One hotly debated aspect of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) has been the so-called “Cadillac Tax” on high-cost health benefits, currently slated to take effect in 2022.  The Cadillac Tax is a 40% excise tax on the amount of employer-sponsored health care coverage which exceeds $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families.  (Higher thresholds apply

Last week, the DOL unveiled its new regulations aiming to increase the annual salary threshold to $35,000 for “white collar” overtime exemptions, up from the current $23,660 set in 2004.  The DOL estimates that this will result in approximately 1.3 million additional workers now qualifying for overtime.  The DOL also increased the “highly compensated worker”

Join us for our annual fall seminar on October 11, 2019 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 below as well as updates on recent legislation and court decisions

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

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.
Continue Reading New York City Council Considers Paid Personal Time

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

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

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