It appears that for the second year in a row, Connecticut employers will not be able to take advantage of a cost-saving opportunity as a result of inaction by the Connecticut Department of Labor.
In two letters to the Connecticut Department of Labor by the CBIA and the Republican leadership, the details of the
The Connecticut General Assembly is finalizing its budget implementation bill today and suffice to say that there are more than a few surprises in there. (CT News Junkie first highlighted it in a tweet, it should be noted.)
For employers, buried deep in the bill is Section 422 entitled: “PAID FAMILY AND
Capitol Watch — The Hartford Courant’s political site – tweeted the following yesterday:
Gov. Malloy has signed a bill protecting interns from workplace harassment and discrimination.
— Capitol Watch (@capitolwatch) June 22, 2015
And a review of the Governor’s website reflects that approval in the bill
While I normally make my year-end reflections at, well, year end, I can’t help but take this moment to see the big picture: We’re hearing an awful lot about restrictive covenants.
These covenants — often in the shape of non-compete clauses or non-solicitation (of employees or customers) clauses — have become popular because companies are
So in a post earlier on Friday, I recapped most of the employment law legislation that passed — except one. That bill, Senate Bill 446, was titled “AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF THE TERM “DOMESTIC WORKER”.
Innocuous enough, right?
But as it turns out, that bill was used as a cover to pass through significant changes to the CHRO process.
You will see that many of the changes are ones that I had tipped you all on earlier this year. Then back in April, we were told that the bill was “mostly dead”.
But like the Princess Bride, “Miracle Max” worked some magic and the bill came back from the dead during the session’s last week.
And there are so many changes that a separate blog post seemed like the best way to get through it all.
So let’s get to it, shall we?
Overall, the OLR summary of the bill recaps four main areas of change to the CHRO. It:
But it also makes a significant change to the definition of who is an employee:
The bill also brings domestic workers who work for employers with at least three employees under the employment-related anti-discrimination laws administered by CHRO. Among other things, this provides them with (1) protections against employment-related discrimination based on their race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, marital status, national origin, ancestry, and mental or physical disability; (2) a right to a reasonable leave of absence for a disability resulting from a pregnancy and other pregnancy-related protections; and (3) protections against sexual harassment. By law, employees covered under the CHRO statutes can enforce their rights by filing a complaint with the commission.
If signed by the governor, the CHRO provisions will go into effect October 1, 2015, while the provisions on domestic workers will become effective January 1, 2016.
In more detail, the bill makes several changes to the CHRO process.
Responding to the Complaint
Continue Reading Back from the Dead: Procedural Changes Coming to CHRO and New Protections for Domestic Workers
The dust has finally settled from the close of the Connecticut General Assembly on Wednesday. And it’s time to take a look at the last few days to see what employment law bills passed.
(I’ll tackle the changes that have been made to the CHRO in a post later today.)
As I’ve noted in
We’re nearly at the end of the legislative session and the bills are coming fast and furious.
Late Friday, the General Assembly passed a bill (Senate Bill 914) that mandates (rather than allows) double damages to be granted in instances where an employer failed to pay an employee the proper minimum wage or overtime
Believe it or not, harassment against summer interns isn’t directly prohibited under Connecticut law. (But treating them like employees without paying them is against the law.)
This is not, however, a column about the best ways to harass your interns. Indeed, regardless of
I confess that when I first heard the story last week that some Capitol Hill lawmakers were refusing to meet alone with female subordinates, I didn’t pay much attention to it. Lawmakers just being lawmakers.
(I was also reminded of the old Billy Joel song, I Don’t Want to Be Alone Anymore,
The Connecticut General Assembly is winding down in the next eight days, but not before some very significant legislation gets a thumbs up or down.
As discussed before, the legislature has already passed a bill expanding an employee’s online privacy interests. That bill was signed by the governor on May 19th. It goes into