Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Insight on Labor & Employment Developments for Connecticut Businesses

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By: Shipman & Goodwin LLP

Latest from Connecticut Employment Law Blog - Page 2

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Readers of the blog will no doubt know that it’s been far too long since I had Nina Pirrotti on the blog for a conversation about employment law topics. Excuses abound, but Nina — who mainly represents individuals in employment-related disputes — recently penned a piece for the Connecticut Law Tribune that is too good to let more time pass. So, knowing still that titling a piece a “Dialogue” while just offering up a link …
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The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunity (CHRO) was sued yesterday by its longtime (and former) Regional Manager Pekah Wallace.  The federal lawsuit claims her employment termination was improper and provides a whole host of information about what has been going on behind the scenes at the agency. You can download the complaint here.   (As with all new lawsuits, my standard warning applies — these are allegations in a complaint, not a determination from…
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Later today, I’ll be speaking to the next group of startups chosen to participate in the Accelerator for Biosciences in Connecticut, or ABCT.  ABCT is a Branford-based program spearheaded by Design Technologies LLC, which supports Connecticut’s aim of being a bioscience hub. It’s an exciting time for new businesses in Connecticut like those chosen to participate in the program. But employment law issues are often an after-thought for startups.  They shouldn’t be. I’ll be talking…
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Sometime soon, your e-mail inboxes are going to be bombarded from attorneys telling you that you need to pay attention NOW to new overtime rules by the U.S. Department of Labor.  ROFL.   At least based on what we know now, it’s best taking a lesson from my teenagers and ignoring the messages and hype (and all the text abbreviations too.)  SMH.  Late last week, Bloomberg news reported that the DOL is considering changing the rules…
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It seems likely that some type of paid Family and Medical Leave (otherwise known as “Paid FMLA”) bill is going to pass the General Assembly. CBIA recently posted about the pitfalls that await employers with passage with one CBIA staff testifying that “small businesses are terrified of this proposal.”   But the “paid” aspect of the bill is only one part. I’m not going to cover that in this post, but there are plenty of resources…
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Employers who want to (or need to) use independent contractors often scratch their heads at a disconnect – how do you determine who is an independent contractor?  I recall at one speaking engagement years ago, an employer who came up to me and asked: “So are you saying that there are TWO tests to determining if someone is an independent contractor?” Yes, that’s exactly what I was saying. The Connecticut Department of Labor and the…
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Yesterday, I tackled the bills floating around the Senate-side of the Connecticut General Assembly,  In today’s post, let’s look at the House side to see what bills are under consideration there: House Bill 5003 is the mirror-image bill of Senate Bill 1 on Paid Family & Medical Leave.  Yesterday’s post gave the highlights, which apply equally to this bill too. Similarly, proposed House Bill 5004 would raise the minimum wage in the state. The details…
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The Connecticut General Assembly is already busy with a full compliment of employment law bills under consideration.  At this point, it seems likely that several will pass in one form or another and thus employers should be playing close attention to the developments. Here are a few of the Senate ones that I’m watching (I’ll tackle the House bills in tomorrow’s post – now available here): Senate Bill 1 – This is the…
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In my prior post, I wondered aloud whether there were some rough waters ahead for employers.  Apple recently announced that it would not meet it’s earnings estimates in the first quarter of 2019, in part because of soft demand from China. Other companies are expected to announce some similar issues. Honestly, I’ve had enough conversations in the last few years with HR professionals who just haven’t lived through a major downturn. Think about this way:…
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You do a blog long enough and everything comes full circle.  Back in January 2008, I took out my crystal ball and suggested that reductions in force (RIFs) and lawsuits would soon follow. We all know what happened next. The economy crashed and discrimination claims at the EEOC peaked at their highest levels in more than 20 years.   So here we are 11 years later.  A whole generation of HR professionals have never experienced a…