Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. – Ferris Bueller Well, did you miss it? Just as people were settling down to the NLRB’s new speedy election rules this month, events over the last two days have completedly upended that. First was the Court action…. Continue Reading
Category Archives: Laws and Regulations
Subscribe to Laws and Regulations RSS FeedInterns: Assign Real Work or Menial Tasks? Neither, says The New York Times
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Wage & HourBack in 2010, at the same time the U.S. Department of Labor was making a big publicity push on its interpretation of rules regarding unpaid interns, the New York Times ran piece noting how employers were skirting the law when it came to internships: The Labor Department says it is cracking down on firms that… Continue Reading
EEOC Releases Important Guidance on Use of Criminal and Arrest Records By Employers
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource CenterThe EEOC yesterday released important new guidance for employers on the use of arrest and conviction records by employers under Title VII. You can read the guidance here as well as a short question-and-answer document too. For employers in Connecticut, this new guidance only adds to the state-specific rules we have here in state and should… Continue Reading
Meal Periods and Rest Breaks – Are You Hungry for Some Knowledge?
Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource CenterEarlier this month, the California Supreme Court came out with a long-awaited (at least to employment lawyers) decision regarding meal periods and rest breaks. Although the case isn’t directly applicable in Connecticut, it offers some comparable wisdom on how employers can deal with such breaks here in Connecticut. The holdings of that case have been… Continue Reading
When is a Mandatory Deadline Less Than Mandatory? At the CHRO
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, Laws and RegulationsRecently, the CHRO provided an update on the status of cases at the commission. In a comment to the blog, Charles Krich reported “the ratio of cases closed to cases filed is a bit over 90% during the July 1, 2011 to February 29, 2012 period (3/4 of this fiscal year). In FY 11 the… Continue Reading
A Paid Sick Leave Carryover Issue Left Unaddressed … Until Now
Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource Center, Wage & HourSo, four months in, how is Connecticut Paid Sick Leave (PSL) working out? Well, for towns, not so well as this recent article pointed out. But as Connecticut employers start running through the issues, some novel and unforseen issues keep popping up. I’ll address one of them here. But before you read it, make sure you… Continue Reading
Three Weeks Until NLRB Posting Rule Takes Effect
Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Labor Law & NRLB, Laws and RegulationsUpdate: The NLRB has announced an indefinite postponement of the rules. See this updated post here. Another month has passed, and we are now ever closer to the effective date of the NLRB’s new posting rules. Thus far, many of the legal challenges to the proposed rule have been ineffective, as the Employer Law Report… Continue Reading
EEOC Publishes Final Rule on Reasonable Factors Other Than Age (RFOA)
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Laws and RegulationsToday, the EEOC has published its final rule clarifying a portion of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). You can download the rule here and a FAQ from the EEOC here. The rule comes as a partial response to a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision that analyzed the issue. The rule has some significance… Continue Reading
CBA’s Labor & Employment Quarterly Now Out
Posted in Laws and Regulations, Legislative DevelopmentsAs readers of this blog know, I enjoy passing along nuggets of information that you might otherwise overlook. One such publication is the Connecticut Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Quarterly which, truth be told, really gets published three times a year instead of four. But there is always something to pick up in the articles…. Continue Reading
Veterans and the ADA – Helpful Answers to Burning Questions
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource CenterEarlier this week, I beat Ohio lawyer Jon Hyman to the punch on a post about Leap Day. Yesterday, he “returned” the favor, with a notable post on the release of the EEOC’s new guide: Veterans & the ADA: A Guide for Employers. Jon looks at one issue from the guide, whether employers can give… Continue Reading
Non-Compete Agreements For Security Guards (and now, Bouncers) May Be “Non-Enforceable”
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and RegulationsWith the blog approaching its fifth (!) anniversary later this year, I thought it was time to revisit some subjects that I covered in the blog’s infancy and update them. One such story from way back on September 14, 2007, was a new law that prohibited non-compete agreements by security guards. Back then, I stated:… Continue Reading
“Linsanity” for Employers to Fail to Post Required Notices
Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource Center, Wage & HourEmployers in Connecticut (and other states) have a whole host of notices that must go up in a common meeting area for employees to see. But what happens when an employer forgets to do the postings, or, worse, purposely avoids putting those posters up? A recent federal case in Connecticut addresses that question with important… Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Love in the Workplace, Public Employees, Pleading Standards, ADR, Novartis Settlement, EEOC Statistics
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Wage & HourOn this Valentine’s Day, while you’re out shopping for flowers and chocolate, here are a few nuggets of employment law that you might have missed lately: Since love is in the air today, Robin Shea continues the cautionary tales of sexual harassment cases in the workplace. Jon Hyman echoes the theme with a tip on… Continue Reading
Connecticut Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Hostile Work Environment and CTFMLA Cases
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, Laws and Regulations, Litigation, Wage & HourIt’s not very often that the Connecticut Supreme Court considers employment law issues. But today, two notable cases are being argued in front of the court. Both could have an impact on employers in the state. In Patino v. Birken Manufacturing, the court is being asked to consider whether a hostile work environment harassment claim… Continue Reading
BREAKING: DOL Proposes New FMLA Rules Impacting Military Leave
Posted in Laws and Regulations, Wage & HourThe Department of Labor today proposed new regulations of the FMLA that would explain further the military family leave provisions and incorporate some special provisions for airline flight crews. The new proposed regulations are in response to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 which amended the FMLA to extend the military caregiver… Continue Reading
CHRO Proposes New Equal Employment Opportunity Plan Regulations & Hearing
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Laws and RegulationsThe Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) has released proposed new regulations that would require state agencies and the like to create an Equal Employment Opportunity Plan. These regulations would not apply to private employers so many of you can dispense with the worrying. The proposed regulations will replace the current ones. The CHRO… Continue Reading
Super Bowl Office Pools in Connecticut – What Box Are You In?
Posted in Featured, Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and RegulationsIt doesn’t get much better than this for Connecticut residents. Giants vs. Patriots for the Super Bowl. In a state where the loyalties are divided, a Super Bowl rematch from four years ago is nirvana. And with such interest and enthusiasm, friendly wagering among friends will no doubt follow. But what happens when those people… Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Ban On Cell Phones; NLRB & Social Media; Nursing Mothers; Retaliation, LinkedIn
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, Laws and Regulations, Litigation, Social Media, Wage & HourAs another week passes by (seriously, where did January go already?), here are a few odds and ends that are worth a mention: Earlier this month, new rules regarding limits on the use of mobile phones went into effet by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The rule covers ”both, drivers of CMVs in interstate commerce,… Continue Reading
Will General Assembly Consider Repeal of Workplace Smokers’ Rights Law?
Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Legislative DevelopmentsLet’s say you’re an employer in Connecticut. And you want to keep your health insurance costs down and promote a “healthy workplace”. After all, its a new year and a new year is built for resolutions like quitting smoking. No less than The New York Times did an article a few weeks ago about how… Continue Reading
Predicting the Future in Employment Law, At Least for 2012
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Labor Law & NRLB, Laws and Regulations, Legislative Developments, Social Media, Wage & HourA few weeks ago, I sat down and crafted an article for the Connecticut Law Tribune that laid out my predictions for 2012. That article was finally published this week here. Among the topics I tackle are new U.S. Supreme Court and Connecticut Supreme Court decisions, possible new legislative developments, and whether the trend of… Continue Reading
It’s 2012 – Are You Ready For Paid Sick Leave?
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and RegulationsIt’s finally here: Paid Sick Leave. Connecticut officially became the first state in the nation to mandate this on Sunday. Depending on your perspective, it’s either a historic achievement or another sign that Connecticut is anti-business. I’ve talked about this extensively over the last six months so I’m not going to repeat the summaries here…. Continue Reading
A Look Back at 2011 Prediction … and a Sneak Peek at 2012
Posted in Laws and Regulations, Legislative Developments, LitigationIt’s easy to make predictions about the future. It’s far harder to look back at them and see if you were right. Fortunately or unfortunately for me, my predictions are in print — there for a looking. So how did my prediction go for 2011? Well, in my main article, I predicted that on a… Continue Reading
Are Any Cases Getting Thrown Out as “Frivolous” at the CHRO Anymore?
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Laws and Regulations, LitigationAs I’ve noted before, the CHRO procedures were changed effective October 1, 2011. One question that we had at the time was whether the CHRO would be retaining more discrimination claims by employees for investigation — getting past the Merit Assessment Review stage. Previously, employers have had at least a little luck getting plainly… Continue Reading
BREAKING: USDOL Releases Proposed Changes to Companionship and Live-In Worker Regulations Under FLSA
Posted in Laws and Regulations, Wage & HourAs expected, the United States Department of Labor today released its proposed changes to the companionship and live-in worker regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. What was unknown was how significant the proposed changes would be. The short answer: Pretty significant. The regulations substantially limit the companionship exemption under wage & hour laws to… Continue Reading
About Daniel Schwartz
Trusted advisor. Experienced employment law attorney. Bar leader. Award-winning author. Noted Speaker. "Legal Rebel". All can be said to be apt descriptions of Daniel Schwartz, a member of Pullman & Comley. More +
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