Updated: August 28, 2011 – As of mid-morning, more than 40 percent of the state is without power, making this storm the highest power outage in state history. Widespread office closures are expected for Monday and early this week. It’s the (relatively) calm before the storm on Saturday night. Hurricane Irene is definitely coming. But… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: wages
Hurricane Irene: “Reporting Time” Pay and Other Wage & Hour Issues for Employers
Posted in Featured, Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Wage & HourSo, by now (Friday morning), your preparations at your workplace should be in full swing. The latest forecasts this morning call for a landfall on Sunday somewhere along the Connecticut coast (perhaps Bridgeport) with hurricane impacts felt throughout the state. Connecticut has set up some new resources since my post yesterday specifically on Hurricane Irene. … Continue Reading
CTDOL Sues Employer Claiming “Forfeiture” Provision in Bonus Plan is Invalid
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Wage & HourSuppose your company has an incentive bonus plan that bases a bonus on the specific work done during a calendar year. Bonus payments are made 90 days after the end of the calendar year on an “Award payment date.” But your bonus plan has an important provision. That provision states that “Participants must be employed… Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Hartford’s Refusal to Use Credit Scores; Use of Criminal Records; DOL’s New iPhone App; Paid Sick Leave
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Litigation, Wage & HourUPDATED 5.16.11 We’re just one week away from our seminar on employment law. It’s essentially sold out but we’re still taking names for a waiting list. Those signing up will get first priority when we re-run this program in the fall. We’re also less than two weeks away from the re-launch of the Connecticut Employment… Continue Reading
Second Circuit Revisits Standards for “Working” Time vs. Off-the-Clock in Reviving Wage & Hour Class Action
Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & HourWhen does the workday begin? When does it end? These were among the questions that the Second Circuit addressed and resolved in an important wage & hour decision last week. The case, Kuebel v. Black & Decker, can be downloaded here. The court held that an "employee’s commuting time is not compensable as part of his… Continue Reading
Breaking: Connecticut Supreme Court Finds A Bonus Can Constitute “Wages”, in the Right Case
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Litigation, Wage & HourBack in June, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued its decision in Ziotas v. The Reardon Law Firm — a significant ruling because it found that where a bonus is discretionary and is not ascertainable by applying a formula, it did not constitute "wages". I talked about the case in a lengthy post and noted that… Continue Reading
Law Tribune Provides Background on Bonus Case and Cites To Blog
Posted in Litigation, Wage & HourEarlier this month, I talked about how a new case from the Connecticut Supreme Court could have an impact on bonus plans for employers. The Connecticut Law Tribune this week (subscription required) echoes many of my sentiments. The Tribune states that some employment lawyers believe it is going to have a "wider impact", while others believe… Continue Reading
Why the Connecticut Supreme Court’s Ruling in ‘Ziotas’ is Significant to Employers
Posted in Wage & HourYesterday, I discussed the Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision in Ziotas v. The Reardon Law Firm, in which the court held that a bonus does not constitute "wages" when the bonus is discretionary and is not ascertainable by applying a formula. I’ve also discussed the background of the case in a prior post which I won’t… Continue Reading
BREAKING: Conn. Supreme Court Holds that a Year-End Discretionary Bonus Does Not Constitute “Wages”
Posted in Wage & HourIn a decision that will be officially released next week, the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that a year-end bonus — the amount of which is discretionary — does not constitute "wages" under Connecticut wage & hour laws. The decision, Ziotas v. The Reardon Law Firm (download here), reverses an appellate court decision to the… Continue Reading
The Basics: Offer Letters of Employment in Connecticut
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Wage & HourContinuing the summer series of "basics" of various employment laws (see prior installments here, here and here), this week the topic is offer letters. Specifically, at the time of hiring an employee, does Connecticut require any documentation be provided to employees? The answer is yes. Perhaps not in the form of an "offer letter" but… Continue Reading
Changes to Personnel Files Act…And Much Much More (Including Big Expansion of State’s Wage Discrimination Laws)
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsIf you should never judge a book by its cover, you can never judge a legislative bill from its title. After all, you would think that a bill about "Penalties for Violations of Certain Personnel Files Statutes" (H.B. 6185) would actually be a bill about those violations. While that may have been in the original… Continue Reading
Connecticut’s Wage Laws — What Do They Really Say About Bonuses, Wages and Double Damages?
Posted in Laws and Regulations, Wage & HourUPDATED Over the last 24 hours, it seems that every politician is decrying the use of Connecticut wage and hour laws as apparent support for AIG’s payout of various retention payments. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s comments are among the most pointed, according to Capitol Watch: "I have significant doubts about the validity of AIG’s… Continue Reading
BREAKING: Conn. Supreme Court Rules That Bonuses Based on Subjective Factors Are Not Wages
Posted in Wage & HourRemember a Connecticut appellate decision a few weeks ago that suggested that a bonus allegedly promised to an associate could be "wages" under Connecticut’s wage statutes? Indeed, a fellow Connecticut blogger suggested that 2008 was shaping to be a banner year for employees. Well, not so fast. A new Connecticut Supreme Court decision today (and… Continue Reading
Can Bonuses Be “Wages” Under Connecticut State Law? Sometimes, Says Appellate Court
Posted in Litigation, Wage & HourYesterday, I discussed the employment contract portion of a new Appellate Court case, Ziotas v. The Reardon Law Firm (download here). Today, I’ll discuss the second part of the court’s decision on whether the associate’s bonus could be said to be "wages". Why is this important? Because under state law (Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-72), failure… Continue Reading
Appellate Court Upholds Judgment Against Lawfirm for Its Employment Contract With Associate
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, LitigationIn a decision released today, the Connecticut Appellate Court upheld a lower court judgment that found that a local lawfirm breached its employment contract to an associate by failing to pay that associate a bonus. It’s rare to see lawfirms involved in employment disputes, and even rarer, to have cases proceed all the way to… Continue Reading
New Connecticut Labor Stats Show Safe Workplaces…And Companies That Still Don’t Observe Wage Payment Laws
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Wage & HourTwo new sets of statistics released this month by the Connecticut Department of Labor shed some light into the workplaces in Connecticut. First and foremost, the number of deaths in the workplace last year remained the same as in 2006 — 38. While any death is tragic, the rate is far below the national average. … Continue Reading
Offer Letters and Employment Policies – It’s All in the Details
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Wage & HourYou know it’s summer when the most exciting headline in employment law over the last day seems to be the markup of an arbitration fairness bill by a House Judiciary Subcommittee. Not terribly exciting. If you’d like more details on that bill, Workplace Horizons has a nice little summary and does it’s typical terrific job on keeping up to… Continue Reading
Sign On Bonus, Accrued Vacation and COBRA Insurance are not “Wages”, Says Superior Court
Posted in Litigation, Wage & HourConnecticut’s wage payment statutes, with the definition of wages found at Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-71a(3), certainly have left courts room to interpret the statute. After all, the definition of wages is merely: compensation for labor or services rendered by an employee, whether the amount is determined on a time, task, piece, commission or other basis… Continue Reading
Connecticut Supreme Court: Retroactive Agreement Between Employer and Employee to Defer Accrued Wages Violates Public Policy
Posted in Laws and Regulations, Litigation, Wage & HourThe Connecticut Supreme Court today ruled (in a decision that will be "officially released" on June 24, 2008) that an agreement between an employer and his employees to defer an employee’s past wages until the employer receives revenue sufficient to pay those wages, is contrary to public policy , therefore, an invalid defense in a… Continue Reading
Conn. Supreme Court: Advances on Commissions Need Not Be Repaid, Unless Agreement Explicitly Says So
Posted in Wage & HourContinuing a very busy Wednesday in employment law (where were all these cases earlier this month?), the Connecticut Supreme Court issued a noteworthy decision on a few different wage issues. Because of time limitations, I’ll address the case in a few separate posts. The case, Ravetto v. Triton Thalassic Technologies, Inc. et al. , was… Continue Reading
Connecticut Supreme Court: Order Denying Class Certification in Minimum Wage Case Is Not Immediately Appealable
Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & HourThe Connecticut Supreme Court, in a decision released today, ruled today that an order denying class certification is not an appealable final judgment. The case, Palmer v. Friendly Ice Cream Corporation, gives employers and other defendants in class actions, an important arrow in their quiver of defending against class action cases. In Palmer, thirty-seven waiters or waitresses employed by Friendly’s,… Continue Reading
Wage and Hour Lawsuits – Legal Services Groups Filing Overtime Claims
Posted in Litigation, Wage & HourThe latest news trend has been to report that wage & hour claims are the new "in" lawsuit filed by employment attorneys. However, the cost of bringing such a lawsuit may still be onerous for some employees. That’s where the state’s legal services organizations routinely fill the gap by offering their services free to people in… Continue Reading
“Wage Wars” – Business Week’s Analysis of Overtime Lawsuits
Posted in Class Actions, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Wage & HourFor employment lawyers and HR professionals, it’s "old" news that overtime lawsuits are a major concern. Business Week picks up on that trend in next week’s Cover Story entitled: "Wage Wars: Does your Boss Owe You Overtime". According to the article: No one tracks precise figures, but lawyers on both sides estimate that over the… 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 +
Follow Me on Twitter
Join the Discussion on Facebook
Subscribe to this blog via RSS
View My Linkedin Profile