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

Tag Archives: employer

More Examples of Why Valentine’s Day is a Bad Day for Employers

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Litigation

Two years ago, I wrote of the perils of Valentine’s Day.  While it may be a day for lovers, it is also a day where people do crazy (read: stupid) things. I am not talking about Crazy. Stupid. Love. (Good movie, silly name.) I’m talking about things that can lead to a sexual harassment lawsuit. … 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

Should Private Employers Still Worry About Unions and What Happens at the NLRB?

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Labor Law & NRLB, Litigation

As I indicated a few weeks ago, one of the goals of this blog this year is to stop chasing headlines.   The latest story about the NLRB demonstrates why. Late last month, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (which, as you might imagine, only covers Washington D.C.) ruled that recess appointments to the NLRB were invalid,… Continue Reading

2013 Legislative Session: Minimum Wage, Captive Audience and an Employer’s Bill of Rights

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Highlight, Legislative Developments, Wage & Hour

The Connecticut General Assembly is back at work so it’s time to take a quick peek to see what’s percolating. The Connecticut Business and Industry Association highlighted the “captive audience” bill as bill that is resurfacing, even though the Attorney General has previously raised doubts about the constitutionality of it.  The bill would restrict communications… Continue Reading

Former Lawmaker (and Ex-Felon) Urges Connecticut To Ban Discrimination Against Felons in 2013

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

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… Continue Reading

Medical Marijuana and Work: Where We Stand Now

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

It’s been nearly two months since Connecticut’s “medical marijuana” law became effective.  Yet many employers have been blissfully ignorant about what the law provides, perhaps because Connecticut does not yet have a home-grown supply of marijuana and the registration process is just beginning. But because of the law’s appeal, I would expect the impact to increase substantially… Continue Reading

An Updated Employer’s Guide to the Election

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

Election Day is nearly upon us.  Much like I did two years ago, it’s time to recap the rules for employers regarding the election.  The polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. for everyone to vote for their favorite candidate…or at least the one that they dislike the least.  You can find out where you should vote… Continue Reading

Sandy Spooks Employers but Will Employers Scare Employees Into Voting?

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

Everyone ok out there? What a wild couple of days we’ve had in Connecticut and, for those still without power, it’s not over yet.  Much like Irene and the October snowstorm before it, Sandy has left her mark.  But it’s time to get back to business today. We’re less than a week away from the… Continue Reading

Oh, Sandy! Storm Brings Headaches, Hassles & Heartburn

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

It’s Sunday evening here in Connecticut.  If the forecast goes according to plan, I may not have power tomorrow to write about the storm. Governor Malloy announced this evening that all non-essential state workers are not to report to work on Monday. But those who listened to his news conference know he went beyond that…. Continue Reading

Hurricane Sandy: Have Employers Learned the Lessons From Last Year’s Storms?

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

We interrupt our normally scheduled post on a recent Second Circuit case…. Monday is an anniversary that many of us in Connecticut will long remember – the anniversary of the big October snowstorm (or “Alfred” as Channel 3 called it).   Combine that storm with Irene earlier in 2011, and we’ve seen more than our share… Continue Reading

Medical Marijuana Giving Employers Headaches Already

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Uncategorized

Today, our firm held the last of two free seminars on employment law. Thanks to all who attended. Surprisingly, one of the issues our attendees had a bunch of questions on was the new medical marijuana bill that became effective October 1, 2012.  Now, I’m not going to go back over the entire bill in… Continue Reading

Federal Court Suggests Connecticut Constitution Protects Private Employee Speech

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Litigation

Earlier this summer, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued two decisions that held that the free speech protections in Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 31-51q were limited by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos.  To grossly oversimplify, an employee (public or private) whose speech related to their official job duties, was not entitled to protection. In… Continue Reading

Five Years Later, Overruled Statute on Religious Discrimination in Connecticut Remains On the Books

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

As I get closer to the five year anniversary of this blog next month, I continue to take a look again at topics I covered early on.  One of those topics was the oft-overlooked statute of Conn. Gen. Stat. 53-303e.  That statute purports to make it a crime for employers to require employees to work… Continue Reading

The One In Which I Try to Explain the Joint Employer Test

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Highlight, Litigation, Wage & Hour

“How You Doin’? said the character Joey from the TV show “Friends“.  I say that here because this post is about the “joint employer” test for the Fair Labor Standards Act and its an otherwise dry post. “I know!” (You might be saying, if you were Monica from that same show.) “Could that BE any more boring?” (To… Continue Reading

Using Criminal Background Checks in the Hiring Process; Handle With Care

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations

The Office of Legislative Research, whom I’ve praised in several posts before (here and here), recently issued a report on the consequences of a felony conviction on employment.  Overall, it does a good job summarizing the issues when it comes to state employment. But later on in the publication it states the following when discussing… Continue Reading

Employer Deductions Allowed in Connecticut, With Conditions

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

In a post last week, I pointed out that New York amended its laws to allow for some deductions by employers from an employee wages.  I joked that Connecticut could do the same as some of Connecticut’s rules are a bit dated themselves.   A nice note from a Connecticut Department of Labor official suggested that I… Continue Reading

Saved by the Cell Phone? Best Practices for Your Company

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

What a great turnout we had on Tuesday for our presentation on addressing the challenges of “going mobile” from a company’s human resources perspective.  My thanks to Kris Dunn, the moderator, who put the panel together.  Other speakers were Madeline Laurano of the Aberdeen Group and Jessica Lee of Marriott.  If you’re not following all… Continue Reading

Medical Marijuana Bill Includes Restrictions For Employers

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Legislative Developments

The General Assembly over the weekend passed a comprehensive bill that permits individuals to use marijuana for palliative purposes.  The bill is expected to be signed by the Governor this month. Besides just permitting individuals to use marijuana, it has several important provisions that will impact employers in Connecticut.  Unfortunately, as the history of medical marijuana… Continue Reading

What Baggage Does The Employment Attorney Carry?

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Litigation

For employers, there are a lot of things within your control. You can control how to discipline an employee and when to take certain steps including termination. You can control how much severance you offer that employee and whether to offer severance at all.  But there is one thing that employers can’t control that can… Continue Reading

Think Twice Before Asking Applicants for Facebook Passwords

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Legislative Developments, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource Center, Social Media

I told you so. It’s not very often you can say that. It is rarer still to have documented proof.  But back in 2008 — when nobody was focused on Facebook and there were fewer of you reading this — I said this about using Facebook to screen employees: Overall, employers should tread very carefully in… Continue Reading

Veterans and the ADA – Helpful Answers to Burning Questions

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

Earlier 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

From the Archives: Employers Should Beware Of Valentine’s Day

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance

Who would’ve thought that Valentine’s Day could be dangerous for employers?  Alas, the day is built for lovers — and sometimes the boss is trying to do the loving. Not good. Last year, I recapped the dangers of the holiday for employers. It’s one of my popular posts so I reprint it here.  Beware! I’ve… 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

An Employer Bill of Rights? Well, Not Exactly, But….

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

I was hoping that fellow blogger, Jon Hyman (of Ohio Employer’s Law Blog fame), and I would get to make another World Series bet. Unfortunately, his team (the Phillies) and mine (the Yankees) are both watching the World Series from some tropical poolside bar. But it gives me an excuse to cite to a recent… Continue Reading