Hinch Law

Update - just the day after I posted this, on 2/19/19, the governor signed this bill into law. Much has been written on both sides as to the pros and cons of the new $15 minimum wage and how it is phased in under the  Illinois Senate Bill 1 , which is currently pending signature by the governor and will soon be law. I’m not writing this post to chime in one way or the other about that. The reason for this post is to alert business owners about other provisions of the bill that have been less publicized but are very important. The current Illinois Minimum Wage Act  is codified at 820 ILCS 105. Section 7 of the Act now expressly authorizes the State to randomly audit employers for compliance. Section 10 authorizes the Department of Labor  to make emergency rules under the Administrative Procedures Act to implement the new law as appropriate for enforcement. Section 11 of the Act already provided for potential criminal charges against an employer (or ...

What does "cause" mean?  In McManus v. Richards , an orthodontist was buying into a practice group, but four years into the buy-in contract, when she had paid for a 45% interest and was nearing equal partner status with the other orthodontist, she was fired for "cause."  The two doctors had apparently fallen out and the one buying in informed the other of her intent to dissociate from the practice, so she was fired preemptively.  She showed up to the office one morning, and the locks had been changed, computer passwords changed, and she was excluded access to patient records. As we often see with such ownership buy-in arrangements, there was a buy-in contract, but no separate employment contract.  The buy-in contract identified party rights to dissociate, voluntarily or in event of "cause," but "cause" was not defined.  The existing practice owner argued that in this case the word "cause" was merely as defined by the dictionary - ...

A recent Illinois appellate court decision chimed in on an interesting twist on the enforcement of non-compete agreements and when social media activity might cross the line and pose a violation. In Bankers Life and Casualty Co. v. American Senior Benefits, LLC , Bankers Life sued several former employees who had left the company and joined a competitor, allegedly in violation of their non-compete agreements.  The appeal resulted from a summary judgment award in favor of one particular employee, who was a sales manager in a Rhode Island office of the company, and focuses primarily on that employee's situation. A non-compete agreement must be reasonable in its time and territory restrictions to be enforceable at law.  In this case, the non-compete agreement provided that the employee would not compete with the company for two years after termination, within the sales territory of the Rhode Island office. From the appellate court opinion's summary of the allegations, the ...

Note:  This is the first in a new series of posts entitled "Ask a Lawyer," in which readers may submit questions to be considered for this page.  Please note that, as with any posts on this blog, the posts are educational in nature and do not constitute legal advice in the attorney/client sense.  Therefore, questions should be general in nature and not include any confidential information. Question:   Please generally explain the enforceability of Non-Compete agreements in Illinois. This question could justify a treatise, but I will do my best to provide a general, concise, though by necessity perhaps unhelpfully broad, answer.  For a more specific review of a particular Non-Compete agreement or provision in an employment contract, consult and retain an attorney.  I would be glad to talk with anyone who has specific questions about their situation.   A  "Covenant Not to Compete"  is a provision commonly used in an employment ...