Last week, I had the opportunity to present to the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools, an accrediting agency serving over 90 schools and 30,000 students here in state.

The topic was one that doesn’t get enough attention at times and due to its applicability not to just to schools, but to all employers (public

In a decision that will be officially released on Tuesday, the Connecticut Appellate Court has upheld the dismissal of a wrongful discharge claim against Marvelwood School, an independent school in Kent, Connecticut. In doing so, the Court turned back an attempt to limit the employment-at-will doctrine and provided employers in Connecticut with reassurance that wrongful discharge claims will be appropriately limited.

The case, Zweig v. Marvelwood School, can be viewed here.

(An upfront disclosure: My firm represented the employer here and I represented the school on the successful appeal.) 

The facts of the case are relatively straightforward and are summarized in the court’s decision. The plaintiff Aaron Zweig was employed by the defendant Marvelwood School as a history teacher and school’s Director of Food Studies. That role required him to establish and maintain a garden on campus and use it to teach a class on food studies.

In May, 2015, Mr. Zweig allegedly objected to the school’s suggestion that telephone poles that had been treated with creosote, a pesticide and wood preservative, be used to make raised beds in the garden because he believed that the chemical posed a health risk to himself and his students.Continue Reading Connecticut Appellate Court Rejects Challenge to At-Will Employment Doctrine

A few years ago, I talked with some students about a report they were doing for NPR about how hairstyles and race have been historically intertwined.

Earlier this week, the Connecticut General Assembly gave final approval a bill that seeks to right some of these historical wrongs by making it illegal to discriminate in employment

Yesterday, Governor Lamont announced a sweeping change to the way that vaccinations will be distributed in Connecticut. Previously, it was anticipated that workers in essential businesses would receive the vaccines next.  Many businesses started plans for the eventuality.

That plan was thrown out.

Instead, the governor announced a new age-based plan.  It’s simple and straightforward

At his press conference on Monday afternoon, Governor Lamont previewed a new set of changes to the Sector Rules that businesses have been operating under. These changes rollback some of the openings under Phase 3, and Lamont has called this new version “Phase 2.1”.

We’re still awaiting all the details this week; the changes are

It’s supposed to snow Friday here in Connecticut.

In October.

For those of us with memories, we all remember the last time we got substantial snowfall in October in 2011. It ended with lots of power outages and many downed trees. So let’s first hope the snow is just more nuisance than anything else.

Far

Can you “Say Anything” in the workplace?

Last month, a Silicon Valley CEO told employees that its mission doesn’t include taking stands on political issues outside the financial realm.

As a result, and as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, “employees were told that internal debates about politics and activism not related to

If you recall way back in March, Governor Ned Lamont declared a civil preparedness and public health emergency which granted his office broad powers.  Those powers have been seen with various Executive Orders that have followed.

That declaration was set to expire today, September 9th.

However, a few days ago, the Governor issued a new