Balough
July 10, 2023
(July 10, 2023) Don’t replace the signature line on written contracts with a thumbs-up emoji đź‘Ťjust yet. A Canadian court found a farmer entered into a valid contract to deliver flax at a fixed price by texting back a thumbs-up emoji đź‘Ť to the buyer’s text that contained a photo of a written agreement. The […]
Balough
February 21, 2023
(February 21, 2023) Entities that collect, store, or share biometric information without obtaining the person’s written permission in Illinois may be liable for damages for each scan or transmission of the individual’s information under a ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court. Under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), no private entity may collect, capture, receive, […]
Balough
October 8, 2021
(October 8, 2021) New statutory restrictions on the use of covenants not-to-compete and non-solicitation provisions in Illinois employment contracts will become effective starting on January 1, 2022. The law codifies court rulings that restricted the use of non-compete agreements and offers specific criteria for their use. The law also sets limits on the use of non-solicitation […]
Balough
February 11, 2018
(February 11, 2018) The lack of a serial comma in a statute has cost a Maine dairy $5 million in a settlement with truck drivers who originally were denied overtime pay. The case gained the attention of English majors because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit devoted 17 pages of its 29-page […]
Balough
February 9, 2018
(February 9, 2018) A Grubhub driver was an independent contractor and not an employee of the online food ordering and delivery service because the company lacks control over the driver’s work. The California district court noted it is an “all-or-nothing proposition” whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor. “With the advent of the […]
Balough
March 20, 2017
(March 20, 2017) The comma may be a small punctuation mark but its presence, or absence, can have a huge impact, as shown in an overtime dispute involving delivery drivers and a dairy. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit devoted 17 pages of a 29-page opinion to discussing the lack of a […]
Balough
January 3, 2017
(January 3, 2017) The Joint Analysis Report on the Russian cyber activity in the recent election also serves as a warning to others of the need to implement best cybersecurity practices to protect computer systems. The report by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found activity by Russian […]
Balough
December 8, 2016
(December 8, 2016) A settlement agreement with the Illinois Attorney General has torpedoed submarine sandwich maker Jimmy John’s non-compete agreements with low-paid workers and drivers. Under the agreement, Jimmy John’s Enterprises LLC and Jimmy John’s Franchise LLC agreed to drop its requirement that all employees and drivers sign a non-compete. The non-compete had prohibited the […]
Balough
October 25, 2016
(October 25, 2016) Need guidance when your business suffers a data breach? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released Data Breach Response: A Guide for Businesses both as a pamphlet and a video. It outlines the steps a business should take after a data breach. The booklet also includes a model notification letter to send when […]
Balough
October 11, 2016
(October 11, 2016) The intellectual property issues associated with autonomous vehicles provides a timely case study to assist business lawyers in advising their clients on use of the Internet of Things (IoT). In a presentation entitled “Autonomous Vehicles A Stalking Horse for Intellectual Property Rights in the Internet of Things,” Richard C. Balough explained how […]
