A “supervisor,” for purposes of a Connecticut state hostile work environment claim, is an employee who is empowered by an employer to take tangible employment actions, the Connecticut Supreme Court recently held in O’Reggio...more
8/6/2024
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Commission on Human Rights ,
CT Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Internal Investigations ,
Race Discrimination ,
Supervisors ,
Title VII ,
Vicarious Liability
A Connecticut appellate court recently held that the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA) does not recognize a cause of action for associational disability discrimination....more
On March 19, 2024, the Connecticut Appellate Court upheld an employer’s right to discharge an employee for being impaired on the job from medical marijuana under a state law that provides employment protections for qualified...more
The Connecticut Appellate Court recently ruled that a septuagenarian teacher’s claims that she was forced to resign because of age discrimination were untimely. The ruling distinguishes Connecticut law from a 2016 Supreme...more
3/8/2024
/ Age Discrimination ,
Breach of Contract ,
CHRO ,
Claims Limitations Period ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Resignation ,
SCOTUS ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Law Claims ,
Title VII
Complying with the various legal and practical requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and its regulations is an ongoing challenge for employers, particularly when it comes to questions about when an employee...more
On June 10, 2021, Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Connecticut’s “Clean Slate” law, Public Act No. 21-32. The Clean Slate law became effective January 1, 2023, and it provides for the automatic erasure of certain criminal...more
Recently, the Connecticut General Assembly sent Public Act No. 22-24 (Substitute Senate Bill No. 163), “An Act Protecting Employee Freedom of Speech and Conscience,” to Governor Ned Lamont’s desk for signature. It is unclear...more
5/13/2022
/ Employee Rights ,
Free Speech ,
Governor Lamont ,
Mandatory Requirements ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Pending Legislation ,
Political Speech ,
Religious Expression ,
Special Meetings ,
Unions
The Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) recently issued nonbinding guidance on amendments to the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (CTFMLA) that will become effective January 1, 2022. The primary point of the...more
In January of 2019, Connecticut implemented legislation that, among other things, prohibited employers from inquiring about an applicant’s prior salary history. The Nutmeg State took it a step further yesterday, when Governor...more
On April 19, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced plans to roll back COVID-19-related restrictions on businesses - although certain mask requirements may remain in effect. The governor intends to lift the...more
Employers can expect an active 2021 Connecticut General Assembly since the 2020 legislative session was cut short. (The session lasted a little over a month before it was suspended on March 12, 2020, due to the pandemic and...more
1/26/2021
/ Age Discrimination ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Records ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
General Assembly ,
Governor Lamont ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures
Connecticut employers need to start their preparations for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA), a law that requires all private employers with Connecticut employees to provide paid leave to eligible employees. The...more
On July 21, 2020, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont issued Executive Order No. 7III, which made mandatory a previous advisory self-quarantine recommendation for individuals - including employees - traveling from states with...more
On April 17, 2020, Governor Ned Lamont issued Executive Order 7BB requiring state residents “who [are] unable to or [do] not maintain a safe social distance of approximately six feet from every other person” in a public place...more
On April 7, 2020, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont issued Executive Order No. 7V. It is the governor’s most recent executive order designed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic....more
On May 28, 2019, Governor Ned Lamont signed House Bill No. 5004 The bill, entitled “An Act Increasing the Minimum Fair Wage,” increases Connecticut’s minimum wage to $15.00 an hour over the next approximately four...more
In the second episode of this two-part series, John Stretton and Rachel Mandel discuss the complexities surrounding the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, including no fault attendance...more
5/8/2019
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Attendance ,
Best Practices ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Leave ,
Documentation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Leave ,
Opinion Letter ,
Wage and Hour
On March 6, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided Fox v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, eliminating any uncertainty concerning whether an employee can assert a hostile work environment claim under the...more
On January 8, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas issued an opinion and order granting summary judgment to an employer, finding the employer did not violate the Family and Medical Leave Act...more
A recent U.S. district court decision in Connecticut shows that drug testing applicants and employees in jurisdictions that authorize the use of legalized medical marijuana may present challenges. On September 5, 2018, Judge...more
1/3/2019
/ Controlled Substances Act ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Drug-Free Workplace Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Preemption ,
PTSD ,
Supremacy Clause
In the first episode of this two-part series, John Stretton and Rachel Mandel discuss the complexities surrounding the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the interplay between the...more
11/19/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Interactive Process ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sick Leave ,
Undue Hardship ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour
A Connecticut federal court judge provided further clarification for employers concerning Connecticut’s Palliative Use of Marijuana Act (PUMA). In its second decision in Noffsinger v. SSC Niantic Operating Company, LLC...more
9/18/2018
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Punitive Damages
Vermont and likely Connecticut will soon join California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Puerto Rico (along with various cities and counties) in prohibiting salary history inquiries.
Vermont Prohibits Salary History...more
The Connecticut Supreme Court’s holding in Williams v. General Nutrition Centers, Inc., No. SC 19829 (August 17, 2017) is a mixed bag for Connecticut employers. While the court held that Connecticut law does not generally...more
9/7/2017
/ Class Action ,
CT Supreme Court ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
GNC ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Retailers ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages ,
Work Schedules
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently ruled that to advance a viable claim for retaliation under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), an employee need only demonstrate that exercising his or her rights...more