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

With the legislative session ending on Wednesday at midnight, there's a lot for employers to keep an eye out. Here's a quick summary of what's still alive and what's not, at the Connecticut General Assembly.

• Senate Bill 365 (S.B. 365) - A bill that would prohibit so-called captive audience meetings by employers (typically regarding a union campaign) passed the Senate on May 20th but is still awaiting a House vote. 
• Senate Bill 710 (S.B. 710) - A bill that instituted changes to the state FMLA laws was signed by the Governor on May 27th. It is effective immediately. 
• House Bill 5521 (H.B. 5521) - A bill that would prohibit employers from using credit reports as a basis for employment decisions is awaiting a possible senate vote after passage in the House on May 1th. 
• House Bill 6187 (H.B. 6187) - The so-called Paid Sick Leave bill passed on the House on May 28th and is still awaiting a vote in the Senate.  Time is running out for this bill.  There are 18 amendments that have been proposed for the Senate version of the bill and the CBIA released a statement this morning that said a vote could come at any time. 
• House Bill 6545 (H.B. 6545) - This bill is a late entry into the bills I've been watching regarding labor & employment law and just passed the House last night.  This bill provides collective bargaining rights to two groups of state employees who cannot collectively bargain under current law: (1) managers and (2) Legislative Branch employees of the State Capitol Police.

In addition to the above bills, I've previously covered House Bill 6185, which made changes to the state's personnel files laws and also changes to the gender discrimination law as well. 

Stay tuned....

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Late last week, the Connecticut Senate approved a measure that would permit an employee to take up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave from work to care for family members who may have been injured in the line of military duty.  The bill (Senate Bill 710) is now on the House's calendar for a vote within the next few weeks; it is likely to be approved.

The bill mirrors many of the provisions that were implemented last year in revisions to the federal FMLA. 

The Office of Legislative Research has done a good job summarizing the measure's main provisions here. 

Notably, the measure has different provisions for private sector workers and state employees, so as the bill progresses, this distinction ought to be reviewed. 

The core provision of the bill, however, is the same for each -- a one-time leave for each armed forces member per serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty.  Employees who are immediate family members of those servicemembers or next of kin will be entitled to this leave.  If there are any nuances between federal and state law, the more generous of the two benefits will apply.

In the meantime, employers should make sure their FMLA policies reflect the current state of the law and, if they do have any requests for leaves to care for injured servicemembers, employers should check back on the status of this bill -- if they are not already covered under federal law.

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