The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) first released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule on December 10, 2020. OCR extended the deadline for public comment to the NPRM to May 6, 2021 and recently released those
On Friday, July 9, 2021, President Biden issued a sweeping executive order that asked the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to develop new regulations that ban or limit noncompete agreements. The request has no immediate impact on existing noncompete agreements, but employers should expect new regulations in the coming months. In the meantime, many questions remain
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.
On June 16, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Notice of Interpretation titled “The Department’s Enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with Respect to Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Light of Bostock v. Clayton County.” As anticipated, OCR makes
Over the last week, Governor Lamont signed two bills, House Bill 6380 (Public Act 21-30) and House Bill 5158 (Public Act 21-27), that will impact public and private employers beginning October 1, 2021 in significant (and yet entirely different) ways.
House Bill 6380 adds another layer of complexity for employers engaged in hiring and also
On June 4, 2021, Governor Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-25, which is effective October 1, 2021. This Act, entitled “An Act Concerning Access to Certain Public Employees by The Exclusive Bargaining Representative of a Public Employer Bargaining Unit,” sets forth new obligations on public employers in Connecticut regarding union access to their employees
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:
On April 28, 2021, Governor Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-6, An Act Concerning Immunizations, which took effect the same day. As we discussed in our prior post, the new law eliminates the religious exemption from school immunization requirements for both public and private school students, although certain students will be allowed
On May 9, 2021, the Connecticut State Department of Education released guidance regarding the American Rescue Plan Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (“ARP ESSER Guidance”). The ARP ESSER Guidance explains state-level priorities for the use of such funds and encourages districts to think boldly and create transformative programs for students.