Photo of Edward Young

Edward “Eddie” C. Young is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the following Firm practice groups: Restrictive Covenants & Trade Secrets; Discrimination, Harassment & Title VII; and Whistleblowing & Retaliation.

Eddie represents employers in all aspects of employment law, with a concentration on litigating complex employment disputes of all types before federal and state courts throughout the country, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, state and local human rights commissions and arbitral tribunals (e.g., FINRA and AAA).  In particular, Eddie has successfully litigated employment-related disputes alleging breach of non-compete agreements, theft of trade secrets, discrimination, sexual harassment, whistleblower retaliation, wage and hour violations, including employee misclassification claims, breach of contract, defamation, fraud and other business-related torts.  Eddie has obtained a world-wide injunction to enforce a client’s non-competition restriction on a former executive, successfully defended a client through summary judgment and appeal against retaliation claims brought by a former General Counsel, represented Fortune 500 companies in defense of high-profile harassment claims associated with the #metoo movement, and provided representation to several professional sports leagues.  He also has significant appellate experience, including successfully representing clients before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the First, Second and Seventh Circuits, as well as before the United States Supreme Court.  Eddie often draws on his litigation experience to help clients avoid the courtroom by effectuating positive change in the workplace through impactful training, counseling and developing robust employment policies.

Working in a wide range of industries, Eddie represented clients in food services, financial services, medical devices, telecommunications, higher education, sports, retail, real estate and others.

Eddie has been recognized as “One to Watch” by Best Lawyers in America since 2021 and as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers since 2017. He also regularly advises clients, writes and speaks on cutting-edge legal issues, including the use of Artificial Intelligence in the workplace, and legal issues arising from the collection and use of employee biometric information.

Eddie maintains an active pro bono practice, including on-going representation of a certified class of approximately 65,000 visually disabled Chicagoans in litigation challenging the City’s lack of accessible pedestrian crosswalks.  Eddie is also a member of the Firm’s Pro-Bono Committee and is a three-time recipient of the Firm’s “Golden Gavel” award for his significant pro bono contributions.

Prior to joining Proskauer, Eddie was a cum laude graduate from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He also obtained a Master’s Degree in Human Resources and Industrial Relations from Loyola University Chicago Graduate School of Business. He began his practice at a national management-side employment law firm, and has also worked in the corporate human resources department of a national tax consulting firm and as a Fellow with the Illinois Human Rights Commission.

On August 9, 2024, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law HB3773, a bill amending the Illinois Human Rights Act to address employers’ use of artificial intelligence (AI).  The amendment clarifies that it is a civil rights violation to use AI that has the effect of discriminating on the basis of protected classes under

In a recent development in Mobley vs. Workday, Inc., the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied in part Workday, Inc.’s (“Workday”) Motion to Dismiss,  allowing the Plaintiff to pursue novel claims that Workday – a third-party software vendor which provides artificial intelligence (“AI”)  driven employment screening tools to assist

Effective July 1, 2024, the Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance (“Ordinance”) will entitle eligible employees to accrue up to 40 hours of Paid Leave and up to 40 hours of Paid Sick Leave in a 12-month period and carryover certain leave into the next year.  Eligible employees will begin to

The Illinois Equal Pay Act (“IEPA”) was previously amended to require private businesses with more than 100 employees in Illinois to obtain an Equal Pay Registration Certificate (“EPRC”) by March 23, 2024, and every two years thereafter.  We previously posted about this requirement here and here.

Since the IEPA was amended, the Illinois Department

***UPDATE: Governor Pritzker signed the bill into law on August 11, 2023.***

On May 17, 2023, the Illinois legislature passed House Bill 3129 (the “Bill”), which amends the Illinois Equal Pay Act (820 ILCS 112, et. seq.) to require Illinois employers to include pay scale and benefits information in job postings and to post

On May 8, 2023, the Illinois legislature passed Senate Bill 1515 (the “Amendment”), which would amend the Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act (820 ILCS § 55) to mandate a specified process employers would need to follow if they choose to take an adverse employment action against an employee after receiving notice from