Balough
December 14, 2013
A news organization can fire an employee even if the termination is based upon the employee reporting journalistic ethics violations, the Seventh Circuit has found. The appellate court affirmed a trial court decision that an employee can be terminated for reporting to her superiors and declining to produce a program that she said failed to […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
An Illinois appellate court judge has questioned whether the courts should continue to require employers to show a “legitimate business interest” before a non-compete convenant is enforced. Under current Illinois cases, a covenant not to compete will only be enforced if the restriction protects a legitimate business interest of the employer. In a concurring opinion, […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
A hospital may be liable for one of its employees giving out confidential health information in a bar, an Illinois Appellate Court found. Illini Community Hospital was sued by a patient after her positive pregnancy test was revealed to her twin sister by a hospital employee having drinks in a bar. The hospital filed a […]
Balough
December 12, 2013
Lawyers are not financial institutions and therefore are not required to send privacy disclosure notices to clients under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the D.C. Circuit affirmed. The question of whether lawyers fall under the Act was raised by two bar associations after the Federal Trade Commission indicated that lawyers were not entitled to an exception under […]
Balough
December 7, 2013
A spammer who caused nearly $6 million in consumer injuries has agreed to pay $485,000 to the Federal Trade Commission to repay consumers, in return for which he will be able to keep his Florida estate valued at over $2.4 million. Creaghan A. Harry who did business as Hitech Marketing, Scientific Life Nutrition and Rejuvenation […]
Balough
December 7, 2013
If you are throwing away any records or an old computer with consumer personal information, you must now take reasonable steps to ensure that the information is deleted or destroyed. Under Federal Trade Commission rules effective June 1, 2005, any business that maintains or possess consumer information must take reasonable measures to prevent unauthorized access […]
Balough
December 7, 2013
An employer may not be able to fire a “low-level” employee who refuses to sign a non-compete agreement under a ruling by a New Jersey state appellate court. In order to be enforceable, covenants not to compete must protect the legitimate business interests of the employer. So if an employee does not have access to […]
