Over the past year, we have all experienced many employment law changes related to COVID-19 and vaccines, workplace accommodations, FMLA, recreational marijuana, legislative updates and more. We invite you to tune in as we recap the hottest workplace topics of 2021 and provide a 2022 roadmap for what employers can expect in the coming year.
While many employers have been focused on pandemic-related issues this past year, there are important new Connecticut employment laws that become effective on October 1, 2021. Employers should review and, where necessary, update their existing policies and practices and train staff on these new laws.
For your convenience, we have summarized some of the laws
Sarah Westby will be a panelist during the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce webinar, “COVID-19 Information & Protocols.”
A panel of professionals will share the latest information on Connecticut state guidelines, mask policies, vaccine information and mobile access, and other related updates and news to help your business prepare for the coming weeks. For
Effective today, recreational marijuana is legal for personal use in Connecticut. Your employees might think that this means they have free reign to use marijuana in the workplace. They would be wrong. In fact, the new law provides employers with significant authority to prohibit marijuana use in the workplace and punish marijuana use outside of
Sarah Westby discusses Connecticut’s new marijuana law and how it will impact employers in the WFSB article, “ANSWER DESK: How will the new pot law impact employers, employees?”
To read the full article, please click here.
Today the EEOC published updated guidance to address questions it has received from employers about vaccines in the workplace. The guidance represents the first substantive update to the rules from the EEOC regarding the pandemic since December 2020.
Specifically, the new guidance states that employers may:
Effective today, Wednesday, May 19, 2021, Connecticut is lifting its mask mandate for vaccinated individuals per Executive Order No. 12. During a press conference on May 17th, Governor Lamont announced that Connecticut will follow the CDC’s lead in loosening COVID-19 restrictions based on positive indicators including scientific data showing the effectiveness of vaccines, decreased
On Wednesday, March 31, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a sweeping cannabis bill legalizing recreational marijuana for those aged twenty-one and over. New York previously legalized medical marijuana and certain hemp products, but the new law takes the final step towards full legalization. With the passage of this law, New York becomes the sixteenth state
Within his first few days in office, President Biden issued a wave of executive orders aimed at protecting workers amid the pandemic. According to the White House, the core policy objective underlying each order is implementing evidence-based measures to support the workforce and protect those hit hardest by the pandemic, including communities of color and
On December 27, 2020, after months of negotiations, Congress passed and the President signed The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Applications Act, a 5,593-page appropriations bill which provides several forms of stimulus related to COVID-19. Many employers are wondering what effect the new law has on the paid leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus