As Chicago area business litigation lawyers this is a question we frequently are asked.
Electronic Signatures are Enforceable under Illinois Laws.
E-Signatures are permissible and valid in Illinois under the Illinois Electronic Commerce Security Act (the ECSA).
What to do when your business is forced to close due to the CoronaVirus?
Does your business insurance policy cover the lost business due to the pandemic? Most businesses carry commercial property insurance, which often includes business income coverage provisions.
Recent events have caused our Chicago area business clients to raise questions as to what to do when their business is forced to close by Governor Pritzker’s “Stay-At-Home Order.” Business owners have some options they might want to consider.
As coronavirus puts workplaces and indeed whole states including Illinois into “shelter in place” mode, employers need to respond quickly and sensitively to a host of health-related issues that no one anticipated dealing with as recently as a few weeks ago.
COVID-19 Pandemic and Employment Issues
These questions apply less directly to the many employees who are able to work from home during the crisis, but those whose employers remain open and who need to be on site to do their jobs will have to strike a delicate balance with their employers between safety, and performance of one’s job duties (and continuing to get paid).
Did someone say force majeure?
COVID-19 Pandemic and Force Majeure clauses
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, force majeure is defined as “An event or effect that can be neither anticipated nor controlled.” It is generally viewed as an unexpected event that prevents someone from doing or completing something that he or she had agreed to do. The term is usually applied to acts of God (such as floods and hurricanes), riots, strikes and wars. It is unclear, however, if the term includes an epidemic, such as COVID-19. That legal term for unforeseen circumstances resulting in non-fulfillment of a contract is likely to be invoked widely this spring and summer as businesses are unable to make good on commitments due to the corona virus crisis.
If you’ve watched any of the Democratic presidential debates, you might have heard candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang – you know, the guy with the $1,000 per month guaranteed income plan – talk about something called the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.” This is a recognition that technology is imploding and changing everything about our lives.
In describing the ways social media and technology have redefined communication, in 2009 journalist Graeme Wood said that “Change has never happened this fast before, and it will never be this slow again.”
Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, coined the phrase “fourth industrial revolution” in his 2016 best seller. This is techie-speak for disruptive technologies and trends like robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the Internet of Things – i.e. everyday devices like doorbells and thermostats that you can control remotely – that are changing how we live and work. This Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing together digital, physical and biological systems. It will open up our minds to all kinds of new things: Mobile supercomputing; Artificially-intelligent robots; Self-driving cars; Neuro-technological brain enhancements; Genetic editing. We can see the evidence of these revolutionary changes all around us – and it’s happening faster and faster.
We all get them … and we get them all the time … and we are all tired of them … and we all cuss them out!
Many of those calls are illegal. Some of the robocalls you may have agreed to receive when you signed up for certain services – like those reminders that your prescription needs to be refilled – and those are legal. But the automated, unsolicited calls coming from other countries are finally getting some attention from the federal government.
The dead heads in the House and Senate have finally agreed on something and adopted the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (“TRACED Act”) at the end of 2019 and it was signed into law at the end of 2019. The TRACED Act’s stated purpose is to limit the increasing number of illegal robocalls and other violations of the telemarketing laws. The Act also gives the FCC more powers to punish violators under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) and to seek out violators in foreign countries.
Can a business ban guns from the business and workplace?
If a customer walked into your retail business or professional office carrying a gun, would you be comfortable with that, or would it feel a little too much like the O.K. Corral? What if they were carrying their weapon openly?
Businesses in Oklahoma (postal abbreviation: OK) have had a new reason to ask themselves those questions since November 1, when a change in state law enabled most Oklahoma residents to carry firearms without a license. That follows a 2012 law that gave licensed firearms carriers the ability to open-carry weapons. Most businesses in the state do not seem to have changed their policies, according to the Oklahoma Retail Merchants Association, which has more than 300 members including both mom-and-pop Main Street businesses and national chains. While some have been considering the question, most continue to welcome gun-toting patrons.
Illinois Cannabis Laws create new issues for Property Owners
Cannabis may be legal in Illinois after January 1, but it is still illegal under federal laws. This will make for some interesting discrepancies in how the laws will be applied. Federal law remains in direct conflict with the new Illinois state law. There are a number of issues that property owners should be concerned with on January 1.
Federal Subsidized Housing: In federal subsidized housing – like the Housing Authority of Cook County – medical or recreational use of marijuana has been and remains prohibited in the Housing Authority’s housing programs. This includes participants using Housing Choice (“Section 8”) Vouchers in the private rental market,
George Bellas explains Blockchain Technology
What is bitcoin? Is it the same as blockchain?
The quick answer is that bitcoin is not the same as blockchain.
Legal Marijuana Shouldn’t Mean Dazed and Confused Workers!
Starting on January 1 consumers will be able to buy marijuana for recreational use from licensed sellers. Pot users will no longer need to worry about fines or jail time – but employees will need to pay attention to their employers’ policies about drug screenings and the use of cannabis at work.
Employers should consider how they want to handle the legalization of cannabis in terms of workplace policies, written guidelines and staff training on the many issues that employers will be facing. Employers should take the time to review Section 10-50 of the “Illinois Cannabis Control Act” to see what protections they do and do not have. Among these are:
Chicago Business Attorney Blog