On February 3, 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the exclusivity provisions of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act (“IWCA”) do not bar a claim for statutory damages under the Illinois Biometric Information...more
2/4/2022
/ Biometric Information ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Class Action ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Preemption ,
Statutory Damages ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Workers Compensation Act ,
Workplace Injury
On January 6, 2022, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois erred in denying class certification to putative subclasses of unsuccessful Black job applicants...more
1/19/2022
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Department of Corrections ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
FRCP 23(f) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Race Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Workplace Exam Standards
2021 was another blockbuster year in the whistleblowing and retaliation arena. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Office of the Whistleblower has now issued in excess of $1 billion in whistleblower...more
1/12/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Internal Reporting ,
OSHA ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Theranos ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On November 17, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that a company and its CEO violated Rule 21F-17 of the Exchange Act by entering into confidentiality agreements with investors that...more
12/17/2021
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rule 21F-17 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On November 17, 2021, the EEOC updated its technical guidance on COVID-19 and anti-discrimination with a new anti-retaliation section. The new section largely restates existing statutory anti-retaliation protections in the...more
2021 was a transformative year for labor and employment law and fundamental employment dynamics. There was no shortage of highly influential decisions issued by courts around the country in 2021 — and California continues to...more
12/8/2021
/ Article III ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Regulations ,
OSHA ,
Preemption ,
Racial Bias ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standing ,
TransUnion LLC v Ramirez ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
On November 23, 2021, the SEC issued an award of $400,000 to a whistleblower who voluntarily provided the SEC with original information that assisted the agency in bringing a successful enforcement action that resulted in the...more
On November 15, 2021, the SEC published its annual report to Congress covering the period from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. The report was prepared by the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower to summarize its...more
Over the past few years, states across the country have sought to limit or reduce the use of employee non-compete agreements. While some states have imposed outright bans on such agreements, many more have passed laws that...more
11/19/2021
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Regulations ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
As we previously reported, a new amendment to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act (820 ILCS § 90) regarding the use of non-competition and non-solicitation restrictive covenants for Illinois employees will take effect on January...more
11/15/2021
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
New Amendments ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On June 28, 2021, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted the Company’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss after an executive claimed he was discharged in violation of the Dodd-Frank...more
11/11/2021
/ Brazil ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Government Investigations ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Reporting ,
Retaliation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Violations ,
Tax Fraud ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On October 15, 2021, the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower announced multi-million dollar awards to two whistleblowers who provided the SEC with information that assisted the agency in bringing a successful enforcement...more
On September 24, 2021, the SEC announced an approximately $36 million award to a whistleblower who provided critical information to the SEC that contributed to a successful enforcement action. ...more
On September 17, 2021, an Illinois Appellate Court addressed the appropriate statute of limitations period for claims brought pursuant to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA” or the “Act”), 740 ILCS §...more
On August 13, 2021, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law an amendment to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act (820 ILCS § 90), which imposes restrictions on the use of non-competition and non-solicitation (employee and...more
8/19/2021
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
On June 23, 2021, the SEC announced that Guggenheim Securities, LLC (“Company”) agreed to settle charges that it violated Rule 21F-17 by including language in its compliance manual and training materials that allegedly...more
Effective August 1, 2021, the City of Chicago’s Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Ordinance was amended to provide for additional uses of paid sick leave for eligible employees. Under the Amended Ordinance, an employee who...more
On July 26, 2021, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held, after a bench trial, that Plaintiff Botta failed to prove that Defendant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) terminated his...more
On July 21, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that the whistleblower protections established in SOX are not restricted to employee whistleblowers, but also extend to shareholders. SEC...more
8/6/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Investigations ,
Internet Auctions ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Omissions ,
Rule 21F-17 ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Shareholders ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Illinois Legislature recently passed a bipartisan bill, available here, that seeks to significantly amend the Illinois Freedom to Work Act (820 ILCS § 90) and impose restrictions on the use of non-competition and...more
On May 26, 2021, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced a series of ordinances (the “Ordinances”) which seek to implement new wage theft protections and provide certain employees with the ability to take paid “secure leave.”...more
On May 17, 2021, the SEC announced payment of more than $31 million to four whistleblowers who provided the SEC with information that resulted in the return of tens of millions of dollars to harmed investors. The largest of...more
On April 12, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that the company demonstrated...more
On May 10, 2021, the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower announced multi-million dollar awards to two whistleblowers who provided the SEC with information that assisted the agency in bringing a successful enforcement action...more
On March 29, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, holding that the plaintiff lacked an...more