Alyssa M. Cook
Associate
Alyssa Cook is an associate in the Labor Department and a member of the Employment Litigation & Arbitration Group.
During her time at Proskauer, Alyssa has focused on a wide range of employment matters, including employment discrimination litigation, EEOC litigation, and class and collective actions, among others. Alyssa has gained experience across a wide variety of industries including consumer goods, retail, educational institutions and financial services.
Alyssa earned her J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where she was an associate editor on the Journal of Law and Social Policy. During law school, she completed an externship for the Honorable Charles P. Kocoras of the Northern District of Illinois and participated in clinical work for the Complex Civil Litigation and Investor Protection Center, which included litigation on behalf of victims of mortgage fraud. Prior to law school, Alyssa worked as a legal assistant for three years at a small litigation-focused law firm.
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On August 4, 2023, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed HB2862 (the “Bill”) into law. The Bill requires temporary staffing agencies to provide certain temporary workers with the same pay and benefits as the workers’ directly employed counterparts with “the same level of seniority at the company and performing the same or substantially similar work on jobs … Continue Reading
On June 21, 2023, the New York State Assembly passed a sweeping bill (Bill No. S03100/A1278B — An Act to Amend the Labor Law, in Relation to Prohibiting Non-Compete Agreements and Certain Restrictive Covenants) that, if it becomes law, would impose a near-total ban on new non-compete agreements within the state or otherwise governed by … Continue Reading
We recently reported on New York Bill No. S03100, which, if enacted, would broadly prohibit non-competition agreements in New York. On the same day, June 7, 2023, the New York Senate also passed Bill No. S6748 (the “Bill”), which would similarly prohibit non-competes. The Bill aims to prevent monopolies, monopsonies, and restraints on trade and … Continue Reading
UPDATE: On June 20, 2023, the New York State Assembly also voted in favor of this legislation, and the Bill is now headed to Governor Hochul. If signed by Governor Hochul, New York would become the fifth state to institute a broad ban of non-compete agreements (after California, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Minnesota). The Bill … Continue Reading
Introduction: Earlier this year, we covered the notable trade secrets verdict in Versata Software Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., No. 2:15-cv-10628 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 26, 2022), in which Versata was awarded $105 million for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets claims against Ford Motor Co. However, on May 1, 2023, the U.S. District … Continue Reading
Before closing the book on 2022, we look back at the most significant verdicts issued in trade secret trials this past year. In 2022, several juries awarded extraordinary verdicts to plaintiffs. These verdicts suggest a growing trend in damages theories and illustrate the importance of expert testimony in both the prosecution and defense of trade … Continue Reading
On February 17, 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that claims under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) may accrue with each biometric scan and not just on an individual’s first scan. Cothron v. White Castle System, Inc., 2023 IL 128004. In Cothron, the plaintiff alleged that the employer failed to follow BIPA’s requirements in … Continue Reading
On February 1, 2023, a coalition of U.S. Senators and Members of the House of Representatives reintroduced a bill titled the Workforce Mobility Act (the “Act”), seeking to prohibit the use and enforcement of post-employment non-competition agreements. The bill had been previously introduced in 2018, 2019, and 2021, but it was stalled each time and … Continue Reading
On January 4, 2023, in Ainslie, et al. v. Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., the Delaware Court of Chancery invalidated the forfeiture-for-competition provision in the financial services company’s limited partnership agreement, based on the court’s determination that the agreement’s non-competition provision was unenforceable. (CA. No. 9436-VCZ (Del. Ch. Jan. 4, 2023). As a result, the court determined … Continue Reading
On May 13, 2022, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law Senate Bill 3146 (the “Amendment”), amending the One Day Rest In Seven Act (“ODRISA”). The Amendment will go into effect on January 1, 2023. Rest Days The Amendment, once effective, will require employers to provide non-exempt employees with one 24-hour day of rest in … Continue Reading
On January 25, 2022, the Illinois Department of Labor (“IDOL”) issued notices to 625 Illinois businesses to inform them that they have until May 25, 2022 to submit their Equal Pay Registration Certificate (“Certificate”) application as required under the amendments to the Illinois Equal Pay Act (“IEPA”). Background The IEPA was amended, effective June 25, … Continue Reading
On January 6, 2022, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois erred in denying class certification to putative subclasses of unsuccessful Black job applicants who alleged that hiring exams used by the Cook County Department of Corrections (“DOC”) resulted in a disparate impact on … Continue Reading
Illinois Enacts Law Requiring “Equal Pay” for Temporary Workers
By Steven J. Pearlman and Alyssa M. Cook on Posted in Pay Equity
Implications of and Open Questions Regarding the N.Y. State Legislature’s Passage of Bill Banning Non-Competes
Update: New York State Senate Passes Another Bill With A Broad Ban on Non-Competes
N.Y. State Senate Passes Ban on Non-Competes
Federal Judge Reverses $105 Million Jury Verdict in Trade Secrets Case
By Joseph O’Keefe, Alexandra Oxyer and Alyssa M. Cook on Posted in Trade Secrets
Lessons Learned From 2022’s Trade Secret Verdicts
By Steven J. Pearlman, Joseph O’Keefe, Daryl Leon, Alexandra Oxyer and Alyssa M. Cook on Posted in Trade Secrets
Illinois Supreme Court Rules that BIPA Violations Accrue with Each Scan
By Steven J. Pearlman, Alexandra Oxyer and Alyssa M. Cook on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
Legislation Seeking to Ban Non-Competes Reintroduced in Congress
Delaware Chancery Court Invalidates Forfeiture-for-Competition Provision in Partnership Agreement
By Joseph O’Keefe, Steven J. Pearlman, Alyssa M. Cook and Daryl Leon on Posted in Non-Competes and Protection of Corporate Assets
Stricter Requirements Added to Illinois One Day Rest in Seven Act
By Steven J. Pearlman, Alyssa M. Cook and Edward Young on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
First Deadline Approaching for New Illinois Equal Pay Act Requirements
By Steven J. Pearlman, Edward Young and Alyssa M. Cook on Posted in Uncategorized
7th Circuit Reverses Denial of Class Certification for Disparate Impact Subclasses
By Steven J. Pearlman, Edward Young and Alyssa M. Cook on Posted in Class/Collective Action
