With many legal changes forthcoming on the national horizon, it is critical for employers to ensure that they are familiar with the new laws that were passed in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. The following list...more
A number of important New York labor and employment law developments from 2022 should be top of mind as employers ease into 2023. State legislators paid significant attention to anti-discrimination and anti-harassment...more
1/13/2023
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
New York ,
Pay Transparency ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Warehouses ,
Workplace Safety
As employers actively work to prepare for 2023, taking note of employment-related legislative activity is key. Following robust 2022 legislative sessions in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, employers have a number...more
Connecticut House Bill 6515, otherwise known as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act, which prohibits workplace discrimination as well as discrimination in public accommodations, housing,...more
During 2020, many employers faced a call for action to clearly state their positions on the social justice and civil rights issues of the day. The days of employers comfortably remaining silent appear to be gone as employees...more
As COVID-19 cases continue to surge, many employers have implemented a variety of safeguards to limit the spread of COVID-19 in their workplaces. One safeguard being utilized is a COVID-19 testing program. As a preliminary...more
1/7/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Risk ,
Vendors ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sudden, widespread shift towards remote work arrangements. This shift has provided many benefits, including an increase in the employee talent pool and the ability to...more
As the holiday season approaches and COVID-19 cases surge, many employers are concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in their workplaces. Most employees are suffering from fatigue, burnout, isolation, and loneliness from...more
As COVID-19 cases across the country begin to surge, COVID-19-related hospitalizations are also on the rise. This increase in COVID-19-related hospitalizations likely will have a number of practical implications for the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued new model notices and certification forms (FMLA forms), which can be used by employers to administer the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and fulfill the FMLA...more
A United States federal district court judge in the Southern District of New York struck down four regulations issued by the United States Department of Labor (DOL) limiting paid leave entitlements under the Families First...more
The Connecticut Workers Compensation Act (Act) provides wage replacement and medical benefits for employees who suffer a work-related injury or illness, including certain occupational diseases (defined in the Act to mean “any...more
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law. The CARES Act is designed to distribute capital quickly and broadly to help alleviate the economic impact of COVID-19,...more
Having been “inundated with questions from both state regulators and the regulated community about how to handle the current extraordinary situation,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a temporary...more
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to sweep the nation, the "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" (FFCRA) was approved by Congress and signed into law by the President on March 18, 2020, in an attempt to...more
4/1/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EFMLA ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
New Legislation ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to sweep the nation, the "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" (the Act) was approved by Congress and signed into law by the President on March 18, 2020 in an attempt to...more
Moving quickly to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, New York adopted sweeping legislation providing for paid and unpaid sick leave to all New York employees.
...more
Over the past two years, in response to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, lawmakers across the United States have been evaluating laws related to sexual harassment prevention and passing legislation expanding such laws....more
10/2/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hostile Environment ,
Labor Regulations ,
Posting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding its collection of 2017 and 2018 Component 2 compensation data. Additionally, many EEO-1 filers recently...more
7/12/2019
/ Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Gap ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
Connecticut has followed a growing trend among the states by implementing a system to provide paid time off to workers experiencing health and family-related issues. On June 25, 2019, Governor Ned Lamont signed into law “An...more
Continuing its aggressive measures to combat workplace sexual harassment, on August 23, the New York State Department of Labor issued for public comment a draft sexual harassment training program, a checklist of minimum...more
9/6/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Local Ordinance ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
On November 26, New York City will implement a package of laws, dubbed the “Fair Workweek Law” (Law). The package of five laws states that retail and fast food employers in New York City must provide employees with...more
Connecticut has joined a growing trend of states and municipalities expanding the protections afforded to pregnant employees and applicants. Connecticut’s new law, effective October 1, 2017, entitled An Act Concerning...more
In Stevens v. Rite Aid Corp., No. 15-277 (March 21, 2017), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a jury award of almost $2 million in favor of a pharmacist who suffered from a fear of needles because he...more
3/30/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Essential Functions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Pharmacies ,
Pharmacist ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Rite Aid ,
Wrongful Termination
In Wall Systems, Inc. v. Pompa, No. SC19734 (Mar. 7, 2017), the Connecticut Supreme Court explained the legal and equitable remedies available to employers that win breach of duty of loyalty claims against their current or...more