On June 23, 2021, Governor Lamont signed Senate Bill 1202, a special session bill implementing the state budget for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Included in the 837-page bill is a requirement for employers to provide employees with two hours unpaid time off to vote on the day of a regular state election. In the
In 2019, the Connecticut legislature passed sweeping changes to the state’s existing Family and Medical Leave Act, about which we previously reported here. One of the most significant changes is that beginning in 2022, eligible employees will be entitled to paid family and medical leave. Although the paid leave requirement does not take effect
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Ned Lamont declared a public health and civil preparedness emergency in Connecticut. In connection with this declaration, Governor Lamont has issued numerous Executive Orders throughout the pandemic. The Executive Orders were set to expire on September 9, 2020, if they were not terminated earlier.
On September 1,
The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (“CHRO”) recently extended the deadline for employers to provide sexual harassment training for their employees, from October 1, 2020, to January 1, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CHRO announcement is available here.
The CHRO website states that this is a blanket extension, and employers
On May 28, 2019, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Public Act 19-4, An Act Increasing the Minimum Fair Wage (the “Act”), which gradually increases the minimum wage in Connecticut over the next several years. The first increase took place on October 1, 2019, when the minimum wage increased to $11.00 per hour. The next
On July 24, 2020, Connecticut Governor Lamont issued Executive Order JJJ (“E.O. JJJ”), which creates a presumption that employees who contracted COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic contracted it at work and are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
Pursuant to E.O. JJJ, there shall be a “rebuttable presumption” that an employee, who makes
On June 7, 2020, Governor Lamont issued Sector Rules that Connecticut businesses must follow in order to open during Phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan.
Phase 2 (which began on June 17, 2020) includes the following sectors:
Introduction
On April 30, 2020, Governor Ned Lamont released a four-stage plan to reopen business in Connecticut when the following conditions were met: (1) sustained 14-day decline in hospitalizations; (2) adequate testing capacity; (3) contact tracing system in place; and (4) sufficient personal protection equipment (“PPE”). Governor Lamont identified May 20 as the tentative reopening
Effective April 17, 2020, the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) significantly revised its recently issued Safe Workplace Rules for Essential Employers (the “Rules”). Specifically, the Rules have been updated to include a requirement that all employees of essential businesses wear masks while working. The DECD’s original rules did not contain any provision
On April 7, 2019, Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 7V (“Order 7V”), requiring that “[e]very workplace in the State of Connecticut shall take additional protective measures to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 between and among employees, customers, and other persons such as delivery drivers, maintenance people or others who may enter the workplace.”