In a case decided last month, the U.S. Supreme Court made it more difficult for employers to deny employees’ requests for accommodations for their religious practices, rejecting the understanding of Title VII (the fundamental...more
7/25/2023
/ Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
On Tuesday, March 21, 2023, the Connecticut Supreme Court announced a significant new decision concerning lawsuits by employees alleging “wrongful discharge in violation of public policy.” Most employers in Connecticut are...more
Our readers have probably seen or heard news reports that on January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposed a new federal regulation that would ban non-compete clauses (“noncompetes”) in agreements between...more
OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard -
On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring most employers with 100 or more employees to either...more
2/3/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its much-anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) addressing COVID-19 vaccination policies for employers with 100 or more...more
11/18/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Earlier last week, the Biden Administration announced plans to implement sweeping new federal COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements which will affect a wide-ranging number of employers and more than 100 million...more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
At 12:53 a.m. on Saturday March 14, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” with bipartisan support. The bill was a product of lengthy negotiations between House Majority Leader...more
3/18/2020
/ China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
All of us are, of course, concerned about what “Coronavirus Disease 2019” (COVID-19) will mean for each of us, our families, schools, workplaces, and our communities. As employers, we must hope for the best, but prepare for...more
3/6/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Telecommuting ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
When you hire new employees at your company, do you ask applicants what they currently earn, or what they were paid in past positions? Regular readers of Working Together may recall that nearly a year ago we discussed a bill...more
May a disloyal employee keep the compensation his employer paid him, even while he was betraying his employer’s trust? In a recent case, the Connecticut Supreme Court said “yes, at least in some circumstances.” Here’s the...more
May an employer fire an employee for lying about the reason for an absence? In a recent decision, the Connecticut Appellate Court said “yes.”
Orlando Martinez worked for Polar Industries as a machine operator. He was...more
It’s September 6, the day after Labor Day, symbolically the end of summer, traditionally the first day of school, and psychologically the beginning of the homestretch on the year....more
9/6/2016
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Standard Duties Test ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
A panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that parties may not stipulate to dismiss cases brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act without court approval. This ruling may make it more...more
9/8/2015
/ Bargaining Power ,
Confidential Information ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
Rule 41 ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Wage and Hour
When I talk to businesspeople about the legal differences between employees and independent contractors, I often offer the electrician who comes to the office to fix a wiring problem as the paradigmatic independent...more
8/24/2015
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Popular ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
In a decision to be officially released on May 19, 2015, the Connecticut Appellate Court has addressed two interesting issues in the state law of employment discrimination, one of which is of considerable importance (and...more
Late last spring I posted on this blog about the pitfalls for employers of unpaid internships, often offered to young people during the summer months, or to students or recent college graduates as “pre-entry-level” positions....more
1/8/2015
/ Class Action ,
Classification ,
Conde Nast ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fox Searchlight Pictures ,
Hearst ,
Judicial Settlement Agreements ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour
Readers of this blog will be aware that the misclassification of employees as independent contractors has been a major concern of state and federal authorities for several years. Employers don’t provide workers compensation...more
When we analyze the question whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor, we usually approach the issue from the point of view of the Connecticut Department of Labor and apply the “ABC” test, or from the...more
An employee, having been notified of his impending termination, complains to his employer of discrimination. A human resources professional retained by the employer to investigate the complaint concludes that the employee...more