Connecticut Employment Lawyer & Attorney : Daniel Schwartz : Stamford, Hartford New Haven, CT

In a bit of a surprise (and in a busy day for employment law in Connecticut), Governor Rell vetoed a bill which would have increased the minimum wage to $8/hour starting Jan. 1, 2009 (and $8.25/hour in 2010).  The veto to House Bill 5105 (H.B. 5105) also effectively kills Senate Bill 55 (S.B. 55) which dealt with an increase in tip credit.  Gov. Rell had approved of an increase two years ago so it was not unreasonable to expect her to follow suit here.

She released a press release, available here which stated, in part:

“There is no doubt that families, particularly low income families, have been hurt by our strained economy,” Governor Rell said. “We all feel the pinch when buying groceries, filling up the gas tank and heating our homes. Yet we must also realize that Connecticut employers face these same financial pressures and are having an extremely difficult time making ends meet.

“We cannot take a chance on hurting families or employers by signing another minimum wage increase into law at this time,” the Governor said. “Businesses have told me that they would not be hiring if the wage hike went into effect. Employers that are now operating on the margin may be forced to close or leave Connecticut to more business-affordable states, resulting in job losses that will undermine the already fragile foundation of financial security for thousands of families.”

I noted earlier this month that the minimum wage bill passed both the House and Senate in overwhelming majorities. The bill passed the House, 106-45, and the Senate, 25-11.  An override needs 101 votes in the House and 24 votes in the Senate.  Thus, it is possible that the General Assembly will reconsider this bill in a special session and overrule the veto.  Indeed, the Hartford Courant is reporting this afternoon that legislators are already clamoring for one.

House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, said Democrats may attempt an override.

"We had good, strong votes in both chambers," Donovan said. ...

"I'm disappointed Gov. Rell would deny a modest increase to our lowest-paid workers in tough economic times," he said. Donovan said he could not recall the last time a Connecticut governor vetoed a minimum-wage increase.

Thus, until and unless the General Assembly overrides the veto, minimum wage in Connecticut will remain at $7.65/hour. 

(H/T: Hartford Business Journal)

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Former Connecticut Governor, William O'Neill -- who served during the 1980s -- passed away this afternoon.  He is the second former Connecticut governor to pass away in the last month. The Hartford Courant has this report:

William A. O'Neill, the one-time tavern owner and small-town Democrat who became the longest-serving Connecticut governor in nearly 200 years, died Saturday afternoon at his home in East Hampton. He was 77. ...

O'Neill was lieutenant governor on Dec. 31, 1980, when cancer forced the resignation of a dying Gov. Ella T. Grasso, a formidable politician with a national profile.

The new governor was underestimated by Republicans and even more so by a younger generation of liberal Democrats. But O'Neill was a tough insider who had won fights to become the House majority leader, chairman of the state Democratic party and lieutenant governor.

Over 10 years and 10 days as the state's 84th governor, the conservative O'Neill assembled a bright, ideologically diverse administration that poured money into education, health care and the state's long-neglected infrastructure.

His profile on the state's library can be found here.  Ultimately, one of the larger changes to the CHRO occurred in his term. 

Specifically, a flurry of complaints to the Governor about the slowness of the Commission's investigations led to the Governor's appointment of a task force in July 1988 to review the management and operations of the Commission. The task force report culminated in PA 89-332, which imposed a time frame on the investigation process and changed how commissioners and hearing officers were appointed.  That foundation is at the heart of the modern changes to the way the CHRO functions today.

A variety of online sources are available about him. One of the more fascinating is a series of oral interviews conducted with him, available on CCSU's website.  These "raw" interviews can be streamed here.  The first of them can be found here.

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The Hartford Courant is reporting that Thomas Meskill, Connecticut Governor from 1971 to 1975, and a judge on the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals from 1975 to 1993 (he took senior status after that date), passed away earlier today. 

Former Gov. and U.S. Rep. Thomas J. Meskill died early Monday in Florida, his wife said. He was 78. Meskill went to the Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, Fla., to have blood drawn and died of a heart attack around 4 a.m., said his wife, Mary.

Thomas Meskill, a Republican, was governor from 1971 to 1975. ...

In 1975, President Gerald Ford named him a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, and he served until 1993. During his last year on the bench, Meskill was chief judge.

The state library has a biography of him available here. 

Despite his other accomplishments, including establishing the Department of Environmental Protection, his impact on employment laws and civil rights legislation in the early 1970s, should not be minimized.

According to a summary of significant developments posted by the CHRO, Governor Meskill's Executive Orders and involvement in other projects had a major role in shaping the state's policies and laws on a variety of employment and civil rights issues.

• In 1971, by Executive Order, Governor Meskill required state contractors and subcontractors to file compliance reports on their equal employment opportunity practices, prescribed by state law. He authorized the labor commissioner to administer and enforce these regulations, including the right to cancel violators' contracts; ordered all state agencies to name their own compliance officers; and outlined procedures whereby other state agencies can recommend that CHRO bring appropriate enforcement proceedings in cases where substantial violation may exist. (Executive Order #3, June 16, 1971)
• In 1973, an independent Permanent Commission on the Status of Women was established, to oversee women's rights and needs, with discrimination complaints to be referred to CHRO. (Chapter 812)
• Also in 1973, by Executive Order, Governor Meskill required the State Personnel Department to assume primary responsibility for assuring that equal employment opportunities exist within all state agencies and departments. The State Personnel Department was also ordered to develop and administer a statewide affirmative action plan. (Executive Order #18, May 8, 1973)
• Also that year, the legislature approved of significant changes to the discrimination laws.  Physical disability added as a protected class. (P.A. 73-279, P.A. 74-57) Persons with a criminal record was added as a limited protected class. (P.A. 73-347)  Pregnancy leave benefits and job rights were specified under employment discrimination law. (P.A. 73-647)
• The next year, the State Constitution's Declaration of Rights was amended to prohibit the denial of equal protection of the law and segregation or discrimination in the exercise of civil or political rights because of sex. (Article I, Sec. 20)

To be sure, some will remember him as the Governor who failed to lead during a terrible ice storm of 1973 (an event that many in Connecticut will still remember -- I can recall as a child the ice-covered trees bent outside the kitchen windows and our staying at home for several days until the ice cleared). 

And, obviously, a number of people far beyond Governor Meskill played a significant role in all of these changes noted above. But as his legacy is recounted in the upcoming days, Governor Meskill's role in the middle of all of these changes, and his willingness to execute Executive Orders on issues he believed in, should not be overlooked.

 UPDATE 11:30 a.m.:  Judge Meskill's work on the 2d circuit continued to the very end of his passing. The Second Circuit issued a decision today in which Meskill participated; the oral argument was held earlier this month. 

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