In a recent opinion from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin federal courts, a $3.5 million jury award was affirmed for an employee who alleged his employer did not do enough to stop anonymous harassment and threats he received at work.

For the second year in a row, Peter M. Katsaros will be teaching at the upcoming Pincus Professional Education workshop:

On September 5, 2012, Barbara L. Yong was honored by the League of Women Voters of the LaGrange Area with the 2012 Person of Impact Award. According to the League, “The award was created to honor individuals, non-profit organizations or government entities that are considered ‘change-makers’ and have made significant contributions in encouraging citizens to engage in the democratic process.” Golan & Christie congratulates Ms. Yong on her achievement.

• Gift Tax Update - Is It Better To Give Than To Receive?
• Business Owners - Do You Have Your Buy-Sell Agreement In Place?
• Employment Law Alerts

Chicago Daily law Bulletin

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as “ObamaCare,” remains intact even after the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of some of its key provisions.

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), which goes into effect on September 16, 2012, changes many of the ways in which an inventor can obtain a patent in the United States. The best way to learn about the impact of the AIA is to compare key provisions of patent law before and after the AIA.

With summer temperatures upon us, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has a public awareness campaign to prevent workplace injuries related to heat. OSHA does not have a specific standard for working in heat, but, under federal law, employers have a duty to protect workers from serious hazards in the workplace, including heat-related hazards.

There may be a new trend in lawsuits being brought by employees who worked as unpaid interns.

• What are An Employer’s Obligations Under “ObamaCare”?
• The America Invents Act - Big Changes for Inventors
• Employment Law Alerts

Turnaround Management Association's March 2012 issue of "Journal of Corporate Renewal"

Bankruptcy comes in several flavors, and a Chapter 11 is the flavor that allows a business to reorganize and continue to operate. Can small businesses benefit from filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy? YES! And here’s why:

Over 50% of the population does not have any estate plan. Not a will. Not a trust. Nothing. Further, of those people that have done some planning, what they have is in many cases out of date or has not been fully implemented.

In our Winter 2012 newsletter, we discussed the groundbreaking Illinois Supreme Court opinion in Reliable Fire Equipment Company v. Arrendendo, which changed the landscape for employers looking to enforce restrictive covenants (often called non-compete and non-solicit provisions). Other courts – both state appellate and local federal courts – have begun weighing in on this case and how it will be applied on a practical level.

Savvy employers know that two things help protect them against harassment claims: (1) a written policy against sexual harassment and discrimination; and (2) an internal complaint procedure for employees to voice any potential violations of the policy. If, however, those policies are not followed in practice, or if employees are not trained how to utilize the internal complaint procedure, employers may find themselves unprotected.

Golan & Christie Partner, Beverly A. Berneman, recently taught an advanced class in Bankruptcy and Intellectual Property at the John Marshall School of Law. Beverly also teaches a course in Financing the Development of Intellectual Property. She created the curriculum for both of these unique courses and has been teaching them for 9 years.

Federal Bar Association's Spring 2012 issue of "Divisions Digest"

• Can Small Businesses Benefit from filing for Chapter 11?
• Why You Can’t Just Put It In a Drawer and Forget It
• Employment Law Alerts

Employment contracts containing “restrictive covenants” (a/k/a non-competition, non-solicitation or any other post-employment restriction on employee’s activities) are one of the most litigated legal issues in Illinois – and around the nation.

It is no secret that since 2007 real estate property values throughout the Chicagoland area have decreased drastically. Market values have plummeted for commercial, industrial and residential properties alike. Nonetheless, property taxes have remained high.

A mobile device retailer’s lawsuit against its former employee, Noah Kravitz, raises a novel legal question about who owns a Twitter account used by an employee to comment about both personal and work topics. The employer, PhoneDog Media L.L.C., which also maintains a website and blog with reviews and news about mobile devices, alleges that Kravitz improperly kept using a company Twitter account which had accumulated more than 17,000 followers.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has again postponed the effective date of its requirement that employers post a notice to employees about their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRA covers most non-governmental employers in the United States, including non-profits and non-union businesses.

• Restrictive Covenant Provisions – Is Yours Enforceable?
• The Value of Assessment Appeals
• Employment Law Alerts

Merger and acquisition activity has started to rebound from the credit crisis, which inhibited the merger and acquisition market a few years ago. As the volume of deals continues to increase, buyers and sellers, now more than ever, need to carefully allocate risk and the assumption and retention of liabilities when structuring a transaction.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently started mailing “no-match letters” which inform employers that the social security number and name of one or more of their employees do not match the SSA’s records. While the letters do not look threatening, no-match letters have formed the basis for multiple criminal investigations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and prosecutions on charges of harboring or knowingly hiring unauthorized workers. The SSA stopped sending these letters in 2008 (for tax year 2007) in response to litigation surrounding a proposed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulation, “Safe Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter.” DHS later rescinded the proposed regulation.