CBA Record

compete agreement against certain hourly workers. While some may believe an employer should protect its interest as it relates to a cook by using a confidentiality agree- ment, it is not implausible to believe that a non-compete agreement could be used to accomplish the same protection for the employer. Employers have a higher likelihood that a non-compete agreement will be upheld if the agreement is focused on preserving customer and supplier rela- tionships instead of outright denying the employee from working for a competitor. What Business Owners and CEOs Should Know, Crain’s CustomMedia, http://www. chicagobusiness.com/section/custom- content-labor-employment-law. Conclusion It is still imperative to remember that, on both a national and local scale, non-com- pete agreements are not favored by courts and the legislature. A 2016 White House report believes non-compete agreements reduce job mobility, remove bargaining power for employees and minimize the labor pool for other companies. Non-Com- pete Agreements: Analysis of the Usage, Potential Issues, and State Reponses (May 2016), https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/ default/files/non-competes_report_final2. pdf. The U.S. Department of Treasury also commissioned a report and found that non-compete agreements lower wage growth, burden the interests of workers and are used excessively. Non-Compete Contracts: Economic Effects and Policy Implications, Office of Economic Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury, March 2016. Consequently, employers should be proactive and cautious in crafting and negotiating non-compete agreements. Engaging in this process will benefit an employer who hopes to enforce the non- compete agreement in the future. Nonetheless, covenants that are now prohibited under the Act for certain employees do provide necessary and legiti- mate business protection for employers. An employer still has the right to protect its confidential information and trade secrets. An employer also has the right to restrict a departing employee from trying to steal

information, poach clients and solicit other individuals in other business relationships. Businesses could see the Act putting Illinois at a further disadvantage and forcing more companies to relocate to other states in hopes of assuring the protection of busi- ness information and assets. There are clear reasons why Illinois is consistently ranked among the worst states in the United States in which to conduct business. As a result, a thoughtful balancing of the interests of both employers and employees is war- ranted. With the Act now enforceable in Illinois, employers contemplating non- compete agreements for employees making $13.01 per hour and above should seriously consider the necessity, purpose, and legality of a non-compete agreement. Non-com- pete agreements limit various aspects of an employee’s opportunities, including the ability to find new employment, upward mobility of workers looking for a higher wage, advancement of an employee with new skills obtained from a current or previ- ous employer, and the negotiation power to demand higher wages with a current or future employer. Jimmy John’s, at 17. The impact of the Act will likely gain strength in the coming years. In Chicago, the minimumwage will increase to $13.00 per hour on July 1, 2019, while Cook County’s minimum wage will increase to $13.00 per hour on July 1, 2020. Because of these minimum wage increases, prac- titioners can assume that more individu- als employed in Cook County will earn wages higher than the $13.00 per hour rate explicitly mentioned in the Act. Consequently, the potential exists for a larger pool of employees to gain protection from the Act, thus dissuading employers from entertaining the thought of imple- menting wide-scale use of non-compete agreements.

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