Last Friday, the National Labor Relations Board (“the Board”) held that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center did not violate the National Labor Relations Act (“the Act”) when it kicked union organizers out of its cafeteria who had been grabbing lunch and talking union business with a few workers. In doing so, the Board overturned
In its 2019 session, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a number of new laws affecting employers, many of which will become effective October 1, 2019. To assist employers in navigating the legislative changes, we invite you to join labor and employment law attorneys Henry Zaccardi and Ashley Marshall for this complimentary CLE webinar summarizing
On May 28, 2019, the New York City Council held a public hearing regarding proposed amendments to New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”) which would require employers to provide eligible employees with “personal time.” The bill also would provide more protections for employees, including protections against retaliation and the addition of monetary penalties for employer violations.
The most sweeping change in the new ESSTA bill would be the requirement that all employers with five or more employees, and all employers of one or more domestic workers, would be required provide 1 hour of paid personal time for every 30 hours worked. Employers not meeting this threshold still have to provide unpaid “personal time.” The maximum accrual per year would be 80 hours, and employees would be permitted to carryover up to 80 hours to the next calendar year. However, employers could prohibit the use of more than 80 hours of personal time in a calendar year.
The expanded form of the ESSTA also states that “personal time” may be used for absence from work for any reason, and that employees are not required to provide documentation supporting their use of personal time. For employers that already provide paid vacation or other paid time off as a benefit, the proposed bill does not require those employers to provide an additional 80 hours above and beyond the benefit already provided. However, the paid time off provided must be allowed for the same purposes as “personal time” is allowed under the ESSTA.
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The Conflict between U.S. and Foreign Marijuana Legalization Laws and U.S. Federal Drug and Immigration Laws
The use of legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes is legal in 33 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and the recreational use of marijuana is legal in 10 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Other U.S. states are currently considering the enactment of similar legalization of marijuana laws. Numerous foreign countries, such as Canada where the Cannabis Act came into effect on October 17, 2018, also have decriminalized marijuana use. However, as a matter of U.S. federal law, marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (“CSA”). Therefore, the possession, cultivation, distribution, purchase and sale of marijuana remain illegal under the CSA.
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As we enter the spring of 2019, employers should review their employee handbook and personnel policies to ensure that they are in compliance with several new laws and amendments which have recently (or will soon) take effect in New York and New York City.
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Join us for our annual spring seminar for public sector clients and friends, when we will address issues facing school districts, municipalities and other government agencies. The program begins with a plenary session covering a timely topic, followed by a choice of two breakout sessions allowing for issue discussion in a small setting.
When:
Medical marijuana is once more in the news after a man was denied a position as a firefighter in Bridgeport allegedly due to his status as a medical marijuana user. The plaintiff in Bulerin v. Bridgeport, Superior Court, Judicial District of Bridgeport, Docket No. FBT-CV-19-6083042-S, alleges that the City violated Connecticut’s Palliative use of
Spring is just around the corner. For some, that means spring cleaning.
For employers, there is always something to clean up, it seems. But one law that is sometimes overlooked by Connecticut employers is Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-71f.
This law requires that every employer, at the time of hiring, tell employees:
When Chastity Jones, a black woman from Alabama, lost a job offer because she refused to cut her natural locs, she turned to the federal courts. The company told Ms. Jones that her natural hairstyle violated the company’s grooming policy because locs “tend to get messy.” In response, Jones sought the assistance of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) which brought a Title VII claim against the company
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For years now, the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS), the Connecticut Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have been targeting Connecticut employers for worker misclassification audits. When a misclassification is discovered, these government entities can share information about employers who have misclassified employees as independent contractors. Thus, when one of these government entities finds a misclassification during an audit, audits from the other governmental entities are likely to arise.
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