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

Tag Archives: fmla

Paid Sick Leave (PSL) “Fixes” Pass State Senate; Final Approval Expected

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

Shortly after passage of the Paid Sick Leave law a few years ago, it became apparent that there were several quirks in the law that would make enforcement and compliance challenging in some places. I highlighted a few issues in a post back then. Well, the General Assembly has been working on a bill to… Continue Reading

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

A Look Back at Obama’s (First?) Four Years and Employment Law

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Labor Law & NRLB, Laws and Regulations, Legislative Developments, Wage & Hour

Finally, today is Election Day.   And while the pundits tonight will all look forward to what the next four years might bring, it’s worth taking a quick peek back at Obama’s (first?) four years with a review of some of the posts from 2008-9. Before his term, there were predictions that he would be good… 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

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

Recipe for Success: Keep Accurate Time Records

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

As Google was quick to remind us, today would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday today.  In cooking, lots of recipies call for seasoning with salt and pepper.  In fact, its so common, that you might overlook it. For employers, the simple ingredient to success that might be overlooked is an accurate time record. A… Continue Reading

Quick Hits: NY Deductions, ADA Accommodations, Offers of Judgment, FMLA Report, Facebook & Hiring

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

As the dog days of summer drag on, the news from the employment law arena slows to a trickle.  But here are a few recent stories that may be of interest to employers in Connecticut. New York recently expanded the types of things that employers can deduct from wages. For Connecticut employers with cross-border employees,… 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

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

BREAKING: DOL Proposes New FMLA Rules Impacting Military Leave

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

The 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

It’s 2012 – Are You Ready For Paid Sick Leave?

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

It’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

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

More Publicity for Sick Leave Bill’s “Sleeper” Provision

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

Power is still out to big parts of the state, but here in Hartford, power is on and life continues. And so must the blog… Back in June, when the Connecticut General Assembly approved of the paid sick leave bill, I was quick to note that the retaliation provisions in the bill seemed to apply… 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

Quick Hits: HR & Social Media Podcast, Class Actions, GPS & FMLA, Shadow Cities

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Social Media

The Dog Days of Summer are officially here. Which means slow news items in the employment law area. Oh sure, there’s the labor unions rewriting their bylaws to get the concession package passed (the equivalent of a mulligan in the Masters).  But with Connecticut’s legislature done for the year and the courts slowing down, there’s… Continue Reading

Legislative Update: Workplace Violence & Bullying; Public Employee FMLA Leave; Captive Audience; Paid Sick Leave; Criminal Records; Credit Reports

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Legislative Developments

The Connecticut General Assembly is in full swing with the budget dominating the discussion. But expect to hear of several high-profile bills continuing to make their way through the legislature.  Here is a brief update on a few of them: Last week, the House unanimously passed H.B. 5174 which deals with workplace violence in the… Continue Reading

Connecticut Department of Labor Requires Larger Employers to Fill Out FMLA Report

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Laws and Regulations

UPDATED 1/20/11 Filling out forms ranks right up there with going to the dentist for me. (Don’t tell him I said that.) I suspect I’m not alone. Which is why I’m sheepish about reminding employers that the Connecticut Department of Labor requires that employers with 75 or more employees as of a date certain, must… 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

Additional Guidance on New GINA Regulations Provided by the EEOC

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Laws and Regulations

The EEOC recently posted some additional guidance related to the new GINA regulations that it released that will become effective in January 2011.  For small businesses, the guidance will be very helpful as companies plot their course to compliance.   One document provides some additional background material on the law while the other document answers… Continue Reading

Quick Hits: Obesity and ADA; Facebook Fishing; Voting Rights; FMLA Call-In Procedures; Personnel Records; “Survivor”

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

With the Columbus Day holiday upon us, it’s time for another installment of "Quick Hits" where I touch on posts and topics of interest that you might have missed recently.  Take note of the last post to "Outwit. Outplay. Outlast."  The GT LE Blog has an interesting post on whether obesity is a physical characteristic or… Continue Reading

Complications: The Interplay Between the Family Violence Leave Law & White-Collar Exemptions

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

When new laws get passed, the complications that arise from the passage aren’t immediately clear.  But a look at Connecticut’s new family violence leave provisions (effective October 1, 2010) demonstrates how some of those complications are now making themselves apparent.  As you may recall, the new Family Violence Victim leave law permits employees to take… Continue Reading