Labor & Employment

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Holiday parties are a time-honored tradition in most workplaces.  While holiday parties can boost workplace morale and culture, poor management and planning can lead to unfortunate incidents and even worse, lawsuits.  In light of recent headlines on sexual harassment and other employment issues, it is especially important to consider various steps that you can take…

Notwithstanding all the news about repeal and changes to the Affordable Care Act, we are aware that the Internal Revenue Service is enforcing current provisions and assessing penalties.

Enforcement of the 2015 Employer Mandate Penalty

The IRS has announced that it will assess employer mandate penalties for the 2015 tax year.  Employers who had 100…

Last week, both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate took actions that may have a significant effect on labor and employment law.

Senate Confirms Peter Robb

On November 8, 2017, the Senate confirmed President Trump’s nominee for NLRB General Counsel, Peter Robb.  Robb is a longtime management-side labor and employment attorney.  He previously served…

On Monday, October 30, 2017, a federal court partially blocked President Trump’s plan to bar transgender individuals from serving in the military while this case is under review by the court. The court found that the portion of the new policy prohibiting transgender recruits from enlisting and calling for the discharge of current transgender service…

This week the Connecticut Department of Labor released posters in English and Spanish relating to the new pregnancy discrimination law that will take effect on October 1, 2017.  Please see our prior blog post about this new law. In addition to adding protections against pregnancy discrimination and requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant…

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…