The IRS recently released two notices to provide guidance for tax-exempt organizations about how to comply with the new provision that they treat employer-provided parking and qualified transportation fringe benefits as unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”). This unprecedented treatment of expenses as income created substantial uncertainty about how to calculate the UBTI from the parking benefits and how to address the passing of estimated tax payment deadlines. Notice 2018-99 provides guidance on calculating UBTI from…

When a data breach occurs at a company, not only is customer data vulnerable but so is employee information. But what obligations do employers owe their employees?…

As a reminder to Connecticut employers, legislation amending Connecticut’s Pay Equity law that was signed by Governor Malloy this past May becomes effective on January 1, 2019. The new amendment to the Pay Equity law prohibits employers from inquiring about a prospective employee’s wage and salary history unless otherwise required to do so by state or federal law. An employer will not be in violation of the law if a prospective employee voluntarily discloses their…

Unions have been actively organizing graduate students, while wanting to avoid having the National Labor Relations Board involved. They are particularly concerned that President Trump’s appointees to the National Labor Relations Board, who are now a majority of the Board members, will revisit and reverse the Columbia University decision. That decision determined that graduate students were employees and could organize and bargain collectively. Already, the University of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago have refused to…

Shipman & Goodwin attorney Leander A. Dolphin will participate in the panel discussion “#Metoo: Preventing and Responding to Sexual Harassment in the Professional Workplace” hosted by the University of Saint Joseph. When: November 26, 2018, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM EST Where: University of Saint Joseph West Hartford Campus, Crystal Room For more information, please click here.…

This complimentary CLE webinar will offer a review of legal best practices for employers, in situations where mental health issues may be present in their workplaces. Presenters will discuss when, and how, to engage in interactive dialogues with employees, to determine if a qualifying disability exists and whether reasonable accommodations are available, and how to balance workplace safety issues and concerns of coworkers against the rights of employees who may have qualifying disabilities, in accordance…

If you work in the Human Resources field you almost certainly understand the basic obligations employers must deal with under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Most often the issue you face involves analysis of the essential functions of an employee’s job and consideration of reasonable accommodations to permit the employee to perform those functions. The next time you undertake this analysis you may find it helpful to review a now long-standing guidance that the…