Every four years I have a dream that an employment law question will be asked at a Presidential Debate.

I have yet to have that dream realized. And if the topics of debate moderator Chris Wallace are to be believed, we will have to wait (still further) for such questions at an upcoming debate.

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

You may recall a few weeks back that a federal court struck down portions of the USDOL regulations interpreting the Famlies First Coronavirus Response Act.

The open question at the time: What would the DOL do?

Late Friday, we got our answer — revised regulations designed to overcome the judicial concerns or, challenge the

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

Conneticut’s Travel Advisory Quarantine has been among the most confusing of the orders to arise from the pandemic.  No doubt that it was not intended to be that complicated.

But the last few weeks have had change after change made to the rules.  And then came the announcement last week that Rhode Island was on

What a mess.

And I’m not just talking about the cleanup from Tropical Storm Isaias. Hasn’t been much fun without power, internet or reliable cell service.  (I hope everyone is staying safe and gets power soon — my town’s projection was 5-7 days!)

Heck, it’s been tough to even do a blog post about a

We made it halfway through 2020.

I know it FEELS as if it should be December, but just think how long March was!

A lot has changed since the start of the pandemic.  But over the last few weeks, I’ve been hearing from employers wondering where things stand right now. What’s changed? What still

As employers start to return employees to the physical workplace, new issues keep arising daily.  Here’s a common scenario:

Employee X has been on furlough since late March and collecting more on unemployment than if he had been employed, thanks to the extra $600 weekly payment.

Employer now asks Employee to return to work.  Although

When no one is working, no one needs to get paid leave.

But as the workforce starts returning, smaller businesses — particularly those will less than 50 employees — are starting to feel the impact of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

That law created two new paid leave provisions — the EPSLA and

The United States Department of Labor recently updated its guidance on the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (FMLA+).

My colleagues at Shipman & Goodwin recapped the new guidance here.

One of the key takeaways from is that under the USDOL’s prior guidance and regulations, it