Firm News

On April 3, 2017, President Trump signed into law House Joint Resolution 83, which nullified the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) rule that allowed OSHA to cite employers that failed to make and maintain records of job-related injuries and illnesses for five years. OSHA had implemented the original rule in order to clarify that […]

Illinois’s 2008 Biometric Information Privacy Act was one of the first of its kind in the country. Biometric data is the unique biological information that can be used to identify one person from another. This includes such technology as digitally stored fingerprints and facial recognition technology. Anytime you use the finger print scanner to unlock […]

Insurance policies are as much a part of everyday life as death and taxes. With homeowners’ policies, automobile policies, general commercial liability policies, and many others, individuals and businesses often operate with a sense that they are protected against every kind of mishap. However, insurance companies continually limit the scope of the coverage they will […]

The Chicago City Council recently imposed a number of licensure and marketing requirements on pharmaceutical representatives in Chicago. Beginning on July 1, 2017, individuals who conduct business in the City of Chicago as a pharmaceutical representative for 15 or more days per year must obtain a license, which includes completing an educational course to be […]

Employers do not need to provide every accommodation requested by an employee to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The Northern District of Illinois recently reaffirmed this principle in the case of Alanis v. Metra, 12-cv-7508. In this case, Alanis, a 10 year veteran at Metra, began suffering from a variety […]

On February 17, 2017, the First District Appellate Court issued a new decision which confirmed and clarified Illinois law regarding the implied warranty of habitability. The decision, Sienna Court Condominium Ass’n v. Champion Aluminum Corp., 2017 IL App (1st) 143364, came as a result of three consolidated appeals. The Decision confirmed and clarified three aspects […]

In Illinois, non-compete clauses are routinely under some form of attack as employees, employers, legislators, and the judiciary try to balance the freedom of contract against individual workers’ freedoms. Employers typically see non-compete clauses as a way to protect their intellectual properties, trade secrets, and client/customer contacts. Employees often see such clauses as a barrier […]

Section 1692k of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the “FDCPA”) allows for an award of damages in successful class actions against debt collectors found to have violated the FDCPA above and beyond the customary individual and statutory damages awards for such violations. Under this section, the additional damage awards are not to exceed the […]

The Illinois Supreme Court recently reversed a 3rd District Appellate Court decision and extended protection to design professionals under the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act (the “Act”). The Court decided that an engineering firm’s predevelopment services supplied to an unfinished real estate project were still lienable under the Act, even though the services did not actually […]

In 2006, Lake County Grading Co. was contracted by FCL Investors, Inc. (“FCL”), to excavate and install a sewer line for a development in Northbrook, Illinois. FCL was previously hired by Northshore Center THC to be the general contractor for the development after taking out a mortgage to develop the property. After submitting and receiving […]