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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 …
Continue Reading Hairstyle Biases: What Employers Should Know About Hair and Race Discrimination

Last year, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Janus v. AFSCME, resulting in numerous implications for public sector employers (you can read our guidance on the topic here). Now, several months later, we are taking a fresh look at how Janus continues to impact public employers and their relationships with…

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.…
Continue Reading Department of Labor v. Department of Revenue Services: Employee, Independent Contractor, or Both

The United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) applies to small state and local government employers. In doing so, it shot down arguments made by one Arizona fire district that the law applies only to public entities of 20 or more employees. The law defines employers as…

A recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) memorandum may help employers in finding ways to reduce workplace injuries, workers’ compensation claims, and lost time due to injuries. As outlined in the memorandum, employers will be able to carefully develop and implement safety incentive programs that reward employees for not having any reportable injuries in…

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. …

Please join us for our annual fall seminar on October 25, 2018 at the Hartford Marriott Downtown. This promises to be an interesting and informative program regarding recent developments in labor and employment law. Our half-day seminar will include discussions of the timely topics listed here as well as updates on recent legislation and court

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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:

  • No employer may refuse to hire or may discharge, penalize, or threaten an employee solely on the basis of their palliative use

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