Guidance on Connecticut Paid Sick Leave Law Now Available.
The Connecticut Department of Labor has issued guidance on the new Connecticut Paid Sick Leave Law. The law goes into effect on January 1, 2012. The guidance is available from the Department’s website, at http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/wgwkstnd/SickLeaveGuidance.pdf. (See our article, What Employers Need to Know about Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law, for more information on the new law.)
Connecticut Employment Law Update
New and revised employment laws from the Connecticut legislature’s latest session will affect all employers in the state. Here are some highlights...:
New Connecticut Law Targets Workplace Violence Risk to Healthcare Employers
As discussed in a recent post on this blog, a number of states have enacted legislation to address the increased violence against healthcare employees. In Connecticut, a new statute requiring healthcare institutions to take a variety of actions to protect employees from workplace violence took effect on October 1, 2011.
Connecticut Limits Use of Background Checks in Employment
A new Connecticut law that took effect on October 1, 2011 (Public Act 11-223) makes it unlawful for most Connecticut employers to require employees or prospective employees to consent to requests for credit reports that contain information about their credit scores, credit account balances, payment history, savings or checking account balances, or account numbers. Connecticut is one of only a few states that have enacted such a law.
Connecticut Adds to Employer Responsibilities
Effective October 1, 2011, Connecticut employers with three or more employees will be prohibited from discriminating against an employee or applicant based on gender identity or expression. Connecticut lawmakers defined “Gender identity or expression” as “a person’s gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person’s physiology or assigned sex at birth.”
Connecticut Prohibits Gender Identity or Expression Discrimination
After failing to adopt similar provisions in prior years, the General Assembly passed House Bill No. 6599 on June 3, 2011. Now designated as Public Act 11-55 (P.A. 11-55), the proposed law has been signed by the Governor and will become effective on October 1, 2011. P.A. 11-55 will expand the scope of Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws to prohibit discrimination on the basis of "gender identity or expression" in the realms of employment, housing, public education and accommodations, insurance, credit transactions, state contracts, programs and services, and economic development.
Connecticut Enacts Law Banning Employers from Using Credit Reports to Make Employment Decisions
On July 13, 2011, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed legislation that prohibits employers from using credit reports to make selection and employment-related decisions. The law will become effective on October 1, 2011, and it will cover all employers in Connecticut that have at least one employee.
New Procedures for Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities Effective October 1st
Legislation significantly amending the procedures governing how the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities will process complaints takes effect October 1, 2011. Although new Public Act No. 11-237 is an attempt to shorten the time that a charge remains pending at the CHRO once a merit assessment review is completed, how well it accomplishes this is open to question. The amendments include significant changes that allow the CHRO’s attorneys to reinstate a complaint that was dismissed at the merit assessment review stage and explicitly authorize agency investigators to conduct interviews and site visits, subpoena documents, seek requests for admission of facts, and issue interrogatories.
New Connecticut Law Mandates Paid Sick Leave
A new Connecticut law, which will become effective on January 1, 2012, requires a certain amount of paid sick leave for many Connecticut employees. This historic law makes Connecticut the first state to require employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees. Below are the key aspects of the statute
Connecticut And Maryland Act To Restrict Employers' Use Of Credit Reports
Two more states – Connecticut and Maryland – have joined Illinois, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii, and several cities, in severely limiting employers' ability to use a job applicant's or current employee's credit history or credit-related information. This affects decisions in hiring or promotions, as well as in determining compensation or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. Gov. Dannel Malloy signed the Connecticut law on July 13, 2011. Gov. Martin O'Malley had signed that state's Job Applicant Fairness Act (JAFA) on April 12, 2011. Both laws take effect on October 1, 2011.
