Legislation that would make changes to the state’s laws on sexual harassment and discrimination passed the General Assembly. The law would, among other things, expand the sexual harassment training requirements, increase the time to file a civil rights charge, and...
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear LGBT Employment Rights Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear three cases regarding whether Title VII, the federal law prohibiting discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation...
What’s in a Number? CHRO Data Demonstrates the Impact of #MeToo on Discrimination Complaints In Connecticut
Last week the CHRO released its case data for FY 2018. Overall, the numbers do not dramatically differ from FY 2017. However, perhaps not surprisingly given the media coverage of the viral #MeToo movement beginning in October 2017, some notable increases emerged....
Connecticut Discrimination Statutes Still Cover Sexual Orientation
The United States Department of Justice recently filed a friend of the court brief with the Eastern District Court of New York arguing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not cover sexual orientation. However despite what is taking place at the...
Retaliatory Intent of Employees May Be Imputed to Employer in Title VII Retaliation Claim
The Second Circuit recently adopted the “cat’s paw” theory of liability for retaliation claims brought under Title VII, holding that “an employee’s retaliatory intent may be imputed to an employer where the employer’s own negligence gives effect to the employee’s...
A Win for Employers: Appellate Court Holds Punitive Damages Not Recoverable in Discrimination Case
The Appellate Court of Connecticut, in a long awaited decision, recently held in Tomick v. UPS, 157 Conn. App. 312 (Conn. App. Ct. 2015), that a plaintiff cannot recover punitive damages under Connecticut’s statute prohibiting discrimination in employment, the...
To Terminate or Not to Terminate: That is the Question
If you work or operate a business long enough, it is inevitable that the decision to terminate will be made at some point. This decision, while not an easy one to make, is compounded by issues that can arise immediately after when the terminated employee believes...
The New Connecticut Provisional Pardon Law and What you Need to Know
On October 1, 2014 Public Act 14-27 went into effect which revamped Connecticut’s provisional pardon law (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-130a). The revisions were based on the recommendations of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission and under this new bill: “a provisional...
After-Acquired Evidence Permitted to Prove Non-Discriminatory Basis for Termination
Most of the time, when an employer terminates an employee, and that employee sues, a court will not let an employer introduce evidence uncovered after the decision to terminate. However an exception has been added due to a recent decision by the Second Circuit Court...
Proposed Connecticut Bill Prohibits Employers From Taking Certain Actions Based on Unemployment Status
Have you as an employer ever written in a job posting that only currently employed or recently unemployed applicants will be considered, or denied an applicant because he or she had a history of unemployment? It sounds counterintuitive at first—like a restaurant...