Let me preface what I’m about to say with a huge caveat: I’ve seen no empirical studies or surveys of employers to determine whether or not they are complying with the updated Connecticut FMLA law.
But having gotten that out of the way, I remain concerned that there are a ton of small employers out
If you look at the state Department of Labor website, you’ll find a notation about “proposed amended FMLA regulations” that have not yet been put into place. It adds “approval pending”.
As the modern saying goes: Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.
In fact, last month – as I previewed in
Earlier today, my firm held a webinar featuring a conversation with Heidi Lane of the Connecticut Department of Labor to talk about the upcoming changes to the state FMLA law effective January 1, 2022. My thanks to Ms. Lane for participating and sharing her insights.
You can view the entire webinar here (and I’d encourage
With talk of a pandemic of the COVID-19 illness (coronavirus) becoming more prevalent and advice from professionals that we ought to start preparing now, I thought I’d use this new installment of the Employment Law Checklist Project (#emplawchecklist) to review Connecticut’s existing laws and how those laws might impact employers.
Connecticut has an entire section
At the stroke of midnight last night, the 2019 General Assembly came to a close.
I think it’s fair to say that 2019 will go down in history not for the number of bills impacting employers, but for the breadth of the few that passed.
I’ve recapped the bills in some prior posts, but here’s
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.
Last week, I shared my family’s personal story about how cancer has impacted us. With that in mind, I thought I would share a few tips for employers. Even if you don’t presently have an issue with an employee, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with some of the rules of the road.
First off, to no one’s surprise, cancer is very likely a “disability” under the ADA. Even if an employee is in remission from cancer, they can still fall within the statute’s protections as having a “record of” a disability (cancer).
It is so common, that the EEOC has released set of questions and answers to address cancer-related employment issues. It’s a good starting point for employers when facing these issues.
The ADA strictly limits the circumstances under which an employer may ask questions about an employee’s medical condition or require the employee to have a medical examination. Once an employee is on the job, his actual performance is the best measure of ability to do the job.
One question that the EEOC addresses, for example, is “When may an employer ask an employee if cancer, or some other medical condition, may be causing her performance problems?”
The EEOC does not bar such questions in their entirety. Indeed:
Generally, an employer may ask disability-related questions or require an employee to have a medical examination when it knows about a particular employee’s medical condition, has observed performance problems, and reasonably believes that the problems are related to a medical condition. At other times, an employer may ask for medical information when it has observed symptoms, such as extreme fatigue or irritability, or has received reliable information from someone else (for example, a family member or co-worker) indicating that the employee may have a medical condition that is causing performance problems. Often, however, poor job performance is unrelated to a medical condition and generally should be handled in accordance with an employer’s existing policies concerning performance.
Continue Reading Cancer and the Workplace: Tips for Employers
We’ve had an illness in the family recently and it reminded me of a topic that most employers (and I
would dare say attorneys) are probably unfamiliar with in Connecticut. Specifically, Connecticut’s FMLA laws allow an employee to use sick days not simply for themselves, but to care for a family member in certain circumstances.