Category: Business Law
Discrimination Bill Would Affect Small Businesses
House Bill 252 is a recent attempt to expand the Illinois Human Rights Act to encompass employees that work at small business with less than 15 employees. Currently, small business employees do not have any course of action against employers for discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, and age, although these employees can bring
Chicago Hotel Owners Face Looming Tax Increases, Surplus in Downtown Hotels
More than 2,000 new hotel rooms are expected to open in downtown Chicago in 2019 as tourism in the city reaches an all-time high. The additional 2,000 rooms increase the total number of hotel rooms downtown to 47,000, adding more competition in an already competitive market. The seven-year uptick in hotel construction has recently led
Federal Overtime Regulations May Change Soon
The U.S. Department of Labor recently released its proposed changes to federal overtime regulations. The new plan would allow employees making less than $35,308 a year to be automatically eligible for overtime pay. The employee would earn one and half times their regular pay for any time worked over 40 hours per week. The Department
Enforceability of Non-Compete Agreements Narrowed by Illinois Courts
As a business owner, employers have an interest in protecting valuable customer relationships and trade secrets by requiring potential employees to sign non-compete covenants. Non-compete covenants are common, particularly for high-paying employees and within specific professions or fields. However, recent revisions in state and federal law continue to narrow the scope of private employers’ ability
Evolving Marijuana Laws
On January 14, 2019, Illinois will have a new governor that has advocated for the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. In addition to Governor Pritzker, the state will have a Democratically-held legislature, meaning that Illinois will likely see significant changes in its laws regarding marijuana in the near future. One new bill that is
New Illinois Laws to Know for 2019
Over 200 new laws have already taken effect for 2019 in Illinois. Below are a few that could impact you on a day to day basis. 1. Employee Expense Reimbursement In case you missed it from a previous newsletter, Illinois now requires that all employers reimburse their employees for personal phones or computers that are
Intellectual Property: Rethinking Your Tax Strategy
Along with many other changes to the corporate tax structure, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 also impacted the treatment of income generated by intellectual property. If your business generates income from its intangible assets, such as licenses and patents, it may be time to rethink your tax strategy. On the one
Future Energy Jobs Act: Solar Farms
The Illinois Future Energy Jobs Act, implemented last year, requires that Illinois utilities get 25% of their retail power from renewable sources by the year 2025. This was significant news for the solar power market, and the state has seen a boom in large solar farms. Proposals to construct a solar farm have flooded the
Properly Administering a Litigation Hold
When your company faces a potential lawsuit, it is of the utmost importance to begin preserving any documents that could be considered relevant to the case. This is done through the issuance of a litigation hold directive to employees, informing them of what documents to preserve and segregate in order to maintain that preservation. In
Medical Marijuana in Schools
Governor Rauner has signed legislation that permits medical marijuana to be used in Illinois schools. House Bill 4870 allows a parent or a child’s guardian to administer medical marijuana to students at school. The parent/guardian must be registered with the Department of Public Health, and the legislation does not allow school personnel to administer the