There is a myriad of risks that a business may face in all areas of operation, however, one area that some business owners overlook until it is too late is the risk that is posed by their employees’ actions. Under the law, this is known as “vicarious liability” and every business owner should be aware of what the potential legal and financial ramifications could be.

What Is Vicarious Liability

Per the legal doctrine of vicarious liability, a victim who sustains injury as a result of a business’s employee is entitled to receive financial compensation from the employer as long as the employee’s actions or conduct occurred within the scope of that employee’s employment.

One example of vicarious liability would be a delivery driver who runs a red light while rushing to make a delivery and crashes into another vehicle, resulting in the driver of that vehicle suffering serious injury. The business the delivery driver works for would be liable for the victim’s damages since the delivery driver was performing their work duties when they ran the light.

The state of Illinois is an at-will employment state, meaning employers are generally allowed to terminate employees for whatever reason they like. However, for many employees, the loss of their job can be so upsetting that they will accuse their employer of terminating them illegally. If you have been accused of an illegal employee termination, contact a Schaumburg, IL employment attorney right away.

Wrongful Termination

There are legal protections in place to protect workers from wrongful termination. “Wrongful termination” does not necessarily mean the termination was unjustified or unfair. It means that the termination violates the law in some way.

Examples of violations include:

Several years ago, the #MeToo movement exploded across the country following multiple accusations of sexual abuse allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein. The surge of women and men who came forward to share their stories of sexual assaults, abuse, and harassment permeated almost every industry and workplace. As a result of that movement – and demand for change – the United States House and Senate both have bills that will likely be voted on within the next few weeks, if not days.

The bills would allow employees to sue their employers over workplace sexual harassment or assault no matter what type of contractual restrictions there may be between the two. The bills have bipartisan support and are expected to pass in both chambers.

Workplace Sexual Harassment

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment can affect men or women and includes a variety of different actions and attitudes meant to threaten, intimidate, embarrass, or discriminate others. It may involve physical contact, such as assault or groping, as well as comments, gestures, and other discriminatory behaviors.

Many businesses develop a logo or other symbol that they use to help advertise their business. The goal is to create a “brand” that people will recognize as familiar. As business start-up owners focus their efforts on creating a business plan, deciding what advertising techniques to use, and building a website, they often forget the importance of looking into trademark issues before starting to use a brand name or logo for their businesses. This can sometimes lead to legal issues that can be avoided if the business owner works with an Illinois business attorney from the beginning.  

What Is a Trademark

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design, or a combination of these that identifies particular goods. A trademark is often the very thing that distinguishes one company’s products from another company’s products. While many business owners give significant thought and consideration to what trademark to choose, they often fail to realize the importance of choosing a trademark that is both eligible for federal registration and legally defensible.

Every business owner wants to ensure that other businesses or parties cannot simply use their business trademark without permission. This is why the federal registration process and trademark laws were put into place.

The first of the year often means New Year’s resolutions for many people. In Illinois, the first of the year also often means new laws and amendments to existing laws that were voted in by state lawmakers and signed by the governor go into effect. That is exactly the case with Senate Bill 672 (SB 672). This new law – which takes effect January 1, 2022 - amends the Illinois Freedom to Work Act, specifically in the area of noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements.

The Illinois Freedom to Work Act

The Illinois Freedom to Work Act, which went into effect in January 2017, stated that employers were barred from requiring “low-wage” employees to enter into noncompete agreements. The law also stated that these agreements would be deemed illegal and void.

In the original law, a low-wage employee was classified as any employee who earned the greater of the following categories: