Jimmy John’s Sued By Illinois' Attorney General Over Non-Compete Clause

Jimmy John’s, one of the largest sandwich chains in the country, is typically known for its menu and “freaky fast” delivery service. But right now, the brand is making headlines for being at the center of a lawsuit in Illinois.

Nation’s Restaurant News notes that the sandwich chain has been sued by Illinois’ attorney general Lisa Madigan for using non-compete clauses in its employee contracts. The clauses restrict where workers can get jobs after they leave the company—specifically, Jimmy John’s employees cannot get a job from any employer that gets at least 10 percent of its revenue from sandwiches and are located within two miles of any Jimmy John’s location in the U.S.

Madigan released a statement saying, “Preventing employees from seeking employment with a competitor is unfair to Illinois workers and bad for Illinois businesses. By locking low-wage workers into their jobs and prohibiting them from seeking better paying jobs elsewhere, the companies have no reason to increase their wages or benefits.”

The brand responded to the lawsuit by saying it no longer uses those non-compete clauses in its contracts, and that it wouldn’t enforce a non-compete agreement against any hourly worker than signed one. Jimmy John’s also released a statement saying the non-compete clauses were removed from their worker agreements online. However, the company didn’t tell its local owners and franchisees that a change had been made.

“When we learned that, through an administrative error, certain company stores were using outdated, pre-printed paperwork, we immediately corrected the error and voluntarily informed the Attorney General,” the company said. “We remain committed to resuming productive discussions with the Attorney General.”