Photo of Nick Zaino

Domenico Zaino is a partner and co-practice group leader of the firm’s Business and Personal Services Group. He practices primarily in the area of labor and employment law and has extensive experience counseling, representing, and training employers on all aspects of the employment relationship. Nick’s clients range from small to large companies in various industries such as banking, medical, education, manufacturing, engineering, retail, construction, and non-profit. Working closely with C-level executives, in-house counsel, human resource professionals and business owners, Nick assists in managing risk by counseling on compliance and preventative strategies.

On May 3, 2019, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced that it would collect EEO-1 Component 2 pay data from required EEO-1 filers (“Filers”) for the calendar years 2017 and 2018 by September 30, 2019.

This announcement was a result of a federal district court’s decision in a case titled National Women’s Law Center,

On December 14, 2018, a federal district court in Texas held in Texas v. United States that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate is unconstitutional.  The court also concluded that because the individual mandate cannot be severed from ACA, the entire law is invalid.

Background

As you may recall, the ACA has both an

Massachusetts

Major Changes to Non-Competes

Massachusetts passed a new law that will limit the enforceability of non-compete agreements entered into on or after October 1, 2018. Some highlights of the new law include: (1) the law applies to employees who live or work in Massachusetts, and to independent contractors; (2) non-competes are prohibited for employees

The Connecticut General Assembly ended its legislative session quietly for the second year in a row. There were significant employment proposals on pay equity, paid FMLA, sexual harassment and discrimination, paid sick leave, and an increase in the minimum wage, but the General Assembly only passed the pay equity bill.

Pay Equity

The General Assembly 

On August 31, 2017, a Texas federal judge struck down the Obama administration’s controversial DOL Overtime Rule.  The judge concluded that the DOL “exceeded its authority and had gone too far with the final rule.”

Background

In March 2014, then President Obama sent a memorandum directing the Secretary of Labor to “modernize” and “streamline” the

On August 17, 2017, the Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously held in Williams et. al. v General Nutrition Centers, Inc. that the federal fluctuating workweek (“FWW”) method for paying overtime cannot be used for retail employees.

Basic Facts and the Court’s Ruling

In Williams, the plaintiffs were managers at GNC stores who were paid a

The Connecticut Appellate Court recently held that an employee’s request for leave was not a reasonable accommodation where the employee requested an indefinite leave and did not respond to the employer’s request to contact her regarding her leave.  The case, Thompson v. Department of Social Services, provides helpful guidance to employers in managing medical leaves