Connecticut Employment Law Blog Insight on Labor & Employment Developments for Connecticut Businesses

Tag Archives: ctfmla

Spring Cleaning: Time to Update Some FMLA and I-9 Forms & Posters

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource Center, Wage & Hour

For lawyers, anytime there’s a change, it seems to be a big deal. But for employers, change is inevitable and part of business.  Indeed, if a new poster is required by employers, most employers simply shrug and order a new poster on the internet through a site like Gneil.com. My colleague, Jon Orleans (fresh off his… Continue Reading

Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave (PSL) Law: Does It Work?

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Wage & Hour

The title of the post is a bit misleading because the answer to the question is, at this point, unanswerable.  In what ways do we measure success under Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave law? The number of employees who have used it? The people who didn’t get sick as a result? The overall flu rate? Of… Continue Reading

Connecticut’s “Reasonable Leave of Absence” for Disability Resulting from Pregnancy

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, Laws and Regulations, Uncategorized

Last week, Attorney Robin Shea of Employment & Labor Insider proposed 10 rules of etiquette that “will save you from a pregnancy discrimination suit”.  Rule No. 1? Pregnancy is always good news.  Always. Always. Always. If you haven’t read it, I’ll wait. There are lots of rules regarding pregnancy that may come into play including FMLA,… Continue Reading

Intermittent Leave for Foster Care & Adoption? Only If Employer Approves

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource Center, Wage & Hour

I’ve said it before many times: One reason employment law is so interesting is that just when you think you’ve figured things out, you can rediscover little quirks in the law that you may have overlooked on first glance. My latest example came last week when an out-of-state lawyer and friend called me to discuss a legal concept. … Continue Reading

Breaking: Conn. Supreme Court Holds CTFMLA Applies Only If Employer Has 75+ Conn. Employees

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Laws and Regulations, Litigation, Wage & Hour

The Connecticut Supreme Court this week issued its decision in Velez v. Commissioner of Labor. The decision, which has been long-awaited, holds that the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act applies only to employers that have 75 or more Connecticut employees. In practical terms, this means that large employers with small Connecticut locations will not… Continue Reading

Evolution of a Benefit:Use of Paid Sick Leave by Employees Who Aren’t Sick Themselves

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Laws and Regulations

While I take a little time off this week for the Jewish holidays, my colleague Mick Lavelle fills in with this great post about the use of paid sick leave by employees who aren’t actually sick.  When can an employee receive sick leave pay even though the absence is not due to the employee’s own… Continue Reading

Beyond the Acronyms of CTFMLA, CHRO, and PSL, Lots of Substance Discussed at CBA Annual Meeting

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Laws and Regulations, Wage & Hour

Following up on her post last week recapping part of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Annual Meeting on labor laws, Guest Poster Rita Trivedi is back with highlights from administrative law and employment law portions of the presentation. Again, my sincere thanks to her for this insightful post. I hope you all find it as interesting… Continue Reading

Legislative Update: Personnel Files, Minimum Wage, Payroll Cards, CTFMLA, Unemployment Discrimination

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Legislative Developments

The General Assembly is always full of surprises.    It’s the busy season for the Connecticut legislature and a number of employment-law related proposals are still “alive”.  (I use “alive” in the generic sense because the bills have merely passed committee; whether they will end up getting voted on is an entirely different question. For further updates… Continue Reading

Connecticut Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Hostile Work Environment and CTFMLA Cases

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, Laws and Regulations, Litigation, Wage & Hour

It’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

Municipalities Get Ready: Paid Sick Leave Applies to You Too

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Wage & Hour

One of the things that law school teaches you is to read the definitions of words in any new law that is passed. Why? Because a word like “employer” may be defined differently than what you would expect. That’s a hard concept for real employers to understand. After all, how can you be an “employer”… Continue Reading

Court: Pregnancy Discrimination Act Covers Maternity Leave Too

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, Litigation

Here’s an interesting question: Does the Pregnancy Discrimination Act protect an employee who is no longer pregnant? A federal court decision in Connecticut yesterday says, yes. The case, Canales v. Schick Manufacturing, Inc. can be downloaded here. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) is part of Title VII and states that “women affected by pregnancy, childbirth,… Continue Reading

“Vaporizing” One Area of Employment Law? Hmmm.

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations

In a post Friday, Walter Olson over at Overlaywered posed this question, “If I could press a button and instantly vaporize one sector of employment law…”  (His suggestion? Age Discrimination laws.) Jon Hyman, at the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog, picked up on the question and posed it for his readers as well.  Jon’s choice? The… Continue Reading

Senator Dodd’s Lasting Legacy to Employment Law: FMLA

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance

Yesterday, Senator Chris Dodd gave his farewell speech from the Senate floor.  It seems archaic to read a speech, but it’s worth a few minutes of your time, regardless of your politics.  He has been a public servant and a tireless advocate for many causes in Connecticut.  It will be strange to have a Connecticut delegation… Continue Reading

The FMLA Connection (in Connecticut) to Organ Donors and How Employers Can Help

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance

25 years ago nearly to the day, my father donated one of his kidneys to his brother.   What have you done today? Have you done everything you could? Could you have done better?  They may seem like unfair questions after the first sentence.   But tonight is the start of Yom Kippur – a… Continue Reading

The Basics: Bereavement Leave in Connecticut

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance

During the summer last year, I started a weekly series of posts about various "basics" of employment law, with a particular focus on Connecticut. I had planned to start it again this week on a different topic, but in driving into work this morning after a meeting, I was struck by what I saw and… Continue Reading

US Department of Labor Clarifies Definition of “Son or Daughter” Under FMLA, Affording Rights to Gay Parents

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Laws and Regulations

The United States Department of Labor late today issued a new interpretation of what a "son or daughter" is under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to make it clear that an "employee who assumes the role of caring for a child receives parental rights to family leave regardless of the legal or… Continue Reading

More on Velez: How This Decision Might Impact Employers

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Litigation

My post yesterday on a new Superior Court decision in Velez v. Mayfield has generated a lot of discussion from the counsel for the individual who brought the suit. (You can also view the original DOL decision here.)  As I mentioned in the update, the case is being appealed so it’s very likely we’ll get… Continue Reading

Court: DOL Must Count Out-of-State Workers to Determine if Employer Has Requisite 75 or More Employees Under Connecticut’s FMLA

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Litigation, Wage & Hour

UPDATED In a decision sure to send chills to employers with small branch offices in Connecticut, a Superior Court judge recently ruled that an employer’s out-of-state employees must be counted in figuring out if an employer is subject to the state’s FMLA rules. Employers with 75 or more employees nationwide that have just one employee in… Continue Reading

Wage & Hour Rx Wrapup: What Employers Need To Know

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Wage & Hour

Yesterday’s seminar on Wage & Hour Rx, sponsored by the CBIA, went very well and I thank all of the attendees for their great questions and comments. It made for a lively discussion about all things wage & hour. What were some of the "hot topics"? The difference between employees and independent contractors was a… Continue Reading

Family Violence Victims Entitled to Leave and Other Protections Under New Connecticut Law

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Laws and Regulations, Legislative Developments

While the legislative session was a relatively quiet one, a few provisions found in a comprehensive domestic violence bill do have some direct implications for employers in Connecticut and create a new leave provision that will require some attention from human resources personnel.  Many employers will be unaffected by the provisions, but those who have… Continue Reading

Domestic Service Workers or Household Companions: Whatever You Call Them, Know the Wage & Hour Rules

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Wage & Hour

Once again, the Connecticut Law Tribune has compiled an excellent series of articles on labor and employment law topics for its quarterly supplement which you can view here. In it, my colleague, Joshua Hawks-Ladds, has a great article on the domestic service worker exemption under various wage and hour laws.   As he points out,… Continue Reading

Paid Sick Leave Bill in Connecticut General Assembly Still Alive

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Legislative Developments

On Friday, the Appropriations Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly — by a 28-13 vote — passed Senate Bill 63, this year’s version of the paid sick leave bill. The Capitol Watch blog has full details.  The Labor Committee had previously approved the measure last month.  This is the third year in which the bill… Continue Reading

FMLA Webinar Materials Now Available

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations

Last week, we held our monthly webinar on the interplay between the state and federal FMLA rules and featured Connecticut Department of Labor Principal Attorney Heidi Lane as a guest speaker.  We had another huge crowd for program. As we have done before, we have recorded the webinar and uploaded the presentation materials for those that… Continue Reading