At Pullman & Comley’s seminar regarding Developments in Labor & Employment Law last month, attendees at one of the breakout sessions were made aware of a study concerning a recent social and technological phenomenon, that should remind every employer of the importance of properly classifying its workforce as exempt, or non-exempt, under the Fair Labor…
Connecticut companies with employees who work or live in Massachusetts must be aware of a recent Massachusetts law limiting the scope of noncompetition agreements entered into on or after October 1, 2018. What if a Connecticut Employer Specifies that Connecticut Law Applies? The law explicitly provides that a provision mandating the application of a different…
Government agencies with enforcement powers often publish “guidance” in the form of bulletins or FAQ’s (frequently asked questions) to provide assistance in compliance. However, unlike statutes and regulations, the guidance publications are not binding and do not have the force of law. Guidance may be helpful in general, but in a particular instance may be…
It’s been a little over four months since the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Janus v. AFSCME Co. 31, 585 U.S. ___ (2018). In Janus, as you’ll recall, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision held that agency shop provisions – which mandate that public sector employees pay union dues or a…
Since Connecticut passed the Palliative Use of Marijuana Act (“PUMA”), employers have struggled with how to apply its anti-discrimination provisions in various workplace situations. This is especially confusing given that the use of marijuana, even for medicinal purposes, is still considered illegal under federal law. This month, the U.S. District Court for Connecticut, in Noffsinger…
New York employers are subject to several new laws enacted this year aimed at combating sexual harassment in the workplace. In New York, sexual harassment includes harassment not only on the basis of sex, but also on the basis of sexual orientation, self-identified or perceived sex, gender expression, gender identity and the status of being…
According to a recent New York Times article, many employers are struggling to respond to the current opioid epidemic. (The September 21, 2018 article, authored by Jenny Gold, is entitled “Workers Overdose on the Job, and Employers Struggle to Respond.” Find it here.) The article indicates that a stunning 70 percent of employers reported that…
Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) generally provides access to both meetings and records of public agencies. The FOIA does provide an exception to the open meetings requirements for certain “personnel matters,” namely, discussions “concerning the appointment, employment, performance, evaluation, health or dismissal of a public officer or employee, provided that such individual may require…
John Shea
As most are aware, lawsuits brought by college athletes alleging entitlement to wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) have been uniformly rebuked by reviewing courts that have immediately dismissed such suits for failure to state a claim. For example, in Dawson v. NCAA, the United States District Court for the Northern District of…
Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not covered by either the Connecticut or the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, and employers with 50 or more but fewer than 75 employees are covered only by the federal FMLA. But employees of businesses with more than 75 employees can be eligible for family and medical…
Supervisors in Connecticut can be held to have personal liability under some statutes prohibiting discrimination in employment, but not others. In a 2002 decision in the case of Perodeau v. City of Hartford, 259 Conn. 729, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that the state Fair Employment Practices Act does not impose liability on individual employees. …
There is an on-going debate in the field of employment discrimination law as to whether an employer can require an employee to take a discrimination claim to arbitration rather than filing a lawsuit. A recent decision of the Connecticut Superior Court at Hartford in the case of Grose v. Didi, LLC gives some guidance on…
As was discussed in our prior blog post and alert, the U.S. Supreme Court in Janus v. AFSCME, 585 U.S. ____ (June 27, 2018) just issued a ground breaking decision with respect to the collection of agency fees from non-union members, holding that the involuntary withholding of such monies violates the First Amendment “free speech”…
The wait is over. For better or worse, this morning the United States Supreme Court issued what may well prove to be the most important public-sector labor law decision of the last 50 years. By a 5-4 majority the Supreme Court’s conservatives in an opinion authored by Justice Alito have held in Janus v. AFSCME…
Business clients often ask us whether their non-compete agreements with key employees will actually be enforced by the courts. A recent decision from the Connecticut Superior Court illustrates the limits to enforcing these agreements. Typical of non-compete enforcement situations, the plaintiff company learned that an executive employee who had just resigned had been hired by…
