Law on employers and social networks updated

Legal Look

By Moyenda Mutharika Knapp

Moyenda Mutharika Knapp is a shareholder at Johnson & Bell Ltd., where she handles employment law, commercial litigation, and insurance coverage cases. She has been an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law since 2005. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Boston University School of Law. Her email is knappm@jbltd.com.

Posted February 3, 2014 2:47 PM

In an age when it seems like everyone is on Facebook or Twitter, it is important for an Illinois employer to know to what extent it can request access to an employee or applicant’s social networking site content. Illinois has recently enacted statutory amendments that took effect in the last 13 months that limit an employer’s ability to ask an employee or job applicant for access to such content. Effective Jan. 1, 2013, Illinois law restricts an employer from requesting or requiring an employee or …

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Judge offers guidance for avoiding federal ‘trap’ in med-mal case

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By Steven P. Garmisa
Opinions shed light on how justices view shadow docket

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By Daniel A. Cotter
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Answering a question certified for immediate appeal in a case where the plaintiff didn’t know the defendant was dead when the lawsuit was filed, the Illinois Appellate Court concluded that the maneuver used by plaintiff’s attorney to rectify the problem — having his secretary appointed as “personal representative” of the decedent’s estate under Sec. 13-209(c) of the Code of Civil Procedure and then naming her as defendant in an amended complaint — was the wrong move.
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A judge’s ethical imperative: Follow the law or face the JIB

“The law that applies to this case is stated in these instructions, and it is your duty to follow all of them.” So states Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction 1.01(2), which the judge reads to the jurors in every criminal case before the jury begins its deliberations. If we expect jurors to follow the law, we surely must expect judges to lead by example and do the same thing.
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Accused of insider trading, Michael Shvartsman argued this offense is “criminal law made by judges” that violates Article I of the U.S. Constitution and the non-delegation doctrine.
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