13 years ago this week, I started this blog. But rather than dwell on another anniversary (and six months since working from home), I’d rather spend the time hitting a few (ok, 13) items in employment law because have been quite a few developments.

  1. Governor Lamont issued new Executive Orders this week amending the travel quarantine.   The biggest change from Executive Order 9C?  There’s now an expanded testing alternative that allows for a traveler to get a negative test either immediately prior to arriving or after arriving.
  2. When do the new rules go into effect? 12:01 on Friday, September 18, 2020.  The travel guidance can be found here. 
  3. My colleagues at Shipman & Goodwin LLP recently posted on the updated DOL rules that I touched on earlier this week on intermittent leave and documentation.  It’s worth a click for sure.
  4. Speaking of my colleagues, let me also take a moment to give big kudos to my firm for achieving Mansfield Certification Plus for 2020 — one of just 100 firms nationwide to achieve such certification.  The process requires law firms to affirmatively consider historically underrepresented lawyers for significant roles.  The “Plus” status indiciates that Shipman has successfully reached at least 30 percent diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees.
  5. It’s Election Season and that means that political speech is becoming a hot-button topic. I’ll be talking more about this in an upcoming webinar and post, but in the interim, my colleague Julie Fay just posted a very informative post on Political Issues on Independent School Campuses. 
  6. Moving back to COVID-19, the EEOC last week updated its technical assistance Q&A on the coronavirus.  Most notably, the EEOC updated guidance on tests  The EEOC continues to permit them during this “direct threat” time, but employers should be mindful not to select employees out (except, of course, if they have COVID-19 symptoms).
  7. Along the same lines, the same EEOC guidance notes that an employer can ask an employee who has been absent from work for the reason why.  Similarly, when an employee returns from travel during a pandemic, the employer is permitted to ask where the employee travelled, particularly where — as in Connecticut — there are quarantines that must be followed on return from travel to certain states.
  8. The new Connecticut Paid Leave website went live earlier today.  This will be the landing page for all things related to the state’s new Paid FMLA law that goes into effect next year (and really ramps up in 2022).  There’s a good new FAQ section that is just up; I’m going to explore the website more and report on it in an upcoming post.
  9. There’s even a new explainer video for employers on Paid FMLA.
  10.  My firm’s sexual harassment prevention training is now up and live on it’s website. I recorded it with my colleague Keegan Drenosky.  It’s two hours and just $20 to cover administrative costs.  You can access it from here.  
  11. The state CHRO now has posted a series of webinars addressing the pandmic including one a few weeks ago on surviving the pandemic and referecing employment, wages, and tips.
  12. This week, the Connecticut Department of Labor issued a report on the Labor Situation.  In August, Connecticut is believed to have gained a net 20,400 jobs making this the third month in a row where the gains topped 20,000.  The official unemployment rate is at 8.1 percent. And notably, the estimated unemployment rate is thought to be between 14-15 percent.
  13. And lastly, if you’re read this far, I can’t let the anniversary go without a thank you to you — the reader –, my firm for it’s continued support, and my friends and family who still think I’m a little crazy for writing a legal blog.

Here’s hoping the next year is perhaps a little less eventful than the prior one.