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trviaI recently was invited the join the “Learned League”, which has been described by the Washington Post as the “coolest, weirdest Internet community you’ll never be able to join.”

Needless to say, now that I’m participating in it, I’m wondering if I’m either cool or weird or both.

The league is a hodge-podge of various people who answer six trivia questions a day for a five week period during various contests.  No money is involved (think: pride not prize) but the competition includes people like Ken Jennings, who is the all-time champion on Jeopardy.

The biggest rule is “no cheating” — in other words, don’t Google the questions. It’s a bit addicting, so in the spirit of the contest, I thought I would provide you with six questions to answer.  Note that this is not multiple choice — rather it’s fill in the blank, which is oh so challenging.

1.  According to the EEOC Charge Statistics for Fiscal Year 2014, retaliation claims were the number one filed claim with the agency.  What protected class was number two?

2. One resource that is (or should be) often referred to by employers when addressing disability issues is nicknamed “JAN”.  What do the letters JAN stand for?

3. The federal Family & Medical Leave Act provides that eligible employees may take up to 12 work weeks of leave in a 12-month period for one or more of four separate reasons.  Two of the reasons are for: 1) the employee’s own serious health condition; and 2) tocare for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition.  Name one of the other two reasons?

4. In Connecticut, family violence victims who work at employers that have three or more employees, are entitled to time off for various reasons including seeking medical care or attending court.  How many days per calendar year is the employee entitled to?

5. In 1994, Michael Douglas and Demi Moore starred in a film that, among other claims to fame, brought issues of sexual harassment and “reverse” harassment to the public’s attention. Notably (?), Demi Moore was nominated as “Best Villain” for the MTV Movie Awards.    What was the name of the movie?

6.  The current minimum wage in Connecticut in $9.15 cents per hour.  What will the minimum wage in Connecticut be effective January 1, 2016? (And for a bonus point, what about January 1, 2017?)…

Continue Reading Trivia Time for HR Professionals – Six Questions of the Day

With all the legislative developments in Connecticut over the last year or so, it’s tough to keep track of all of the changes that your company needs to consider to update your employee handbook and employment policies.

Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list of some of the changes to consider with a link to more information on each of them.

1) For your EEO policies, be sure to add “gender identity” as a protected category.   You may also want to consider adding language that your company will not discriminate based on “any other protected category under state or federal law” to protect you.
Continue Reading The Seven Updates To Consider to Your Employee Handbook

The Connecticut Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section is out with their quarterly publication on various employment law articles. Among the topics this quarter:

  • Connecticut’s Family Violence Leave Law
  • "This isn’t discriminatory — and I’m not going to investigate it!" Retaliation? Good policy?
  • The Definition of "Mental Disability" Under CFEPA
  • 2010 Legislative Wrapup

Hugh…

When new laws get passed, the complications that arise from the passage aren’t immediately clear.  But a look at Connecticut’s new family violence leave provisions (effective October 1, 2010) demonstrates how some of those complications are now making themselves apparent. 

As you may recall, the new Family Violence Victim leave law permits employees to take…

While the legislative session was a relatively quiet one, a few provisions found in a comprehensive domestic violence bill do have some direct implications for employers in Connecticut and create a new leave provision that will require some attention from human resources personnel.  Many employers will be unaffected by the provisions, but those who…