I know. It’s nearly July 4th weekend. No one REALLY wants to hear about employment law in Connecticut.

So for this post, let’s go right over the border to New York where something very interesting is taking place.

Last week, the NY legislature passed a ban on non-compete agreements. Now, before you rip up such

Back in 2019, I wrote this:

For employers, the time is ripe to think about a new strategy going forward. That strategy may focus on protection of confidential information and specific non-solicitation clauses. Regardless, the time of using non-compete agreements broadly may be coming to an end soon.

The recent announcement of the proposed

Back in 2016, I noted that Congress had a major problem passing major legislation.  Of course, at the start of the pandemic, it passed paid COVID leave and related legislation but other than that, it’s been a LONG time since it passed anything significant.

But surprise!

Yesterday, the Senate joined the House in passing H.R.

January 1st is typically a time for new laws to kick in and 2019 is no exception.

For employers, the biggest change is one that I discussed way back in May with amendments to Connecticut’s Pay Equity law.

The new law prohibits employers from asking a job applicant his or her wage and salary history.

When I was away last week, one of the headlines from my alma mater caught my attention.  The University of Pennsylvania Health System announced that effective July 1st, they will refuse to hire anyone who smokes or uses tobacco.

Smokers’ Rights Continue

No doubt some of you are either lauding

At a Sentencing Commssion hearing last week, former state lawmaker Ernie Newton — who was convicted in 2006 on corruption charges — urged commission members to address hiring discrimination against ex-felons, reports CT News Junkie.  There is no indication yet that they will do so, but his comments raised some eyebrows in the press.

Newton’s

Last week, the General Assembly approved of reduced penalties for people caught with relatively small amounts of marijuana in their possession.  Notice the use in the title of the word “decriminalize”; that is a different term than “legalize”.

Employers Can Still Ban Usage

This raises the obvious question: Can employers