Orson Welles, whose film credits include directing Franz Kafka’s “The Trial” and playing the lawyer in “Compulsion” based on Clarence Darrow at the trial of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, famously observed: “Nobody gets justice. People only get good luck or bad luck.”
As a holiday column, perhaps this offering is expected to express some gratitude, offer a charitable thought for the less fortunate, reflect on a significant event over the past 12 months or invoke an appropriate religious thought. A widely read column might concisely accomplish all four.
Employers throughout the country had a little extra to be thankful for this past Thanksgiving. On Tuesday, a federal district court issued a nationwide injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) from implementing a new federal regulation designed to expand the number of employees eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Illinois law governing restrictive covenants in employment agreements has undergone a number of changes in the past few years. The latest development is the Illinois Freedom to Work Act, which prohibits employers from entering into non-compete agreements with low-wage employees.
After more than five years of litigation, Firm partner, Norm Finkel, successfully resolved a noteworthy case stemming from the 2008 financial collapse, in which Buffalo Grove-based American Enterprise Bank sought a $60 million recovery against Arnold Becker, its former chairman.
Business owners planning for retirement generally contemplate either the sale of the business to a third party or a transferof ownership to family members, but another option may be to sell the business to company employees. There are several techniques and issues to consider when planning this type of sale.
Over the past several years, it has be-come increasingly difficult to determine what types of evidence are needed for an employee or ex-employee to have a viable discrimination claim.
Coming out on the short end of an important ruling by a trial court, lawyers, like normal people, often reach for an excuse. The sting of losing is perhaps most often soothed by finding fault with the judge.
It is routine for employers to perform background checks on potential new employees before extending a job offer. After all, applicants are not always accurate about their past, and a bad hire can substantially damage a business — both financially and through a loss of goodwill.
The annals of Section 1983 litigation are filled with claims of constitutional rights violations by authorities due to plaintiffs’ race, religion or national origin. Far less litigation centers on state origin. As in police searching a car because it has out-of-state tags or because its driver hails from another state. Yet, this is what brought Peter Vasquez into court.