Connecticut Labor & Employment Law Journal
New Law Requires Employers to Disclose Wage Ranges to Applicants and Employees
A new law creates affirmative obligations for Connecticut employers to disclose wage ranges for positions to applicants and employees. The law goes into effect October 1, 2021 and applies to public and private employers in Connecticut, regardless of size. Under the new law, an employer must provide an applicant for employment the “wage range” for the position for which the applicant is applying...
DOL Issues Guidance on COBRA Subsidy Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
As discussed in our previous article, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) has presented a number of new administrative and operational challenges to employers. As was the case with the FFCRA, the Department of Labor (DOL) has released guidance to help answer some of the questions and provide clarification in the form of COBRA-related FAQs, providing both general information and specific...
What Employers Need to Know About the American Rescue Plan Act
There is a lot for employers to unpack in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was signed into law on March 11, 2021. Here are some of the key provisions: Voluntary Paid Sick and Family Leave With regard to paid leave, the ARPA provides incentives for employers to voluntarily continue paid leave under the FFCRA framework. You may recall that under the FFCRA, employers with fewer than 500...
CHRO Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Deadline Moved Yet Again
Employers who missed the February 9, 2021 deadline for Sexual Harassment Prevention Training have been given a reprieve by the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. The agency issued a blanket extension of the training deadline until April 19, 2021. Berchem Moses PC offers virtual training options to meet your organization’s needs and can accommodate training workers on all...
Executive Order Extends Emergency Paid Sick Leave for School Employees
On February 4, Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 10, extending Emergency Paid Sick Leave for employees of local and regional boards of education in Connecticut. This extension is only applicable to boards of education and not to private-sector or other municipal employers. The Executive Order extends the Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) available under the federal Families First...
May An Employer Mandate That Employees Be Vaccinated against COVID As A Condition of Employment?
In a non-union context, the answer is “yes” based upon guidance from the EEOC, at least in the sense that it will not violate the ADA or GINA. In the Union context, the answer is less clear given the uniqueness of the Covid-19 pandemic and the paucity of case law under analogous circumstances. As the starting point, under labor law, a unilateral change in a condition of employment is not...
EEOC Proposes Changes to Rules for Wellness Program Incentives
The EEOC has proposed new rules addressing the incentives employers may lawfully offer to their employees to encourage participation in wellness programs which require the disclosure of employee medical information without violating the ADA or GINA. Currently HIPAA, as amended by the Affordable Care Act, allows employers to offer employees incentives of up to 30% of the total cost of health...
DOL Ceases Enforcement of Executive Order Banning Diversity Training
The DOL, through its Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, issued notice advising that it has ceased enforcement efforts relative to Executive Order 13950, and any enforcement or investigation of pending complaints against recipients of federal funding relative to alleged violations of the Order will be held in abeyance. Click here to read the notice. The Order, issued in September...
DOL updates its FFCRA guidance
The FFCRA, passed by Congress in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to mandate paid leave benefits to eligible employees for certain qualifying events, expired on December 31, 2020. Although Congress passed new stimulus legislation in January 2021, that legislation does not extend the Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) or Emergency Family and Medical Leave (EFMLA) benefits...
EEOC Updates Guidance As COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-Out Begins
Just in time for the holidays, the FDA has recently approved the emergency use of the first two COVID-19 vaccines, with at least two more in the final stages of clinical trials. As these vaccines become available to certain sectors of the population, the EEOC has updated its guidance regarding the ADA and other considerations relative to the pandemic to include employee privacy and other legal...