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...
Proposed Federal Legislation to Provide Emergency FMLA Leave and Two Weeks of Paid Sick Leave
We received many questions from clients over the weekend about the emergency bill addressing FMLA and paid sick leave passed by the House on Saturday, March 14. While the Senate has not yet taken up the measure, emergency measures in some form are expected to pass...
Reminder to Public Employers: Health Plan disclosures due to State October 1
Municipal and Board of Education employers may have recently received an email from the State Comptroller reminding them that the deadline to comply with new legislation requiring submission of certain information regarding employee health plans to the State is fast...
Sweeping FMLA Changes Coming to Connecticut Employers
Late Friday, Connecticut joined neighboring states New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island and became the latest state to pass a paid leave bill. Governor Lamont has signaled he will sign the measure when it reaches his desk. The bill makes sweeping changes to current...
Minimum Wage bill passes
Last night, the State Senate approved increasing Connecticut’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2023 and the bill is headed to the Governor’s desk. Under the bill, minimum wage increases to $11 per hour effective October 1, 2019 and then incrementally by one dollar...
DOL updates FMLA forms
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued new FMLA Notice and Certification forms for use by employers subject to federal FMLA requirements. The DOL is required to update these forms every three years under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. The previous forms...
Landmark Decision Could Impact Private Sector Unions
The recent Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME struck down a government union’s right to collect agency fees (usually three quarters of the normal union dues) from government employees who do not belong to the union. The Janus holding could foreshadow a similar...
Supreme Court Gives Employers a Big Victory: Upholds Class Action Arbitration Waivers
The Supreme Court on Monday, in a 5-4 decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, No. 16–285 (U.S. May 21, 2018) (consolidated cases), ruled that companies can use arbitration clauses in employment contracts to prohibit workers from banding together to take legal action...
Is your business ready for an inspection from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement?
Federal law requires employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of their current and prospective employees and document their compliance using the Employment Verification, Form I-9. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) Homeland Security...
The importance of punctuation: Missing Oxford comma benefits drivers in overtime case
What is an Oxford comma? The Oxford comma is an optional comma before the word ‘and’ at the end of a list: for example, “lions, and tigers, and bears… (oh my)”. While use of the Oxford comma has long been the subject of debate, the First Circuit Court of Appeals in...
