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State and Federal Departments of Labor Update Notices to Employees

Connecticut DOL Pink Slip Update In response to the current public health crisis related to COVID-19, Connecticut’s Department of Labor has updated the form provided to employees when they are discharged, laid off, or furloughed to add “leave of absence” under “Reason for Unemployment”.  Employers should use this form effective immediately.  The updated form can […]

DOL Poster on Coronavirus Relief Causes Confusion

Careful readers of the new Department of Labor poster explaining employee rights under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act noticed what may be an error, or at least very confusing language.  The third bullet point suggests that an employee can receive up to $12,000 for paid sick leave and emergency FMLA for 10 weeks of […]

Families First Coronavirus Response Act to Go Into Effect Early

The Department of Labor announced that the Families First Coronavirus Response Act will go into effect on April 1, 2020, rather than April 2, 2020, which was the latest effective date allowed by the legislation.  To learn about the substantive requirements of this legislation, read more here.

DOL Issues Emergency Leave Poster

The U.S. Department of Labor released the mandatory posting for informing employees of their rights under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.  The poster is available at: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf. Employers must place the notice in a conspicuous place on the premises.  Given that many employees are no longer physically reporting to work, employers are encouraged to […]

Tax Credits for Employers Under Emergency Paid Leave Requirements

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, requires most employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide up to 2 weeks of paid sick leave and up to 12 weeks of FMLA (10 weeks paid) to employees for certain coronavirus-related reasons.  Sick leave payments can be as high as $5,110 per employee and FMLA payments can be as […]

Connecticut Closed for Non-Essential Business

Governor Lamont just announced a Stay Safe/Stay at Home policy for the state of Connecticut.  He is ordering that non-essential services remain closed for now.  Exemptions will be made for major construction projects already underway as well as for major manufacturers, especially in the defense industry.  Restaurants can remain open for takeout.  Services such as auto repair and hardware […]

Coronavirus Relief Bill Is Now Law

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act is now law.  With millions of Americans forced out of the workplace, the legislation provides some relief for employees through the form of expanded Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) and paid sick leave.  President Trump signed the bill last night.  The Department of Labor announced that the legislation will go […]

Connecticut Unemployment Benefits in the Age of Coronavirus

Many employers in Connecticut have significantly reduced operations or have shut down entirely at this point.  Affected employees, and even independent contractors, may now be eligible for Unemployment benefits.  According to Governor Lamont, 10,000 people applied for Unemployment on March 16, 2020, alone.  This level of claims activity in such a short period of time appears to be […]

UPDATE: House makes significant amendments to proposed FMLA and Paid Sick Leave requirements in emergency legislative response to COVID-19

On Monday, March 16, the House proposed new legislation that would make significant changes to the emergency legislation proposed only a few days ago. Again, this is only a first step in the legislative process, but demonstrates the extreme challenges facing employees as the landscape continues to shift on a daily, sometimes, hourly basis. Legislators […]