Illinois Imposes New Restrictions on Non-Competes and Non-Solicits

Katherine H. Oblak | Sheppard Mullin

Katherine H. Oblak is an associate in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm’s Chicago office.

Areas of Practice
Katherine’s practice covers a wide range of employment litigation and counseling. She defends employers in state and federal courts and before various administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

In her practice, Katherine routinely represents clients in various industries against retaliation, discrimination and harassment claims based on race, color, sex, age and disability. She also regularly represents clients in high-stakes class and collective action litigation. Katherine also prosecutes and defends against breach of restrictive covenant and misappropriation of trade secret claims. Additionally, Katherine has experience with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act compliance and related litigation.

In addition to her litigation practice, Katherine regularly counsels clients and assists them in drafting employee handbooks and other employee agreements.

Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, Katherine worked at a national labor and employment law firm where she counseled and represented employers and management in both state and federal litigation. Katherine also previously represented large commercial enterprises, financial institutions, and entrepreneurs in complex commercial disputes, including but not limited to business divorces, shareholder derivative suits, as well as in actions in fraud and breaches of fiduciary duty. Katherine also worked for a national law firm headquartered in Chicago where she focused on consumer finance and class action litigation.

While attending law school, Katherine served as an executive editor of the Loyola Law Journal and a Legal Writing Tutor. She also received the CALI Award for Excellence in Legal Writing I and II. Katherine worked as a judicial extern for the Honorable Samuel Der-Yeghiayan in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and for the Honorable James Epstein in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division. Katherine earned a National Institute of Trial Advocacy certification in 2018.

Prior to her legal career, Katherine worked as a journalist. Her published works appear in Condé Nast Traveler, Chicago magazine, Chicago HOME magazine and mylifetime.com.

Shawn D. Fabian | Sheppard Mullin

Shawn Fabian is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm’s Chicago and New York offices.

Areas of Practice

Litigation
Shawn represents management-side clients before federal and state courts across the country and before administrative agencies, including the DOL, EEOC, NLRB and various state and municipal human rights commissions and labor agencies. He also regularly represents clients in arbitrations and other avenues of alternative dispute resolution.

Shawn analyzes the enforceability of restrictive covenants and structuring enforceable restrictive covenants to protect his clients’ business interests, and he prosecutes and defends actions across the country involving the enforcement of non-compete, non-solicit and other restrictive covenants, as well as misappropriation of trade secrets claims under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act. His litigation experience also includes defense of collective and class actions alleging misclassification and other wage and hour claims; defense of multi- and single-plaintiff cases alleging discrimination, retaliation and sexual harassment; and defense of whistleblower claims.

Counseling & Internal Investigations
Shawn regularly counsels domestic and international clients on day-to-day workplace issues, such as preparation, administration and enforcement of personnel policies, reductions-in-force, executive and employee discipline and separation, leaves of absence and reasonable accommodations.

Shawn is well versed in conducting complex internal investigations and audits on behalf of his clients. His investigations range from issues affecting the entirety of a client’s workforce that require scores of interviews of employees at all levels of the corporate hierarchy to issues affecting small departments or complaints of a single employee. Shawn ensures efficiency and minimal disturbance to his clients’ operations during the course of an investigation. Relatedly, he is well versed in conducting investigations and audits in response to inquiries from various regulatory agencies and institutions, including JCAHO and ACGME. He also conducts interactive trainings on issues such as recruitment, sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying and other workplace behavior, discipline and general legal compliance.

Mergers & Acquisitions
Shawn works closely with the firm’s Corporate Practice Group on mergers and acquisitions to evaluate the labor and employment liabilities associated with a specific transaction; develop pragmatic, business-oriented solutions to issues that arise during the course of fast-paced transactions; and structure sophisticated executive employment, separation and retention bonus agreements in connection with such transactions.

Shawn joined the firm after serving as Chief Counsel for Labor and Employee Relations at a nationally recognized hospital in New York City. Previously, he served on the staff teams for a U.S. Senator and U.S. Congressman in Washington, D.C.

I. General overview of drafting valid and enforceable restrictive covenants in Illinois | 1:00pm – 1:12pm
II. Important case law/factors Illinois courts consider in determining whether restrictive covenants are valid and enforceable | 1:12pm – 1:24pm
III. The Illinois Freedom to Work Act and Amendments to the Act, effective January 1, 2022 | 1:24pm – 1:36pm
IV. Implications of the Act and its Amendments on drafting valid and enforceable restrictive covenants in Illinois | 1:36pm – 1:48pm
V. Breadth of restrictive covenants in the sale of business context versus the post-employment context | 1:48pm – 2:00pm