Less than one week after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its own landmark Title VII … Read more
Archives: Employer Obligations
Subscribe to Employer Obligations RSS FeedEducation Legislation Summary: 2017 Special Session – Biennial Budget, Connecticut General Assembly
On October 26, 2017, the General Assembly passed Emergency Certified Bill 1502 (“Bill 1502” or “the Bill”). The Bill was signed by Governor Malloy on October 31, 2017 (except for a line item veto related to hospital charges). This summary … Read more
Title IX Procedures and The Need for Fairness to All Parties
Recent headlines make clear that sexual harassment is a serious problem in our society. It has also been a focus of attention on school campuses. Since the adoption of Title IX, colleges and universities, as well as other educational institutions, … Read more
Statutory Changes to Athletic Trainer Laws: What’s New?
Earlier this summer, the Connecticut General Assembly passed Public Act No. 17-195, An Act Concerning Athletic Trainers (the “Act”), which amended the statute governing the professional requirements surrounding athletic trainers. Effective October 1, 2017, Section 1 of the Act amended … Read more
High School Sleuths Expose Questionable Credentials of New Principal
Earlier this month in the city of Pittsburg, Kansas, a group of curious student journalists raised serious questions about the credentials of their newly hired principal, Amy Robertson. According to the Kansas City Star, Robertson had received 100 percent … Read more
Guidance For Conducting an I-9 Self-Audit
The idea of an audit by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) is enough to send a chill down any organization’s spine. Audits of organizations’ Forms I-9 had been steadily increasing under the Obama administration, peaking in 2013. We expect … Read more
Register Now for Teacher Evaluations in Connecticut: Where Are We Now?
It has been nearly five years since the Connecticut General Assembly adopted Public Act 12-116 titled An Act Concerning Educational Reform, and most importantly, made changes to Section 10-151b regarding the teacher evaluation process. Changes to Section 10-151b provide that … Read more
Texas Judge Clarifies Scope of Transgender Guidance Injunction; Feds Appeal to 5th Circuit
We have been tracking the development of litigation concerning rights, obligations, and duties with regard to transgender students as cases unfold across the country.
Earlier this summer, Texas and twelve other states challenged the propriety and legality of a joint … Read more
U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice Release Dear Colleague Letters Jointly Announcing New SECURe Rubrics for School Resource Officer Programs
On September 8, 2016, the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (“COPS”) jointly released new guidance regarding school resource officer programs. The new Safe School-based Enforcement through Collaboration, … Read more
Food and Nutrition Service of the USDA Releases New Rule Regarding School Wellness Policies
The Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture has released its final rule regarding Local School Wellness Policies under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. All local school wellness policies must be compliant with the … Read more
Connecticut Unaffected by Federal Court Order Forbidding Enforcement of Transgender Guidance
Recently, a federal district court in Texas sided with Texas and several other states that challenged federal guidance instructing schools to accommodate transgender students under federal anti-discrimination laws. The preliminary injunction, issued on the eve of a new school year, … Read more
Effective July 1, 2016, School Districts Subject to New Requirements for Employee Background Checks
Previously, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-222c merely required school districts to make a documented good faith effort to contact previous employers of applicants to obtain “information and recommendations which may be relevant to the [applicant’s] fitness for employment” before hiring … Read more
Using Independent Medical Exams for Employees
Federal courts offer guidance on conducting reviews
Connecticut Law Tribune
July 27, 2015
Download: Article PDF
When an employee advises an employer about physical or mental health issues, the employer must carefully respond and be aware of the employee’s rights … Read more
TRB Issues New Guidance Concerning the Reemployment of Retired Teachers
On June 17, 2015, Connecticut’s Attorney General issued an opinion concerning the “statutory limits on the compensation provided to reemployed teachers (including superintendents and other administrators) pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat.§ 10-183v(a).” Based on his analysis of the language of … Read more
The Department of Labor Says Most Workers Are Employees, Not Independent Contractors
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an Administrator’s Interpretation letter on the topic of misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Their conclusion is that “most workers are employees under the FLSA’s broad definitions.” The DOL sets out several … Read more
Overtime Pay Changes on the Horizon
With great fanfare, President Obama announced a plan to potentially raise the incomes of white collar employees. The proposed federal regulation would make white collar employees eligible for overtime pay after 40 hours worked if their salary is less than … Read more
New Prohibitions on Discrimination for Unpaid Interns
On June 19, 2015, the governor signed into law a series of protections for unpaid interns. The new law, Public Act No. 15-56, extends the prohibitions on discrimination and harassment from the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (“CFEPA”) to … Read more
Can Employee Display a Confederate Flag on Facebook as Free Speech? Or Can Employer Take Action?
This post originally appeared on the Connecticut Employment Law Blog.
There’s been lots of talk lately about the Confederate flag and its symbolism in the aftermath of the Charleston shootings.
But I wondered: How has this flag come up … Read more
Revisiting Reasonable Accommodation Under the ADA — Being “Effective”
This post originally appeared on the Connecticut Employment Law Blog.
What does it really mean to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee who has a disability?
That’s a question I talk about a bunch with clients. The employee … Read more
BREAKING: Legislature Passes Measure Limiting Employer Access to “Personal Online Accounts”
This post originally appeared on the Connecticut Employment Law Blog.
Well, no one who has been reading this blog should be surprised by the news tonight out of the General Assembly
Indeed, I’ve written about proposed bills … Read more
Federal Government Files ‘Statement of Interest’ In Gender-Identity Case
In recent years, there have been increasing concerns involving discrimination faced by the transgender community. Not surprisingly, these concerns have centered on the challenges faced by gender non-conforming students and whether the needs of such students are being met by … Read more
So Much for a Quiet Legislative Session on Employment Law Issues
This post originally appeared on the Connecticut Employment Law Blog.
When I made predictions/wishes for 2015 at the end of last year, I offered up one on what the Connecticut General Assembly might do:
My Prediction: We’ll see … Read more
New Year Ushers in Changes to Paid Sick Leave Act and Minimum Wage
With the new year, the amendments to the Connecticut Paid Sick Leave Act (“PSLA”) the legislature enacted last year are now effective. We explained the details in our legislative update last summer, but here is a quick refresher: (1) the … Read more
Employers: Remember to Check Your Employees’ Income Tax Withholding Forms
Income tax filing day (April 15th) will be here shortly. Whether a school’s employee gets a tax refund or makes a payment generally depends on what is on the two Forms W-4 that the employee completed when they were hired. … Read more
