CHICAGO (AP) - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says the Jimmy John's sandwich chain has agreed to stop requiring low-level employees to sign agreements preventing them from seeking jobs with competitors.
Madigan says the Champaign-based chain also agreed to inform employees that previously signed agreements will not be enforced. Jimmy John's must also tell franchise owners to rescind existing agreements and pay $100,000 to be used for public awareness of legal standards for non-compete agreements.
Madigan sued Jimmy John's in June. A Jimmy John's news release says the company is pleased to resolve the lawsuit.
The noncompete forbid employees from working for any competitor near a Jimmy John's that derived at least 10 percent of its revenue from submarine or deli sandwiches.
Jimmy John's reached a similar settlement with the state of New York in June.