With the start of October, employers in Connecticut now have to deal with a whole series of new laws that became effective October 1, 2011. I’ve covered each of them before in various posts here. But you may have missed them. Now’s the time to update your handbook and policies to address these changes. They… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: general assembly
Marijuana is Decriminalized, But Employers Can Still Ban Workers From Using It
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Legislative DevelopmentsLast 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”. This raises the obvious question: Can employers in Connecticut still regulate and ban employee usage of marijuana?… Continue Reading
General Assembly Increases Penalties for Violations of Personnel Files Act
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Legislative Developments, Wage & HourWith all the talk about Paid Sick Leave dominating the headlines, it’s important to remember that other bills get passed too. Quietly, late last month, the Connecticut General Assembly beefed up the penalties to employers who do not follow the Personnel Files Act. The Act requires employers to give employees access to their personnel files… Continue Reading
General Assembly Approves Ban on Use Of Credit Reports by Employers
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Legislative DevelopmentsIn the last flurry of action, the Connecticut House last night approved Senate Bill 361, which bans the use of credit reports in hiring and promotions, in certain situations by certain employers. The bill had previously been approved by the state Senate. I recapped the bill in detail a few days ago. There are a… Continue Reading
Legislative Update: Paid Sick Leave & Gender Identity Discrimination Bills Pass; Governor’s Approval Expected
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsEarly Saturday morning, the Connecticut General Assembly passed two bills that will have a significant impact on employers in Connecticut. Both bills now need to be signed by the Governor (who has indicated he will sign them). First, the Senate passed House Bill 6599, which adds “gender identity or expression” as a new protected category… Continue Reading
Attorney General Expresses Concern On “Captive Audience” Bill; Legislator Declares It Dead
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, Legislative DevelopmentsWhat a difference a few weeks can bring. Back on May 5th, Attorney General George Jepsen issued a letter to legislators expressing his support of the so-called "captive-audience" bill. That letter was used in the debate by Connecticut House members as proof that the bill would pass a legal challenge. Indeed, on May 11th, the… Continue Reading
Gender Identity & Expression Discrimination Bill Clears Conn. House
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThe on-again, off-again bill that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression (including transgendered individuals) passed the Connecticut House late Thursday night on a vote along party lines. The bill, H.B. 6599, would add a new protected class and defines "gender identity as follows: "Gender identity or expression" means a person’s… Continue Reading
“Captive Audience” Bill Clears Connecticut House But Is It Even Constitutional?
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsLast night, after many hours of debate, the Connecticut House passed the so-called "captive audience" bill that would prohibit employers from requiring their workers to attend meetings concerning views on politics and religion. But the truth is the bill (H.B. 5460) is really about one thing: prohibiting employers from talking about unions when a vote on… Continue Reading
Legislative Update: CHRO & Affirmative Action; Gender Identity Discrimination; Paid Sick Days; Credit Reports; Workplace Bullying
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThe Connecticut General Assembly is heating up and a number of employment-related bills are still alive this legislative session. The Labor & Public Employee Committee has voted a number of bills out, meaning that they’re up for consideration by either the House or Senate, or another committee. These include: HB 5460 (which would prohibit so-called… Continue Reading
It’s Back! Paid Sick Leave Bill Narrowly Passes Committee; On the General Assembly
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThe oft-debated paid sick leave bill has made another appearance at the legislature. And as in the past, it has been voted out of the committee, this time by a narrow vote of 6-5 on Thursday, March 3rd. None of this ought to come as any surprise. It’s been voted out of committee for the last… Continue Reading
Legislative Update: Labor Committee Considers Bills on Use of Payroll Cards, Notification of Benefits; Hearing Set for February 24th
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThe Connecticut General Assembly is in full swing which means the Labor & Public Employee committee is in hearing mode. Several bills have already gotten a hearing, and several more are scheduled for a hearing on February 24th. No bills have yet been voted out of the committee. You can track all the bills… Continue Reading
What’s Cooking at the General Assembly? The Usual Dishes and a Few Cookies
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsWith winter’s fierce grip on us continuing, there’s nothing like a warm dish to make the outside chill melt away. Certainly, there will be a few of us having some chili this weekend to watch football. So, a few weeks into the new legislative session, it’s time to see what’s cooking at the Connecticut General… Continue Reading
Connecticut General Assembly Sneak Peek for 2011
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThe Office of Legislative Research has released their "OLR Major Issues" document, which is designed the identify and provide brief descriptions of important issues that the Connecticut General Assembly is likely to address in the upcoming legislative session. You can read the entire document here. In the Labor and Employment area, the areas that the report… Continue Reading
What Might Be The Impact of the State Elections on Connecticut Employers? Mandatory Paid Sick Leave
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThere’s been plenty written about what the impact of the federal elections will be on national legislative efforts. While at an ABA Conference last week, various legislative initiatives concerning independent contractors and the Employee Free Choice Act were now seen as as DOA. But in Connecticut, we elected the first Democrat as Governor in over two… Continue Reading
Rell Vetoes Bill Limiting Use of Criminal Background Checks for State Applicants
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsI can’t say I saw this one coming. I’ve previously reported on a bill (H.B. 5207) that passed the legislature. That bill restricts the use of background checks for prospective state employees until after job offers have been made. Yesterday, Governor Rell vetoed the measure (H/T CT Mirror). In her veto message, she states that while… Continue Reading
Legislative Roundup: New Labor & Employment Laws — Where Are They??
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsUPDATED The Connecticut General Assembly ended its regular session last night. As far as new laws affecting employers, the session certainly ends with a whimper. For many employers, the big news is that the paid sick leave bill once again failed. This time it wasn’t even put up for a vote in either chamber of… Continue Reading
What’s Still Alive for the 2010 General Assembly Session
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsWith some notable exceptions, only the bills that make it out of the Labor & Public Employee Committee have a chance for passage in the 2010 General Assembly session. (Of course, some measures get put in as amendments to other bills, but that’s still more of the exception than the rule). So it’s worth taking… Continue Reading
Connecticut Legislature Considers Proposals to Allow Employees to Circumvent CHRO
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Legislative DevelopmentsThe Connecticut General Assembly is back in session and that means that proposals affecting employers are being considered in their earliest stages. For example, at yesterday’s meeting of the Labor & Public Employees Committee several concepts were under consideration, including providing employees the option of not having to first file their employment discrimination claim with the… Continue Reading
New Laws Effective October 1…And New Legislation Still on the Way
Posted in Laws and Regulations, Legislative DevelopmentsToday is October 1st which means that it’s "New Law" Day — not in the formal sense, but because it is the effective date of many new laws passed by the Connecticut General Assembly earlier this year. You can view a list of all the bills that are effective today here. The most important, for… Continue Reading
Connecticut Legislature Overrides Governor’s Veto of Standard Wage Law
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsWhile most of the headlines this morning surround the Connecticut General Assembly’s override of the Governor’s veto of the SustiNet bill, the legislature also voted to override the veto of the standard wage law passed earlier this year. As a practical matter, this new law will allow several hundred janitors to keep their health insurance… Continue Reading
Legislative Committee Approves Paid Sick Leave Bill; Reports Indicate Bill is Likely to Pass
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsConnecticut’s prospects of becoming the first state with a broad paid sick leave provision got a little closer on Tuesday as a legislative committee voted 8-3 (along party lines) to approve the measure. While such a step was not unexpected (it passed committee last year), it is another indication that proponents of the measure are not… Continue Reading
Everything Old is New Again: Bills on Employment Law Issues Start to Get Introduced at Connecticut General Assembly
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThe Connecticut General Assembly is in full swing with a wide assortment of labor & employment law bills and concepts being introduced this month — many simply a rehash of bills that were introduced last year and never went anywhere. You can find a full list of the bills before the Labor & Public Employees… Continue Reading
Is This The Year for a Transgender Anti-Discrimination Bill in Connecticut…Or Will Budget Deficit Dominate Debate?
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Legislative DevelopmentsThis is shaping up to be an interesting year for the Connecticut General Assembly. The budget forecasts are projecting massive deficits. As a result, I would not be surprised to see the budget debates dominating the agenda of the Connecticut legislature. Nevertheless, other bills will still be proposed, debated, and certainly passed during the several months… Continue Reading
General Assembly Overrides Veto on Connecticut Minimum Wage Law
Posted in Laws and Regulations, Legislative DevelopmentsThe Connecticut Senate voted late today to override the veto of the minimum wage bill that was sent to Gov. Rell last month. The vote was 25-9 in the Senate. The vote completes the override process of the minimum wage bill that I discussed here earlier today. Thus, effective January 1, 2009, the minimum wage… 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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