From understanding complicated laws to knowing how to dispute exorbitant assessments, having an expert on your side can ensure you’re not overpaying when it comes to property taxes.

Property taxes affect us all, whether we’re paying them directly or receiving services or benefits covered by the tax. That’s especially true in Illinois, where property taxes are the 2nd highest in the nation, behind only New Jersey.*

The Bipartisan Budget Act (“BBA”) repealed and replaced the preexisting audit rules with a new set of centralized partnership tax audit and tax litigation rules. The most significant BBA Rule is that any “imputed underpayment” or “partnership adjustment” (collectively, “Partnership Adjustment”) will now be paid by the partnership, not the individual partners/members. The BBA Rules also replaced the role of a “Tax Matters Partner” with that of a “Partnership Representative,” who will have sole authority to act on behalf of the partnership. Additionally, either the partnership or its partners/members (as discussed below) will pay any tax assessed during the tax year in which the audit is resolved (“Adjustment Year”), not the tax year to which the audit is subject (“Reviewed Year”). Taking effect for all partnership taxable years that begin on or after January 1, 2018, these new BBA Rules govern IRS tax audits of partnerships, limited liability companies, and other entities and arrangements classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

In 2017, Illinois amended its Human Rights Act to strengthen protections granted to an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs. The amended statute, known as the Religious Garb Law, prohibits an employer from taking action that would cause an employee to “violate or forgo a sincerely held practice of his or her religion including but not limited to, the wearing of any attire, clothing, or facial hair in accordance with the requirements of his or her religion.” These beliefs could affect an employee’s ability to work on certain days or times, work with certain foods or products, engage in prayer, attend worship services, or observe religious holidays. Additionally, an employee might need to display religious objects or markings, refrain from participation in certain activities at work, and/or wear certain garments.

In a surprising decision, a federal court in Illinois recently determined a frequently used clause in non-compete agreements was overly broad. In Medix Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Dumrauf, the court found that a clause prohibiting a former employee from taking any position with another company that engaged in the same business as his former employer was overly restrictive. The court found the clause improper because it failed to consider what services the employee actually performed for his former employer or whether his new employer was really a competitor. The court was concerned that the clause could prohibit employment with a company that was not actually a competitor finding it wrongfully prohibited the employee, “from taking any number of more plausible roles at another industry player, no matter how far removed from actual competition with [his former employer].” Rather than judicially modifying the agreement to be more reasonable, the court threw out the entire agreement.

Property taxes affect us all, whether we’re paying them directly or receiving services or benefits covered by the tax. That’s especially true in Illinois, where property taxes are the 2nd highest in the nation, behind only New Jersey.*

Cease and desist letters are pretty self-explanatory. They are letters that demand the recipient stop taking actions that interfere with the letter writer’s rights. A cease and desist letter is not a legal document. But it is a notice that a claimant feels something is wrong with what the recipient is doing. It could lead to a lawsuit. But not automatically.

• How The New Partnership Tax Audit Rules Apply To You
• Complying With Religious Garb Law And Binding Non-compete Agreements
• Reasons To Consider Hiring A Property Tax Attorney
• Should You Respond To A Cease And Desist Letter?

You have worked hard to build up a nice little nest egg. You may have started or purchased a successful business, own a home, have savings in the bank, put aside money to pay for your kids’ college education, and accumulated several investments which you hope will carry you though retirement. The stock market is at an all-time high, and you may have even been diligent enough to prepare an estate plan. But the future is impossible to predict and your assets should be protected in case of a rainy day.

We are very pleased that Rubin & Associates, LLC became part of our Golan Christie Taglia family on January 1. Founded by Donald T. Rubin, his firm had grown to become one of Chicago’s leading law firms solely focused on property tax assessment law. Don and his team – Marsha L. Kleffman, James W. Chipman and Daria M. Palermo – bring with them more than 90 years of combined real estate tax experience, along with a strong reputation for excellence and responsiveness.

The end of 2017 and beginning of 2018 have brought an unprecedented interest around sexual harassment claims, owing in large part to two social media campaigns aimed at bringing awareness to victims of sexual harassment. While the primary targets of these campaigns have been the entertainment industry and elected officials, it is likely to make its way through other industries soon. As a result, many employers are looking critically at their anti-harassment and internal complaint policies, to determine whether a more robust approach is in order. Renewed interest in sexual harassment training, especially in organizations or industries that continue to be male-dominated, has also been on the rise.

Starting on July 1, 2018, the minimum wage for all employees who work in the City of Chicago (including domestic employees and home health care workers) will be raised to $12 per hour. In suburban Cook County, outside of the City of Chicago, the minimum wage will be raised to $11 per hour, effective as of the same date. The Illinois minimum wage for areas outside of Cook County will remain at $8.25 per hour.

If you own Intellectual Property such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, or trade secrets, you may encounter a situation where someone is using your Intellectual Property without your permission. The infringer can be an unintentional infringer, a competitor, a former employee, or licensee whose license has expired. The first step is to put the infringer on notice of your rights. Generally, that happens with a cease and desist letter.

Katherine M. Oswald focuses her practice on helping clients with trust and estate planning, probate, tax controversy and planning, and business succession planning matters. Ms. Oswald is licensed to practice law in Illinois and before the Northern District of Illinois. Ms. Oswald currently serves as co-chair of the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section for the Women in the Law Committee.

• How business owners can safeguard against personal liability
• Cease and desist measures to protect against intellectual property infringement
• Increases in minimum wage rates and social media’s impact on business policy
• Golan Christie Taglia expands its property tax assessment practice

Golan Christie Taglia partner Beverly A. Berneman was recently interviewed by the Chicago Tribune's Help Squad on the enforceability of online terms and conditions.

Cyberattacks are in the news almost every day. Hackers are constantly on the lookout for data to steal—personal information, financial records, intellectual property, or whatever valuable data they can get. They can use the purloined data to steal money from bank accounts or to set up credit cards, or they may simply sell the personal information to a third party. Recent statistics show nearly 43% of

Consider a typical retirement plan sponsored by a private employer. The employer is a fiduciary to the plan, along with individual employees who serve as trustees or members of the plan’s investment or retirement committee. When the employer has an outside investment manager, are the employer’s in-house fiduciaries off the hook?

Starting January 1, 2018, private-sector employers in California will be mandated to follow the so-called “ban the box” laws already in place in nine states, and for public-sector employers throughout the country. This law bars employers from requesting criminal conviction histories during the application process and before a conditional offer is made. An employer may run a background check after an offer has been made, and revoke the offer with appropriate evaluation of the conviction and open communication with the candidate about the reason the offer has been revoked. The goal is to provide an equal opportunity for those with a criminal record to be judged solely on their qualifications. Any company with employees or applicants in California should review their job application forms now, to remove any questions about criminal background.

In times when fingerprints and other biometric data are routinely used for menial tasks, e.g., to check text messages and tag friends in social media posts, it is hard to believe the use of biometric material may lead to a lawsuit. In response to growing concerns of identity theft, in 2008, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPO”). The BIPO restricts businesses’ collection, storage, and disclosure of personal biometric information. Biometric data includes retina and iris scans, fingerprints, voiceprints, handprints, and face geometry. Illinois employers must be hyper-diligent about BIPO compliance, as Illinois is the only state that allows a private cause of action and attorneys’ fees for violations.

Golan Christie Taglia welcomes Taylor J. Feldman to our firm. His practice will focus on corporate law and governance, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial real estate. Mr. Feldman received a B.B.A. with a concentration in finance and marketing from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, and a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he also obtained his certificate in taxation law. While attending law school, he worked at Loyola’s Business Law Clinic, where he helped represent entrepreneurs and small business owners as well as individuals who sought legal assistance with not-for-profit organizations. Taylor is a native Coloradan who enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, fly fishing, and skiing. We are pleased to have him join our team, and look forward to watching him grow with us!

• How to safeguard your business against cyberattacks
• What to consider when sponsoring a retirement plan
• New California laws and managing biometric data
• Golan Christie Taglia welcomes a new attorney

When a child turns 18, under Illinois law he or she is considered to be legally an adult. As an adult, the child is given privacy protections that restrict a parent’s access to the child’s medical, financial, and educational information. If you have a child who has attained age 18 or will do so shortly, and the child is a dependent or primarily supported by you, you should consider having certain documents prepared that will enable you to receive information concerning your child’s health care, financial, and education matters that you otherwise would not be permitted to obtain.

In July 2017, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (also known as OSHA) issued a press release related to new deadlines for electronic submission of OSHA forms regarding workplace injuries. Generally, employers with twenty or more employees (in certain industries) are required to submit their completed Form 300A for 2016 by December 1, 2017. In 2018, all covered employers must submit their completed Form 300A, 300 and 301 for 2017 by July 1, 2018.