In a case decided last month, the U.S. Supreme Court made it more difficult for employers to deny employees’ requests for accommodations for their religious practices, rejecting the understanding of Title VII (the fundamental...more
7/25/2023
/ Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
On Tuesday, March 21, 2023, the Connecticut Supreme Court announced a significant new decision concerning lawsuits by employees alleging “wrongful discharge in violation of public policy.” Most employers in Connecticut are...more
Our readers have probably seen or heard news reports that on January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposed a new federal regulation that would ban non-compete clauses (“noncompetes”) in agreements between...more
OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard -
On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring most employers with 100 or more employees to either...more
2/3/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its much-anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) addressing COVID-19 vaccination policies for employers with 100 or more...more
11/18/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
As mentioned in our prior COBRA update, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides for government-subsidized COBRA premium payments. The subsidy is available to COBRA qualified beneficiaries who become eligible for COBRA...more
Earlier last week, the Biden Administration announced plans to implement sweeping new federal COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements which will affect a wide-ranging number of employers and more than 100 million...more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
** NOTE - the following is an important update to our Working Together blog post on this topic published on March 16, 2020.
On March 18, 2020 the Senate passed and the President signed the “Families First Coronavirus...more
At 12:53 a.m. on Saturday March 14, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” with bipartisan support. The bill was a product of lengthy negotiations between House Majority Leader...more
3/18/2020
/ China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
All of us are, of course, concerned about what “Coronavirus Disease 2019” (COVID-19) will mean for each of us, our families, schools, workplaces, and our communities. As employers, we must hope for the best, but prepare for...more
3/6/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Telecommuting ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
We encounter this scenario a lot: a company executive preparing contracts for key employees, or considering whether to enforce a restrictive covenant against a former employee, will sigh with resignation and say, “What’s the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor announced its final rule setting a new salary threshold for the “white collar” (executive, administrative, and professional) overtime exemptions. As of January 1, 2020, employees in these...more
Last month the U.S. Supreme Court simultaneously resolved a long-running dispute about procedure under Title VII and sent a message to employers that it is important to pay attention and act promptly when faced with a Title...more
7/26/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Amended Complaints ,
Appeals ,
Charge-Filing Preconditions ,
CHRO ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Forfeiture ,
Fort Bend County Texas v Davis ,
Jurisdictional Requirements ,
Mandatory Claim-Processing Rules ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Title VII ,
Waiver Rule ,
Wrongful Termination
A small business client called on January 2. “Happy New Year,” he said. “What’s the new minimum wage? I have to re-program my payroll.”...more
Although much of the reporting on the Tax Cut and Jobs Act recently enacted by Congress has focused on the deductions for individuals and businesses, the bill also includes several provisions that apply specifically to...more
2/21/2018
/ Colleges ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Excise Tax ,
Executive Compensation ,
Income Taxes ,
Net Investment Income ,
New Legislation ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
UBIT ,
Universities
When you hire new employees at your company, do you ask applicants what they currently earn, or what they were paid in past positions? Regular readers of Working Together may recall that nearly a year ago we discussed a bill...more
What happened to the Obama administration’s proposed new rule on employee eligibility for overtime pay? Seven months into the Trump administration, do we know what to expect? Recent events provide some clarity on these...more
The Connecticut General Assembly enacted a number of laws during its regular session that will impact Connecticut schools and public-sector employers. Among other things, bills have been enacted that...more
May a disloyal employee keep the compensation his employer paid him, even while he was betraying his employer’s trust? In a recent case, the Connecticut Supreme Court said “yes, at least in some circumstances.” Here’s the...more
This is a story about grammar (specifically, the “serial comma”) and the overtime law of the State of Maine. The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided whether certain fresh food delivery drivers are entitled to...more
May an employer fire an employee for lying about the reason for an absence? In a recent decision, the Connecticut Appellate Court said “yes.”
Orlando Martinez worked for Polar Industries as a machine operator. He was...more
Judge Amos Mazzant, the President Obama-appointed federal judge sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, issued a decision on November 22, 2016, granting an emergency injunction against the United...more
It’s September 6, the day after Labor Day, symbolically the end of summer, traditionally the first day of school, and psychologically the beginning of the homestretch of the year.
It’s also 85 days until December 1,...more
It’s September 6, the day after Labor Day, symbolically the end of summer, traditionally the first day of school, and psychologically the beginning of the homestretch on the year....more
9/6/2016
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Standard Duties Test ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
As a general proposition, under Connecticut law an employer has the right to determine the wage that will be paid for work performed by an employee, subject to basic requirements such as minimum wage or overtime. For wages...more