Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Insight on Labor & Employment Developments for Connecticut Businesses

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Shipman & Goodwin

Daniel Schwartz

Gary S. Starr

Latest from Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

With New Coronavirus, Making Your Workplace Ready for an Pandemic: What Employers Need to Know

By Daniel Schwartz

January 22, 2020

Back in 2009, it was hard not to miss press coverage of the H1N1 virus. In fact, I wrote a series of posts about how employers could prepare for a possible pandemic while still complying with employment laws. Flash forward to now, and press reports are coming out daily about a new (novel) coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that has been detected in China and perhaps originating in Wuhan City. And yesterday, there was a report of…

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Do We Have to Allow Dogs in Our Workplace? Maybe. Maybe Not.

By Daniel Schwartz

January 20, 2020

Recently, I saw a skiing dog. Oh, and it was wearing sunglasses too. To be fair (to the dog), it was actually tucked neatly in a backpack while the owner was in line for the chairlift. I didn’t actually see the dog skiing, but you get the picture. (Which I did capture!) I thought I had seen everything but this was something new. And yet, it perfectly captured for me, a growing trend I’ve been…

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Asking About Age on Job Applications? New Bill Will Aim to Prohibit It

By Daniel Schwartz

January 16, 2020

The EEOC has long advised that asking about date of birth on job applications was a particularly bad idea. The ADEA does not explicitly prohibit an employer from asking an applicant’s age or date of birth. However, such inquiries may deter older workers from applying for employment or may otherwise indicate possible intent to discriminate based on age, contrary to the purposes of the ADEA. If the information is needed for a lawful purpose, it…

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

New Joint Employer Rules Adopted by USDOL; Connecticut Employers Should Tread Carefully

By Daniel Schwartz

January 13, 2020

usdolbuilding — USDOL Headquarters in DC

The United States Department of Labor today released new regulations that dramatically change the existing rules on when two businesses are “joint employers” under federal wage and hour laws. I’ve previously discussed the changing rules in some prior posts here and here, so you should catch up there first if this is the first time you’re hearing about it. The new rules impact so-called “horizontal” and “vertical” joint employment situations, although the DOL has…

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Why Employers Have Enough to Worry About Without Predictions for 2020

By Daniel Schwartz

December 30, 2019

For well over a decade, my first post each year has been a prediction about what the upcoming year will bring in employment. (The less said about my 2019 prediction to dust off the reduction-in-force guidance, the better.) But there was a year when I didn’t make a prediction 2010 (except that I went “out of my way” to predict that we would not make contact with aliens. You need to read the post.) So,…

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Vetoed Restaurant Bill on “Dual Duties” Gets Revived With Compromises

By Daniel Schwartz

December 19, 2019

Six months after a little-noticed bill passed unanimously by the General Assembly (and was then vetoed by Governor Lamont), a new compromise measure passed yesterday in a special session. For a full article, check out CT Mirror’s coverage here or CTNewsJunkie here. The bill uses some of the same concepts that had been previously discussed, particularly at a public hearing in October. But the bill tries to address the issue in a more nuanced way.…

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

The Employment Law Footnote to Local Television Icon Denise D’Ascenzo’s Amazing Career

By Daniel Schwartz

December 8, 2019

As someone who grew up in Connecticut and watched Channel 3 news religiously (at least before the internet), Denise D’Ascenzo, the local news anchor who passed away suddenly on Saturday, was one of a kind. She was professional, authoritative, knowledgeable, and humble. I loved watching her both on the news and during the yearly Muscular Dystrophy telethons that she and weatherman Hilton Kaderli used to host every Labor Day. I didn’t know her other…

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

The Dialogue: A Busy Year in Employment Law in 2019 with a Look Ahead to 2020

By Daniel Schwartz

December 3, 2019

It’s been far too long since our last installment from March 2019, but my ongoing dialogue with Nina Pirrotti, a prominent plaintiff’s-side employment law attorney, is back. In this post, we talked about the highlights from 2019 with a sneak peek at 2020. My thanks to Nina for her contributions. You can find her firm’s blog posts here as well. Dan: Nina! Good to talk with you again here. I hope you had a…

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Stuffing Discrimination Complaints Into Thanksgiving? Feast on these Cases

By Daniel Schwartz

November 26, 2019

Did you hear about the guy who went into a rage when he got the shorter end of the wishbone? He just snapped! In prior posts, I’ve described how Valentine’s Day and Halloween have been fowl holidays for employers. Many a harassment or discrimination complaint has been based on those holidays. But what about Thanksgiving? Everyone loves it, right? Gobble gobble. A search for some cases was as easy as, say, pumpkin pie. And yes,…

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

The Ever Changing Landscape of Medical Marijuana – What HR Needs to Know

By Daniel Schwartz

November 21, 2019

As the decade comes to a close, a time traveler from 2009 might be surprised to see how rapidly laws on marijuana have changed. Last night’s Democratic Debate even featured a heated discussion about legalizing marijuana. But let’s imagine that this traveler is from Human Resources. The laws regarding medical marijuana are head-spinning; these laws have resulted in a significant impact in the areas of drug testing, hiring, discipline and ADA accommodations. Now add the…

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Insight on Labor & Employment Developments for Connecticut Businesses

Blog Authors

With New Coronavirus, Making Your Workplace Ready for an Pandemic: What Employers Need to Know

Do We Have to Allow Dogs in Our Workplace? Maybe. Maybe Not.

Asking About Age on Job Applications? New Bill Will Aim to Prohibit It

New Joint Employer Rules Adopted by USDOL; Connecticut Employers Should Tread Carefully

Why Employers Have Enough to Worry About Without Predictions for 2020

Vetoed Restaurant Bill on “Dual Duties” Gets Revived With Compromises

The Employment Law Footnote to Local Television Icon Denise D’Ascenzo’s Amazing Career

The Dialogue: A Busy Year in Employment Law in 2019 with a Look Ahead to 2020

Stuffing Discrimination Complaints Into Thanksgiving? Feast on these Cases

The Ever Changing Landscape of Medical Marijuana – What HR Needs to Know

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