It’s been much too long since my last installment of "Four for…", an occasional post on some useful web resources that you might overlook in your day-to-day work. 

This post focuses on four things you can find on the Department of Labor website that are particularly helpful for employers.  

  1. A comparison of Connecticut’s FMLA (CTFMLA) and the federal FMLA laws — With the changes to the federal FMLA regulations, Connecticut employers are continuing to struggle with the implementation of those rules consistent with the more stringent rules in Connecticut. The Department of Labor (in addition to putting on sold-out seminars on the subject) has a good comparison of the two rules (and which one should apply) on their website. 
     
  2. A new updated FAQ for employers — The Department of Labor has just updated their Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers) page for employers.  It helps answer some basic questions like: "Is an employer required to give employees a break?" or "When must an employer pay wages upon terminating an employee?"  Before you spend time with an attorney or searching the Internet, check out this site too which really DOES help answer some great wage/hour questions. 
     
  3. Free posters and guide books (and forms too) – Keeping up with all the posters required by the Department of Labor can be a taxing task. But fortunately, the DOL has summarized the regulations all on their website, which you can download. You can also e-mail the DOL directly and get the regulations and guide books.  And the best part of it all? It’s free.  (Of course, there are OTHER workplace posters required by law, but, at least for the DOL requirements,  why spend $50 on a poster that you can get for free?)  The DOL also has various employer authorization forms and other forms for employers to use. 
     
  4. An employer’s guide to unemployment compensation – If you are an employer, at one time or another, you’re going to terminate the employment of various people. When that happens, the DOL again has a great resource — an employer’s guide to the whole unemployment compensation system.  It answers technical questions and the mundane ones. 

And your bonus site: The New Hire Reporting System — Because all Connecticut employers are required to report all newly-hired employees within 20 days of hiring them, this site allows employers with a fast, reliable, and secure option for reporting their new hires as required by Federal and State regulations.

A full list of employer services provided by the Department of Labor is available here.