As state legislators go forward with a hearing today on the AIG issues (you can view the hearing on CT-N, here), one of the recurring themes suggested in various newspapers articles and by state leaders is that there were lots of ways that the employer could have avoided paying these retention payments.

Perhaps.

But suppose

UPDATED

Over the last 24 hours, it seems that every politician is decrying the use of Connecticut wage and hour laws as apparent support for AIG’s payout of various retention payments. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s comments are among the most pointed, according to Capitol Watch:

"I have significant doubts about the validity of

UPDATED

Various blogs have started to link to this one today after AIG released a white paper to support its assertion that it was required to make payments to various executives and employees over the last week.

It turns out that the retention plan at issue is to be construed under Connecticut’s wage and hour laws.  As bloggers and commentators will quickly