Photo of Rauchell Beckford-Anderson

Rauchell is a member of the firm's Employer Defense and Labor Relations practice group. She represents employers in all employment law matters before the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and state and federal court. Her experience includes defending public and private sector employers in employment-related litigation including wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, and wage claims.

On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a final rule (“Final Rule”) defining the term independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), rescinding the previous definition of independent contractor outlined in 2021 (“2021 Rule”). The Final Rule establishes a six-factor test based on the economic reality of the worker

The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently issued a notice of proposed rulemaking under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) setting forth technical requirements for state and local government websites and apps to make them more accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities.

Guidance Issued in 2022

In our March 2022

On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a 3-2 decision, Stericycle, Inc., that adopted a new legal standard for evaluating employers’ workplace policies and rules. Under the new standard, an employer’s workplace policy may violate employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) if its policies have a “reasonable

On September 6, 2022, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) said “Happy Labor Day” to employers with a proposal to revive the employee-friendly, Obama-era standard of joint employment under the National Labor Relations Act (the “NLRA”). Under the proposed standard, one company may be deemed a joint employer of a second company’s employees

Over the past few weeks, Governor Lamont signed several bills that will impact public and private employers in several ways. While there are other bills that will take effect in October 2022, and subsequently in 2023, we have summarized below the bills that have effective dates July 1, 2022 and earlier.

Senate Bill 163 becomes

On March 18, 2022, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued new Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA (the “Guidance”). The Guidance provides considerations for state and local governments, schools, and businesses to keep in mind when ensuring that their websites comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Indeed, the DOJ has consistently taken

For months, employers have been eagerly awaiting updated regulations that address the revisions to the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act. At last, on March 22, 2022, the Connecticut Department of Labor (“CT DOL”) released its final proposed amended CTFMLA regulations, answering questions that had remained unanswered by the revised law. Indeed, the proposed regulations

On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published an emergency temporary standard (ETS) that sets COVID-19 vaccination and safety standards for private employers with 100 or more employees.  The ETS creates new obligations for employers, new rights for employees, and generally requires compliance within thirty days.  Here are ten key

As more workplaces consider mandatory vaccination policies, and with OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard expected to be released any day now that will further mandate vaccinations for employers with 100 or more employees, the EEOC has updated its guidance on how to deal with religious exemption requests.

Much of the guidance incorporates prior statements from the