While the action did not make it to trial, it was a success for Illinois AG Madigan, as on January 7, 2019, she announced that she reached a settlement with Check Into Cash that would end its practice of imposing highly restrictive non-compete agreements on store-level employees at its 33 locations throughout Illinois. Per the settlement, Check Into Cash can no longer require store-level employees to sign noncompete agreements, and it must train managers on the change and notify employees who are affected. In addition, Check Into Cash must pay $75,000, which the Illinois attorney general’s office will use toward public outreach on noncompete agreements. However, Check Into Cash may still use noncompete agreements with its higher level employees.
This is far from Madigan’s first successful attack on what she has called the “growing use of inappropriate non-competes to bind low-wage workers.” In December 2016, Madigan reached a settlement with Jimmy John’s to end the company’s requirement for employees such as sandwich makers and delivery drivers to sign non-compete agreements as a condition of employment, and also to inform current workers that the agreements would not be enforced.
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