Articles Posted in Contracts

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What-Illinois-Business-Owners-Should-Know-About-the-One-Big-Beautiful-Bill-Act-1-300x300Non-compete agreements continue to be one of the most misunderstood areas of employment law for business owners.

Recent headlines about federal regulation led many employers to believe non-competes were banned nationwide. In reality, the situation is more nuanced. While federal regulators have attempted sweeping changes, Illinois law still primarily governs when and how non-compete agreements can be used.

For employers, understanding these rules is important. Improperly drafted or implemented agreements can become unenforceable and may even expose businesses to legal risk.

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What-Illinois-Business-Owners-Should-Know-About-the-One-Big-Beautiful-Bill-Act-300x300Many business owners heard headlines saying the Federal Trade Commission “banned non-competes” and assumed restrictive covenants were essentially over.

That is not what ultimately happened.

While the FTC attempted to implement a sweeping nationwide ban, that rule never took effect. Courts blocked it, the appeals process ended, and the agency later removed the rule from federal regulations. As a result, there is no nationwide prohibition on non-compete agreements in 2026.

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What-Illinois-Business-Owners-Should-Know-About-the-One-Big-Beautiful-Bill-Act-300x300The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) tried to ban non-compete agreements across the country. That sweeping ban is now effectively dead. A federal judge struck it down, and the FTC recently gave up its appeals.

But that doesn’t mean employers are free to use non-competes however they like. The FTC has made clear that it will still go after what it sees as “anticompetitive” non-competes on a case-by-case basis. And here in Illinois, state law continues to strictly regulate how and when non-competes can be used.

For business owners, the message is simple: non-competes are not gone, but they’re under a microscope.

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What-Illinois-Business-Owners-Should-Know-About-the-One-Big-Beautiful-Bill-Act-300x300Several new employment laws go into effect in September and will affect employers in every state.

Independent Contractors rules:

  • The US Department of Labor adopted a six-factor test in January for classifying independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This replaces the previous two-factor approach. The result is more workers will be classified as
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IMG_3291-2-300x300Many employers rely on confidentiality agreements to protect sensitive business information. But not all confidentiality provisions are created equal, and if your agreement isn’t drafted properly, it may not hold up in court. While courts tend to scrutinize non-compete clauses, confidentiality provisions are usually enforceable, provided certain legal requirements are met. Here’s what employers need to know to ensure their agreements are valid and effective.

Include the Required Whistleblower Language

Under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), employers must include a whistleblower immunity notice in any confidentiality agreement. This notice informs employees that they won’t be held liable for disclosing trade secrets in protected situations, such as reporting illegal activity or participating in a court proceeding under

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Conditional Gifts?

A recent decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has sparked interest across legal circles.  In a case centered around a $70,000 engagement ring, the court ruled that an engagement ring must be returned to the purchaser if the marriage does not take place, regardless of who may have been at fault. This ruling aligns Massachusetts with the majority of jurisdictions, where an engagement ring is considered a conditional gift—given with the expectation of marriage and thus, contingent upon the marriage actually happening.

While Illinois follows similar principles, this ruling offers a chance to examine how Illinois contract law views the conditional nature of engagement gifts and what factors courts might consider in similar cases.

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Neural Data: What Illinois Business Owners Need to Know

California enacted an Amendment to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that adds neural data to the list of protected personal sensitive information. For Illinois business owners—especially those conducting business in California or utilizing neurotechnology—this development is worth understanding, as it marks another step in the expanding landscape of data privacy laws. Neural data, often collected through non-invasive neurotechnology tools, is now considered sensitive and will be protected under the same stringent requirements as other personal information like genetic, biometric, and geolocation data.

What is Neural Data and Why is it Important?

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Insurance Coverage for BIPA violations.

Businesses across Illinois are facing serious challenges in securing insurance coverage for lawsuits brought under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).   And a recent decision by the federal court in Chicago – Westfield Insurance Company v. UCAL Systems, Inc. – dealt yet another blow to corporate policyholders.  This ruling is just the latest in a series of legal setbacks that make obtaining coverage for BIPA claims under standard Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies an uphill battle.

What Is BIPA, and Why Does It Matter?

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Non-Competes Now a Nonstarter

This is really big news!

Businesses that have entered into non-compete agreements with current or recently departed employees will need to come up with other ways of achieving the investment-protecting goals those non-competes were designed to accomplish. That’s because the Federal Trade Commission has issued a final rule, which will take after 120 days after publication in the Federal Register, that invalidates current non-competes for most workers and bans new ones for all employees.

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Aret Smart Contracts Smart?

Imagine if the paper on which your business’ contracts are written could somehow come to life and automatically send payments to your collectors—and receive payments from your debtors—at the appropriate times, as different provisions of said contract are triggered.

That’s more or less how electronic smart contracts, self-enforcing pieces of computer code set up to execute on the blockchain, more efficiently streamline certain processes. While sometimes legally enforceable, they have their drawbacks and will probably never completely replace traditional legal contracts.

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