It’s almost never a compliment when someone is referred to as a troll, but in the case of patent extortionists, it is an accurate and richly deserved description. Patent trolls are technically called “non-practicing entities” (NPE) or Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs), but these euphemisms provide only a dim definition of what…
It is now legal in Illinois for citizens to record interactions with police without their consent, but it’s early in the game for too much celebration. In 2014, the Illinois Supreme Court found the state’s strict eavesdropping law to be unconstitutional under the First Amendment (People v Clark). Prior to…
Throwing a party while Mom and Dad are out is a venerable teenage pastime, often regarded as naughty but ultimately harmless behavior. For philosophically permissive parents, allowing the kids to have a party while the parents are home is sometimes regarded as a better alternative than letting their offspring run…
In decisions involving two recent cases, the US Supreme Court has made subtle but important changes to the standards affecting retaliation and discrimination cases. By applying more stringent criteria in two areas, the Court has limited the ability of workers to file these types of lawsuits against business…
In a world preoccupied with internet spam and phishing attacks, beware the old school scalawags who operate their rip-offs through the U.S. mail! Like their online counterparts, they are trying to lighten your wallet by offering bogus products – in this case “corporate compliance” services. When your business…
The central tragedy of human existence is that our lives on the earthly plane are finite. Saint or sinner, the time must come when each of us departs this mortal coil. But whether or not you believe in an afterlife, there is a higher power that dictates how…
As with most social engineering legislation, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted with the best of intentions. Passed in 1990, one of the primary objectives of the ADA was to assure disabled citizens access to public places and private businesses – and that’s a good thing.…
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,…
General Mills gave itself something of a Public Relations black eye when it got caught slipping some tricky new language into its “terms of service” agreement. Unnoticed by most consumers, the company had imposed restrictive new legal conditions on anyone who unsuspectingly redeemed an online coupon for a cereal or…
lllinois’ Medical Marijuana Program Act goes into full effect on January 1, 2015. It may not be the top item on your “things to deal with in the New Year” list, but if you are a small business owner or corporate manager Illinois’ new Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot…