It’s Sunday evening here in Connecticut. If the forecast goes according to plan, I may not have power tomorrow to write about the storm.
Governor Malloy announced this evening that all non-essential state workers are not to report to work on Monday. But those who listened to his news
Ok, bear with me for a second.
If your employees want to bring a class action against your company claiming that they should’ve been paid overtime, there are typically two ways to do so: Bring a claim under state law, or bring a claim under federal law (Fair Labor Standards Act).
There’s a big difference:
Over the last few years, I’ve been running a popular post about Columbus Day and the origins of the work holiday in Connecticut. Indeed, it has its foundation as a federal holiday and is listed in the United States Code (5 U.S.C. Sec. 6103).
Columbus Day is officially on October 12th (celebrating Columbus arrival on October 12, 1492), but it is celebrated on the 2nd Monday in October as a result of the federal law. So, if you work for a federal or state employer in human resources, or otherwise, you are likely going to have next Monday off.
But it is also one of those holidays that private employers increasingly have decided do not merit a vacation day. A survey from a few years ago showed that just seven percent of employers in California, for example, give the day off to their employees.
A common question that arises, however, is why? Why do employees for private companies not have to close on a day that has been designated by the federal government as a national holiday?
The answer is actually quite simple: Because Congress didn’t cover private employers in the law. And state law doesn’t mandate any requirements on private employers either. And so, while employees may complaint (perhaps rightly) about the difficulty of some child-care arrangements for some closed schools or otherwise, employer continue to have discretion about the days that it designates as holidays.
Some employers have created their own work-arounds, allowing employees to take 1-3 "floating holidays" for days like this (or other types of holidays, like Yom Kippur or Three Kings Day). That’s a sensible practice. But regardless, these types of policies should be discussed with employees so everyone knows what day is a holiday and what day isn’t.Continue Reading Columbus Day is Coming. And Most Employers are Open.
Today is officially Columbus Day. In prior years, I have written a post on the day and why most people are working today. Given the relevance of the post again this year, I reprint it below (with some slight updates).
Columbus Day is officially on October 12th (celebrating Columbus arrival on October 12, 1492), but
Although I’ve been sounding the alarm bells for the last two months or so, on the new COBRA subsidy provisions, I’ve had informal discussions with various colleagues that suggest that some employers are either ignorant of the new rules or do not believe that the rules apply to them. Here are three areas why most
Sunday is officially Columbus Day. But across the country and in Connecticut, the second Monday in October is the day we celebrate the holiday.
Last year, I wrote a post on the day and why most people are working on that date. Given the relevance of the post again this year, I reprint it b
As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes cases hit the headlines for a day only to disappear into oblivion. But thanks to some followup reporting, there’s one story that we can give an update on.
Readers may recall a post from May of this year about a state attorney, Maureen Duggan, who wrote an anonymous letter about the state’s Ethics Chief
Last week, I talked about a push by some state politicians to encourage more telecommuting and perhaps four-day work weeks among state workers. The Connecticut House Republicans have even discussed it on their blog, House Rules. The union representing state workers has also discussed the proposals in detail on its blog as well.
The focus for this term of the Connecticut General Assembly for employers and employees has been on the paid sick leave bill (still no action in the House as of May 3rd).
However, employers who have employees working on public works projects and manual labor on state or municipal building construction or repair contracts need
With the legislative session coming to a close next week, developments are heating up at a fast and furious pace. I’ll do some quick updating and then provide a more through review when time permits.
First, the State Senate debated the Paid Sick Leave bill (S.B. 217) yesterday for about an hour, when the debate