Make Sure Non-Disclosure Agreements Don’t Stymie Whistleblowing
Small businesses who enter into non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with employees need to ensure that those documents clearly delineate that they will not be used to discriminate against those who engage in “whistleblower” activity—or such employers could potentially face unpleasant regulatory consequences.
This was underscored in late July, when
Bellas & Wachowski, Attorneys at Law Blogs
Latest from Bellas & Wachowski, Attorneys at Law
Illinois Civil Rights Protection Goes High-Tech: Illinois Human Rights Act Expanded to Include AI Regulation
Illinois Human Rights Act Expanded to Include AI Regulation
Recently, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed H.B. 3773 into law, marking a significant expansion of the Illinois Human Rights Act to include specific regulations on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in employment decisions. This move reflects the state’s ongoing commitment to civil rights protection, now extending…
Illinois BIPA Amendment Changes the Litigation Landscape
BIPA Amendment Making Waves in Litigation Trends
The landscape of biometric privacy in Illinois is poised for a significant shift following the recent amendment to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). On August 4, 2024, Governor JB Pritzker signed S.B. 2979 into law introducing a crucial modification that could have far-reaching implications for businesses…
Review Your Severance, Non-Disparagement, Confidentiality Clauses
Time to Review Severance Agreement
Employers who have not already done so should comprehensively review their past and present severance agreements to ensure that any non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses contained therein do not run afoul of the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling in a February 2023 case called McLaren Macomb, in which the NLRB…
NOTE TO CHICAGO EMPLOYERS: New Chicago Paid-Leave Law Takes Effect 7.1.24
Chicago Paid Leave Ordinance
Employers physically located within the City of Chicago need to be ready as of July 1 to implement the new Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance, which stipulates that covered employees can earn up to 40 hours of paid sick leave and 40 hours of other…
Using AI to Create Content? Watch Out for Copyright Violations
AI & Content Creation
Businesses using generative AI programs like ChatGPT to create any content—whether for blogs, websites or other marketing materials, and whether text, visuals, sound or video—need to ensure that they’re not inadvertently using copyrighted materials in the process.
Clearly, the times they are a changing….and businesses need to adapt to the changes. Employers…
Using Generative AI in Business? Make Sure to Keep Your Secrets
Using Generative AI? Keep Your Secrets
Businesses are finding generative AI programs like ChatGPT useful in functions from financial services to human resources. Although still in its early stages, and far from entirely reliable, the technology is evolving quickly and its tools and practices will continue to develop. The Cisco 2024 Data Privacy Benchmark study…
BIPA Amended to Limit Damages
Lawmakers Amend BIPA
When a class action lawsuit against the fast food chain White Castle teed up what could have been a $17 billion dollar verdict the Illinois Supreme Court decided to “respectfully suggest” that the state legislature revisit and clarify certain provisions of the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) of 2008.
That act, as…
Non-Competes Now a Nonstarter
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…
Don’t Dirty Your Business’ Reputation by ‘AI-Washing’
Is AI Washing Dirty?
Many people have become familiar with the term “greenwashing,” referring to attempts by a company to cast its products as more environmentally friendly than they are through public relations and marketing “spin” efforts.
Now comes the concept of “AI-washing,” in which companies exaggerate the degree to which or ways in which…