As I’ve highlighted before, I’m fortunate to serve as a delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates, which meets twice a year.
I was less fortunate that the Midyear Meeting this year was in Chicago, which was even colder and snowier than Connecticut.
At Monday’s House meeting, there were several resolutions
One of the bills that passed the Connecticut General Assembly last year was a bill that would have limited the scope and use of noncompete agreements.
But as I noted in a post last summer, Governor Malloy vetoed that piece of legislation.
In his veto message, however, he signaled a willingness to agree to
The short session of the Connecticut General Assembly is set to begin on February 5, 2014.
But the jockeying for items to get on the agenda is well under way. The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities is circulating a proposed bill that would followup on a failed bill from last year’s term.
I previously discussed this proposal in a post last May.
At the time, the proposed bill was thought to be close to passage, but time ran out in the session before it could be picked up. Earlier versions the bill proved quite troublesome; this latest version still has issues that haven’t been addressed and it’s important for employers to speak up now before the changes are put into place.
So what are some of the changes this bill would bring?
Changes to “Mental Disability”
The bill expands the definition of a “mental disability” to not only “mental disorders, as defined in the most recent edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’”, but also to including having “a record of or regarding a person as having one or more such disorders”.
Put aside, for the moment whether including everything in the new DSM5 is worthwhile. The more troubling issue is that the proposed law would continue to cover “regarded as” claims for mental disabilities. The references to a “past history” of mental disability in existing law being removed by this bill are less significant because a “record” of disability would now be covered.
Why is that problematic? Becaues that the definition is inconsistent with how a “physical” disability is treated; where is the reference to being “regarded” as having a physical disability?
Rather than continue to treat mental and physical disabilities as distinct from each other, the legislature should take its cues from the ADA and match its definitions accordingly. Otherwise, we’ll continue to have three different standards to analyze disability claims — one for ADA claims, and two for state disability-related claims.Continue Reading Legislative Preview: Will the CHRO Bill Get Passed This Year?
With all the weather changes in Connecticut over the last few days, I’m reminded of Mark Twain’s quote: “If you don’t like the weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes.”But life still goes on in New England and I’ve got two upcoming presentations to mention.
If you spend anytime on the Internet, you’ve come across headlines like this one. (Yes, it’s a little bait-and-switch, but you were expecting that, weren’t you?).
Indeed, sites like Upworthy have become big business in the last year all due to headlines that you can’t resist.
Well, that and Grumpy Cats.
(For an excellent
Today, Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro introduced The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act — legislation that would establish a national paid family and medical leave insurance program.
According to a press release, for the price of “one tall latte a week”…”The FAMILY Act would create an independent trust fund within the Social Security
The Gender Wage Gap Task Force in Connecticut issued its report last month with both findings and recommendations on a continued disparities between what men and women, on average, earn. In doing so, it recognized that there are multiple factors that are responsible for the gap in its view. It paints a far more complicated
A federal bill banning workplace discrimination (known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act “ENDA) on the basis of sexual orientation cleared a key procedural hurdle last night as the Senate voted to begin debate on the measure, 61-30. Passage by the Senate is now expected later this week. (You can find my prior coverage of ENDA
And I’ve been locked out
And I know we’re through
But I can’t begin to face up to the truth…..
— Crowded House, “Locked Out” (1993)
So, here we are. The (partial) government shutdown began early this morning. And suddenly, we’re locked out of national parks and many government services.
But how does this impact
On October 1, the rollout of major changes to the state’s Personnel Files Act becomes official.
If I had to hazard a guess, however, I’d say that many small to mid-size companies remain unprepared for the breadth and scope of the changes. If you haven’t focused on it yet, you’ve got a weekend to catch