Presumably in response to some well-publicized reports of public employees fired for official misconduct and walking away with generous pension benefits, the Connecticut Legislature passed a decade ago a statute authorizing pension reduction or revocation in such circumstances. Although the law has been utilized in a few situations since then, two recent cases demonstrate that
Does the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (the “ADEA”) apply to all public employers regardless of how many employees they have, or does it only apply to public employers with at least 20 employees? This is the question that was argued at the Supreme Court on October 1, 2018 in Mount Lemmon Fire District v.
The confirmation hearing of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has been a focus of the media in recent days. A comment made by Kavanaugh, however, highlights how claims of sexual harassment are being handled within the federal court system.
As you may have heard, Kavanaugh was asked about sexual harassment allegations that had been
At the same time the Legislature made medicinal marijuana legal in Connecticut, it also passed a statute that addressed the use of medicinal marijuana by employees. That statute, § 21a-408p, provides that:
On June 27, we issued an alert concerning the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Janus v. AFSCME (June 27, 2018). There, the Court held that mandatory agency fees (also sometimes known as service fees) for public employees violate the First Amendment rights of the affected employees. We wish now to follow up
In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court today ruled that provisions requiring public employees to pay agency fees violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In doing so, the Supreme Court expressly overruled its own 41-year-old precedent.
This closely watched case arose from a challenge by an Illinois public employee to the
In speaking to job applicants, interviewers need to be circumspect in what they say. There are questions that can be asked, and there are questions that can create real headaches, as well as liability. A recent case demonstrates how comments in an interview ended up in federal court litigation.
A University hired a woman to
A recent decision from a federal court in Connecticut serves as a reminder of something you will likely hear whenever you consult a lawyer about the possibility of terminating an employee. Has the employee recently engaged in conduct or exercised a right that could provide grounds for a claim of unlawful retaliation if he or
Please save the date and pre-register for Shipman & Goodwin’s 2018 Labor and Employment Public Sector Spring Seminar on May 4, 2018. Note: This program is intended for Public Sector employers.
Recent trends in the workplace related to claims of harassment, discrimination, and workplace violence, suggest that now more than ever, employers must to be