Employment Law Checklist Project

One of the things I love to do is play golf. It’s mentally challenging, (somewhat) physically demanding, and you always strive for perfection.

That said, one of the things that I’m not very good at is golf itself.  Sure, I’m better than some but as someone once joked to me:  You can be good golfer

Before the pandemic, I started a project called the “Employment Law Checklist”.  The reasoning behind it was twofold — to talk about all the employment laws that employers in Connecticut had to face and to give me something to write about when employment law news was slow.

Then the pandemic hit (my last ELC

Election Day is nearly upon us.

But unlike prior years, many Connecticut residents have already voted, thanks to the pandemic-related absentee ballot system uage.

Still, next Tuesday, our fellow citizens will still take to the polls from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. to vote for their favorite candidate.  You can find out where you should

A few weeks ago, I talked about the impact that a public health emergency might have on employers and the statute addressing such emergencies. Today, Governor Ned Lamont invoked those provisions in declaring a public health emergency.

But in doing so, he also invoked another provision, Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 28-9 –– the civil

With talk of a pandemic of the COVID-19 illness (coronavirus) becoming more prevalent and advice from professionals that we ought to start preparing now, I thought I’d use this new installment of the Employment Law Checklist Project (#emplawchecklist) to review Connecticut’s existing laws and how those laws might impact employers.

Connecticut has an entire section

Somewhere, some employer might be thinking: Hey, why don’t I make employees sign a promissory note to pay me back if they leave before six months! That would be a great idea!

It would also be against the law.

Thus, the next installment of the Employment Law Checklist Project #emplawchecklist.  The law is set forth

What does it feel like winning the lottery? I don’t know but it has to feel a lot like getting picked for jury duty.

(Wait, am I the only one to get excited at the prospect of jury duty? <grins sheepishly>)

If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you may remember that I’ve been called to jury duty before.  Sometimes, it’s been cancelled but back in 2011, I made it all the way to a courtroom — only to be dismissed when I noted that I knew the attorneys at both lawfirms.

Anyways….I’ve been called to jury duty again next week, which gave me the inspiration for this week’s Employment Law Checklist Project post #emplawchecklist. The law is found in a different section than most — and a reminder that not all the laws that employers have to follow are in one neat package.

In fact, this might be one of more confusing employment laws out there.

The key portions of jury duty are actually found in two separate provisions. If your eyes glaze over at the laws, just skip to the summary down below.Continue Reading Employment Law Checklist Project: Protecting the Sacredness of Jury Duty

The laws regarding the protections owed to pregnant employees got far broader a few years back. In fact, the statutory provision prohibiting discrimination against pregnant employees has eleven key items. Rather than tackle them in separate posts, we’ll “super-size” this post to cover it all.

The main law is set forth at Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 46a-60(b)(7), though it is to be read in conjunction with the state’s broad anti-discrimination laws.

The key prohibitions state that it shall be a “discriminatory employment practice” for an employer (or the employer’s agent):

(A) To terminate a woman’s employment because of her pregnancy;

(B) to refuse to grant to that employee a reasonable leave of absence for disability resulting from her pregnancy;

(C) to deny to that employee, who is disabled as a result of pregnancy, any compensation to which she is entitled as a result of the accumulation of disability or leave benefits accrued pursuant to plans maintained by the employer;

(D) to fail or refuse to reinstate the employee to her original job or to an equivalent position with equivalent pay and accumulated seniority, retirement, fringe benefits and other service credits upon her signifying her intent to return unless, in the case of a private employer, the employer’s circumstances have so changed as to make it impossible or unreasonable to do so;

(E) to limit, segregate or classify the employee in a way that would deprive her of employment opportunities due to her pregnancy;

(F) to discriminate against an employee or person seeking employment on the basis of her pregnancy in the terms or conditions of her employment;

(G) to fail or refuse to make a reasonable accommodation for an employee or person seeking employment due to her pregnancy, unless the employer can demonstrate that such accommodation would impose an undue hardship on such employer;
Continue Reading Employment Law Checklist Project: The 11 Things You Should Know About Pregnant Employees

At our Shipman & Goodwin Labor & Employment Law seminar last week, one of the hot topics that got attendees talking was about minimum wage & overtime rules — both of which are in the midst of change.

But my fellow partners brought up another law in that discussion that shouldn’t be overlooked.  And

How many days in a row can an employee work? That’s the question we’ll tackle in this installment of the Employment Law Checklist Project. #emplawchecklist

It’s actually a question I first asked right before Yom Kippur twelve years ago so it seems appropriate to revisit this today with the holiday this week.

The short answer