any time.
Blockchain and Chicago Businesses
Blockchain and Chicago Businesses
In September of 2015, the Global Agenda Council on the Future of Software and Society’s World Economic Forum[1] predicted that by 2025, 10% of GDP will be stored on blockchains or blockchain related technology. If you are a Chicago business owner and you are unsure what that means or how it might affect your company, you want to speak to a Chicago business attorney as soon as possible to learn all that you can about this rapidly growing technology.
What Is Blockchain Technology?
Pregnancy Rights Amendment Makes Good Business Sense
Illinois Employers beware of new law protecting Pregnant Employees
If you are an Illinois employer and haven’t yet taken action on the new pregnancy protection amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act, it’s time to get moving. The new amendment (HB0008), which went into effect January 1, 2015, provides additional protections against discrimination for pregnant women in the workplace.
Acknowledging that existing legislation had been inadequate, the new law prevents companies from firing or forcing expectant mothers to take unpaid leave. The new law recognizes the obvious – that many women are now primary breadwinners for their families, a situation which can cause undue hardship if a worker loses her job due to pregnancy. In addition to advancing the objective of gender equality, the new law also states that enabling pregnant women to work through pregnancy is good for business in terms of worker productivity, retention and morale, while reducing re-training and health care costs. While most people understand that more equality is a moral imperative, it’s easy to forget that social progress is also sound business policy.