In follow up to our previous post on April 13, 2011, the proposed rule to require employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) to post workplace notices describing employees’ rights under the NLRA has been delayed into 2012. The stated purpose of the proposed rule is to inform employees of their rights to form, join, or […]
Connecticut employers with workers classified as independent contractors understand the thin line that often exists between determining whether an individual is properly defined as an employee or an independent contractor. What many employers may not know is how severe a penalty they can pay for misclassifying employees as independent contractors, even where unintentional. Prior […]
It is no secret that most employers attempt to manage the risk of litigation through the use of employee separation agreements. A recent Second Circuit decision serves as a valuable reminder of the importance of drafting separation agreements which will stand up to attack. Earlier this month, in Ridinger v. Dow Jones & Co., the Second […]
The National Labor Relations Board recently proposed changes to its pre-election and post-election procedures that would significantly impact employers and could result in a greater number of successful union elections. Most notably, the reform would require that the pre-election hearing be held within 7 days after the hearing notice is served (absent special circumstances). Currently, […]
Effective July 1, 2011, all cases before the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities Office of Public Hearing were suspended, see pdf, as the Governor failed to appoint new referees for the term beginning July 1, 2011. To date, new referees have yet to be appointed. This all comes as a result of Connecticut’s current budget […]
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes. As expected, the decision was a victory for the retail giant. The Court denied the plaintiffs the right to proceed as a class on the grounds that the class failed to meet the commonality requirement, since the action was based […]
I had the fortunate opportunity to speak on Wednesday with Mike Devlin to a group of in-house counsel at the Connecticut Law Tribune’s Annual In-House Counsel CLE Lecture. The topic of discussion was recent employment law developments. Topics included the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, NLRB trends under the Obama administration, the new […]
In addition to the paid sick leave law which we’ve been closing following as its made its way through the General Assembly, a new law affecting employers which will make “gender identity or expression” a new protected category passed the General Assembly this weekend and is heading to the Governor’s desk. Few employers will be […]
The paid sick leave bill before the Connecticut legislature passed the House on Saturday. It will now reach Governor Malloy’s desk for signature. As he is expected to sign, the bill will become law on January 1, 2012.
United States Senate bill, S.241 on the table this year proposes to expand the whistleblower protections of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (known as the McCaskill Amendment of the Act) to employees of employers who receive any federal funds—not just stimulus funds. The McCaskill Amendment protects employees of private contractors and state and local […]
