personal investments can my employeer control what I do on my own time

Generally Illinois is an "at will" employment state.

I would look to the employee handbook of your firm. If you are a contract employee, read through your contract to review any terms that could relate to your situation.

I alway recommend contacting an employment attorney in a situation like this, especially if there is a large amount of money/securities involved, so you may receive the personal attention you deserve.

Adding to my post:

An "at will" employee can be fired at anytime for any reason as long as the reason is not illegal (race, sex, ethnicity).

In the State of Illinois all employees are presumed to be "at will" unless there is an employment contract.

I am an at will employee and in the past 8 months they have cut my salary by 40%. I think they are trying to get me to quit as I do have a severance package that is now almost 90K. If I quit I get nothing. If they fire me and pay the severance, I would be happy as I am currently working on 3 possible jobs that would start after October allready.

In addition to the comments by my colleague, I would add that employers can control the investment activities of its employees, particularly where it has a reasonable interest. Your employer has a reasonable interest in imposing such rules becuase of the industry you are in and the fiduciary duty owed to your employer's customers. The rules you mentioned seem to be aimed at avoiding any appearance of a conflict of interest or insider trading and it is likely that there are rules and regulations imposed on your employer with respect to "proprietary" or "dual trading" by its governing SRO.

Such restrictions are also common in executive compensative employement agreements and non-competition agreements for high level employees. The restrictions are "bargained" for and provided by the employee in exchange for employment and the "higher" level of compensation. So, there is generally no
compensation offered for any inconvenience to the employee. In your case, I suspect that the restrictions are industry requirements and are considered conditions of employment. So, you may not be in a position to ask for compensation for closing your account. In addition, for your statement, it appears that employer is merely asking you to move your investements into a different class and is not demanding that you close your account.

This answer is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship. You should consult a business lawyer to obtain legal advice that is tailored to your circumstances and facts. Good luck to you.